Shenanigans!

In pursuit of finding a BMW 540i that suits my tastes, I have been monitoring eBay. I have come across one car dealer in Philadelphia (phila_express_auto_sales) that appears to be engaging in (to use eBay's terms) shill bidding.

This dealer lists cars in No Reserve, "private" auctions; vehicles are sold to the highest bidder with no minimum price, and the IDs of the bidders are kept secret. I believe this dealer is artificially inflating the price of their vehicles by bidding on them. If a vehicle doesn't achieve a desired price, this dealer (I suspect) is bidding at the last second to win the auction so as to list the car again in hopes of getting a higher price.

I was monitoring one particular vehicle, but when I noticed the vehicle was sold and then re-listed in a new auction by the same dealer, I started monitoring other vehicles being offered by this dealer. Here are my findings, which I have reported to eBay:

2001 BMW 540i
VIN: WBADN53451GC98553
Listed in No Reserve, "private" auction (220003459892)
Sold for $23,600 on July 6, 2006
Re-listed in No Reserve, "private" auction (330005753223)
Sold for $23,600 (again) on July 13, 2006

2000 BMW 540i
VIN: WBADN6347YGM66805
Listed in No Reserve, "private" auction
Sold on July 7, 2006 for $16,500
Re-listed in No Reserve, "private" auction (320007088130)
Sold on July 20, 2006 for $14,601
Re-listed in a "Buy It Now" listing (220010058766) at a price of $17,400

2003 Acura TL
VIN: 19UUA56693A021369
Listed in No Reserve, "private" auction (220005522708)
Sold on July 13, 2006 for $16,100
Re-listed in No Reserve, "private" auction (220009360364)

2004 Honda Odyssey
VIN: 5FNRL18034B056885
Listed in No Reserve, "private" auction (320005343322)
Sold on July 13, 2006 for $20,201
Re-listed in No Reserve, "private" auction (220009363226)

2002 Volkswagon Passat
VIN: WVWVD63B12E142342
Listed in No Reserve, "private" auction (220005531222)
Sold on July 13, 2006 for $13,850
Re-listed in No Reserve, "private" auction (220008657640)

2002 Subaru Outback
VIN: 4S3BH665027653591
Listed in No Reserve, "private" auction (220005532249)
Sold on July 13, 2006 for $12,800
Re-listed in No Reserve, "private" auction (320007924693)
Sold on July 21, 2006 for $12,980