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Wild Thyme OriginalsHi there! Have you guys noticed the new system eBay has in place for items that are listed at/reach $200.00 and up? I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I for one would be really happy if it DOES mean that my underbidders don't get phished/spammed/second chanced at every turn....
Here's the announcement....
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A couple of months ago, I told you about an important new initiative called Safeguarding Member IDs (read my announcement from November 2, 2006). Safeguarding Member IDs (SMI) is a significant step forward in protecting eBay's bidders, who have increasingly become targets for unwanted commercial and malicious spam, such as phishing, spoof, and fake Second Chance Offers.
SMI adds a new layer of privacy by replacing specific User IDs with aliases (bidder 1, bidder 2, bidder 3, etc.). To ensure buyers continue to feel trust in the bidding process, SMI also provides an updated Bid History page with aggregate information about the bidders involved in a given listing, as well as their other recent activity with the listing's seller.
Coming this week: eBay.com and eBay Canada to Launch SMI
Following SMI's introduction last fall on eBay Motors, our eBay sites in the United Kingdom and Australia also made the decision to launch SMI. The results we're seeing for all three launches indicate that these changes are having the impact we are striving for – in short, a reduction in unwanted commercial and malicious spam (including Fake Second Chance Offers) to bidders on higher-priced auction-style listings.
As a result eBay.com and eBay.ca will be launching SMI later this week. SMI will impact listings on eBay.com that start at or reach a bid level of $200 or greater. On eBay Canada, it will impact listings above the C$220 level. Please read our Safeguarding Member IDs Frequently Asked Questions for more information.
Community Concerns
I'd like to acknowledge the concerns we've heard from some members who believe these changes may encourage shill bidding (the act of using friends or alias User IDs to bid on a seller's own listing to artificially increase the bidding level.) First, let me make it very clear that shill bidding is not tolerated on eBay. Not only is this activity prohibited by our policies (read our shill bidding policy), it is also a crime in many states.
In addition to the Bid History changes I've described above which are designed to give buyers the information they need to feel confident, it's important to know that over the years, eBay has invested heavily in shill detection systems. We can proactively detect and investigate possible shill bidding scenarios with a higher rate of accuracy than ever before. These backend systems collect more information on selling and bidding activity than our Community has access to, so we can detect patterns and ascertain identities much more accurately.
Be assured that we will continue to monitor the sites where SMI has launched to ensure that increased shill bidding does not become an unintended consequence of SMI.
I want to thank the Community for the support you've shown for these changes thus far. While reducing transparency on the site is understandably controversial, I believe these changes strike the right balance between the need for openness and the need to protect our members from online threats.
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And here's how it LOOKS... Judi, I hope you don't mind me posting a link to your auction... mine isn't at or above 200.00, or I would have posted my own as an example.... 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi … 0065056758
What you y'all think about the new system?
I hope it does eliminate the aforementioned spamming problem... and like a private auction, it may eliminate some of the hesitance to bid when one's friend is also bidding.... but since it also pulls up some information about each bidder, there are still some real safeguards against shilling... assuming that a potential buyer knows what to look for in a typical shill bidding pattern. And thank GOODNESS it seems that eBay has "beefed up" their shill bidding detection. THAT'S good news!
Kim Basta
Jane Perala Designs Ltd.I must be really naive - I never would have thought about the shill bidding.
However, I think overall it will be a good thing. Except that I am nosy and like to see who else is bidding 
Jane P.
Ah.....I think this a good thing ebay has done. There is just too much going on anymore, and this will be so much safer. I too like to snoop to see who bidders are though......oh well, I'll just have to give that up! 
And at least sellers are able to see who the bidders are. That's good too! Oh, and has anyone else wanted to bid on a bear, but didn't because a customer they have had before was bidding? That's happened to me a couple of times. I would have bid, but didn't want to bid against that person. I guess that won't be a problem now either.
Wild Thyme OriginalsI'm nosey too Jane! I think most of us probably are! 
So, I'll miss that part as well... I've been debating switching over to private auctions though, as I hear from so many of the underbidders on my auctions that they get the fraudulent second chance offers... or that other sellers contact them and ask them to take a look at their listings, etc., etc..... And supposedly... this new system will eliminate that... at least for items that are selling at 200.00 and up.
There are a lot of extremely reputable sellers who DO use private auctions, but I was just so hesitant to use them because there are always people who assume that you must have something to hide if you list privately.
Oh yes Tracy... it does solve that problem too... I generally don't buy bears, but I do have bidders that know eachother and won't bid against eachother.... or bidders who won't bid against other bidders because they "know" they won't win... and that's certainly not always the case.
Kim Basta
Newcastle, OntarioHi Kim,
I think it's a great idea even though I'm also nosey! Thing is, once you click on Bid history, there is a column on the right called "bidding details". If you scroll the mouse over it, it gives you the feedback and other details of the bidder. If you actually click on the word "view", it gives even more info. As a seller I would have access to who is bidding, but even if I didn't, I have such a constant customer base I could easily figure it out by the details of their bidding history. It does make it impossible though, for sellers trying to scam business from us, by phoney second chance offers, which is super. It will also keep the bidding open for those who don't want to bid against friends or customers. I really like the concept and hope it works. It will also negate the need for "private bidding" for a lot of the artists with high prices.
hugs,
Brenda
Little Bear GuyI think it's a great idea. This will stop the private auctions per say, but maybe not entirely. I do know that a few artist do the private auctions becauseof what some other people have said. Some people won't bid because they don't want other people knowing what they are bidding on, or they don't want other bidders knowing who they are. Yes some people will not bid on an item when they see a certain person bidding on it because they know they don't stand a chance.
Now if they would only do something about their fee's . I mean here is a corporation that nets almost a billion dollars each quarter that's four billion dollars a yr net profit. Yet they keep raising their fee's . I do believe it's time to find another outlet. Possilby the Teddy Patch or something like that . We really do need to start supporting the people who are running these alternate sites to ebay.
Now I'm stepping down off my soap box haha
big hugs
Shane
Strange BearsHi
This must have been trialed in Australia because this has been happening here for about a month now. My husband being a motor mechanic often bids on car things that reach or start at this level regularly. Yes it can be a bit of pain as if you see a "regular" bidder you tend to know their patterns and limits.....but that can also mean you will get more for your bears. I know if we see XYZ bidding and knowing he goes higher than we are prepared to go we often don't bid....where now we don't know we may bid a bit higher than normal.....which is why as buyers we don't like it......
BUt as sellers I still think it may get you a bit more money......and you do know who is bidding..... :clap: :clap:
LuxembearsWell it's about time ebay put something like this into place. It was getting ridiculous. 
Tami Eveslage Original Teddy BearsThis makes sense and I really hope it works!
