Shill bidding policy
In this article
Policy overview
What are the guidelines?
Why does eBay have this policy?

Policy overview
Shill bidding happens when anyone bids on an item in order to artificially increase its price or desirability. Shill bidding also happens when someone a seller knows bids on the seller's item. This includes family members, friends (including online friends), roommates, or employees.

We don't allow shill bidding on eBay because people the seller knows might have information about the item that other members don't, which might give them an unfair advantage.

If people you know want to buy your item, they should do so in a way that doesn't involve bidding. For example, you can sell the item at a fixed price or offer Buy It Now, and they can buy the item that way. However, these purchases can't be made for the purpose of artificially increasing a seller's Feedback or improving search standing.

Make sure you follow these guidelines. If you don’t, you may be subject to a range of actions, including limits of your buying and selling privileges and suspension of your account. Shill bidding is also illegal in many places and can carry severe penalties.

Review our shill bidding policy tutorial to learn more about this policy.

Reporting shill bidding

Learn more about reporting listing violations. If you think you see shill bidding taking place on a listing, report it to us. Be sure to provide the member's user ID and the item number. We thoroughly investigate every report we receive. Often what appears to be shill bidding isn't a violation. If there is evidence of shill bidding, we will take action, which may include listing cancellation or referral to law enforcement. However, our privacy policy prevents us from disclosing the details of our investigation to other members, including the person who reported the issue.

What are the guidelines?