Report them to Audiogon and let their I T people set up a sting operation. I they are caught they can be tried and convicted of fraud. Worse case they get twenty lashes with a magic harmonizer. |
Personally, I think that making an accusation like that could open you up to a slander lawsuit. Once you get sued, it doesn't matter who is right or wrong. You will still have to defend yourself, which is a pain. And then what if you lose and you end up with a judgment against you. Don't ever think you'll win a lawsuit because you're telling the truth or God is on your side or whatever. It doesn't work that way. IMO, if you think the bidding is crooked, don't bid and walk away. But, again, IMO, you come out blasting on the web, you have to be ready to take the heat. I wouldn't. There's some free legal advice for you. Take it or don't. Good luck. |
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I didn't mean to post twice, my mistake. Thank you for the advice. If an admin can delete/move this.. |
Free legal advice is worth what you pay for it.
Don't entirely agree with Chayro, because truth is an absolute defense to a libel or slander suit, and there are jurisdictional issues - they likely have to sue you in your state and county. It depends on the nature of the "proof" you have, and how you came by it. |
Spoken like a true non-lawyer. Truth is a defense you can use after you get sued. The idea is not to get sued in the first place. It's not what you don't know that hurts you - it's what you think you do know. Be careful. It's a dangerous world. |
Chayro, I've practiced law for 33 years, so far. |
OK, then you know that you don't want to be a defendant in a lawsuit if at all possible. Maybe I'm a bit more risk adverse than you are. Getting sued sucks. They don't teach that in law school. |
It is interesting to observe two very different approaches by two lawyers. Not being a lawyer, I can clearly see that both can be combined successfully. You can do things differently depending on the case and the client.
But..I prefer Lloydc's stance overall. |
Third view, it doesn't matter if you say factual negative things about an audiogon customer they will punish you or delete the entire thread! Lol |
Report it to A'gon and let them investigate it. Then it's on their back. |
They will investigate it but if it's one the favorite revenue makers from them good luck. I complained about a offer I put on a sub the company sent a smart response back. I sent a smart response to them and audiogon said I was harassing them. Lol. You can't touch certain companies cookie jar or mommy will put you on punishment. Lol. Good luck reporting them. Lol. |
Its true unfortunately that if audiogon does anything to enforce ethical business practices its certainly not advertised or apparent in a any way. It's not been a problem for me personally so I don't know, other than I see no indications of much if anything that might negatively impact teh site's revenue. I suppose its bad marketing to publish any dirty laundry. |
Sounds like someone holds a grudge. We see these allegations from time to time. Usually they're not true. Carry on. Smoke if you got 'em. |
Yup bad marketing. You wouldn't want that. You always protect who gives you the most revenue. Its called money over individual customer fairness or concerns. Yup I got a grudge. If you you care about the big guys a dump on the individual customers and protect folks who do sneaky things. Yup grudge grudge grudge. Lol. |
"Truth is a defense."
True, but the person making the allegation has the burden of proof to establish that his statement is true. If the truth of the statement is in a gray area, the person making the statement is more likely to loose. Winning or loosing a case often depends on which party has the burden of proof.
Better be sure your proof is solid and not just some third party's opinion. If you are relying on someone's first hand knowledge of what actually happened, you better get a written statement so that the story doesn't change later on.
Without some insider's confession, I don't know how you'd be able to establish (i) the identity of people that participate in an internet auction and (ii) that one of those persons was acting as a shill for the seller. |
@dougmc great breakdown of it all. Well done! |
This is Sbach11's only thread? Interesting..... |
I can try to post some examples if anyone thinks it might help. |
I mean if "everybody knows" this company shill bids its stuff and "nobody cares" I won't waste my time. |
Really - an educated consumer should not be ripped off by shill bidders. When I bid on something, which is rare, I know the top price I want to pay and stick to it. It's not a contest, it's an auction. If someone wants to shill it higher, they can have it. Yes, I understand that in a legit auction, I may have gotten the item for less than my top bid, but if I get it for within my bid range, I'm OK with it. Shill bidding is a risk of ANY auction anywhere and if you can't live with that, there are plenty of fixed price listings. Personally, I think you should either spit it out or walk away. You're devoting far to much time to this thing. IMO. |
Sbach11, don't waste our, I mean your time. |
Who is doing it? Or who do you think might be? |
