$500 Oiler?

[ChipS]

The $510 Inland oiler is back WW2 US Inland II M1 M1A1 Paratrooper Carbine Early Oiler Circa 1942 RARE | eBay at a bargain basement price of $23.50 (USD). A steal - bid early and bid often!!!

[Bill Hollinger]

WW2 US INLAND II M1 M1A1 Paratrooper Carbine Early Oiler Circa 1942 Rare! | eBay

It is the SAME oiler even down to the little ding on the underside. I smell sheee-nan-igins!

[USGI]

Starting to see some of the same bidders this time around - at least up to a reasonable price. It will be interesting to see if either one of those two high bidders comes back. - Bob

[Patrick Chadwick]

I cannot access the auction from here, because of some ridiculous eBay censorship mechanism. Perhaps one of you would be kind enough to let me know how this nonsense is progressing?

Anyway, working blind, my guess that the previous - apparently crazy - bidders will not reappear. There is a technique which is known from the antiques/fleamarket trade, hon y soit qui mal y pense:

Let us say you sell teapots at fleamarkets. Worth, say, 5 each. You mark them at various prices from 10-20. But you pick one and mark it at 80. A potential buyer comes and asks "why is that one so expensive?" You explain that it is an extremely rare teapot by the little-known Fred Wedgewood. If the buyer actually wishes to purchase it, you regretfully inform him that a collector from the other end of the world has already reserved it and placed a deposit. (Note: not actually irrevocably sold - if the same buyer spots the star a couple of months later, you can explain that the collector dropped dead and so the sale did not go through)
This all confirms your expert knowledge and helps to persuade the buyer that the other goods are sensibly priced. After that, the other (overpriced) stuff seems favorable by comparison, so you sell him a 5 dollar teapot for 15 and everybody is happy.

Note that the "star" attraction must not be sold, as this could lead to serious trouble when the buyer finds out that you have sold him a fairy tale. It is there to make the other stuff seem favorably priced. And you do not tell any fairy stories about the goods that you actually sell.

It seems to me that a similar method could arise with online auctions. It appears that some people have multiple online identities, making it much easier for a seller to bid against himself, using various aliases. The "star" is bid up to a fancy level with no intention of selling it! Other items are then offered in the expectation that bidders will think "OMG, one of those went last week for 599, if I can get it for only 99 that's a real bargain!"

But to offer the supposedly already-sold "star" again would be naive, as it exposes the setup to anyone who is sharp-eyed enough to identify it.

[painter777]

See no feedback from the first 'SALE'

WW2 US Inland II M1 M1A1 Paratrooper Carbine Early Oiler Circa 1942 RARE | eBay

Here's the same II oiler and current price of $56.00
Current lead bidder had no transactions before bidding on this. Now showing 1 transaction.

WW2 US Inland II M1 M1A1 Paratrooper Carbine Early Oiler Circa 1942 RARE | eBay

CH-P777

[Patrick Chadwick]

It all seems to match up with my observations from the antiques scene. And in fact I seem to remember a film in which the technique of the hyped up pseudo-sale was used in the art world to create an inflated market for an imaginary painter.

An the old, old motto, from the days long before online auctions were invented, is:
Never, never buy at an auction unless you know enough about the subject to make a sober appraisal before you get into the bidding arena. Or else be prepared for an expensive learning process.

[USGI]

From current item description: **relisted due to non-paying buyer**

Could be that simple, but likely not the whole story. - Bob

[Bill Hollinger]

From current item description: **relisted due to non-paying buyer**

It could be the seller saw some of what has been written here and decided to add that.

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

Or the buyer

[painter777]

**relisted due to non-paying buyer**
Was not in the description when I posted the link yesterday.
Not sure how it could have been added, without showing the description was revised.

CH-P777

---------- Post added at 02:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:31 PM ----------

Hey Jim,
May be time for us to start listing extra slings..............

RARE WW2 US M1 Carbine Khaki C Tip Sling CA 1942 Winchester Rockola Inland Nice | eBay

CH-P777