Just wondering if calling the OP names and implying that he's talking rubbish, is helping this debate in any way?......
Phil.....Shill Bidding as we've agreed previously, is insidious...not obvious, and much of the time, you can only really demonstrate a pattern that may or may not fit, the pattern of shill bidding. I agree with you that Ebay have the power, but not the willingness to police it but as you know, that would entail verification of all sellers and it would put a stop to any shilling ID's being invented for that purpose only.
They could limit members to a buyer/seller/posting ID only, unless that member applies for more than one ID and states their reasons....YES, they could do a lot to clean up fraud but as a precedent study concluded in 2006, they have no incentive to do so, because they make a profit out of the various illegal antics sellers get up to. (Not talking about all sellers OK? in fact I'd say it's a minority, not the majority).
Verification would also automatically provide consumers with redress against unscrupulous sellers, and blatant rip off sellers, who sign up, rip off hundreds of people and then disappear....only to surface again under yet another anonymous unverified ebay ID. (See Qld online auction fraud stats for 2007).
So.....I agree with your assertion that Ebay could do a lot to mitigate proactively, but they don't even give a toss about reactive mitigation do they? in other words, even when they are aware of it, they still don't do anything to prevent or reduce fraud on ebay.
I have to admit...this particular debate is a complicated subject...and many here have never actually used Best Offer, so it's hard to follow the debate. Perhaps explain some of these things, first and then hypothesize further? e.g. What is best offer and how does it work? (for the numpties). Also, is there any studies on 'Auction Behaviour' or Shill Bidding in the traditional Auction marketplace that might set a baseline for further discussion?
In the meantime people, is there any real need for name calling ?