Top 4 Tips to Spot Suspicious Bidders on AuctionNinja

The holidays bring out the best bidders, and the worst. Keep an eye out for suspicious bidding activity and catch scam bidders before it becomes a problem for you and your business. 

For starters, remember that all fraud isn't the same. Some fraudulent bidders successfully purchase items, then dispute charges with their banks/card holders after receiving the goods. To read our article on Fighting Friendly Fraud, CLICK HERE.

Besides cases of friendly fraud, other bidders use stolen credit cards, which are inevitably declined, leaving sellers with cumbersome items at pickup. 

With that being said, how can sellers monitor bidding activity, and what should they look for? 

First of all, how do sellers monitor bidder activity? 

1. Go to auctions, then scroll to the sale you wish to monitor. 
2. Click on the red number of items to the right of the auction title. 
3. This will bring sellers to a list view of the auction inventory. 
4. Select the number of bids for any given lot, and sellers can see the bid history / active bids in real time.

What's considered suspicious activity? 

Sellers should keep an eye out for these four warning signs that they might have a fraudulent bidder: 

• Items that sell for far higher than their market value. When a sale exceeds seller expectations, it's a good thing! But when sellers notice a strangely high price point that simply doesn't make sense, they should be suspicious of that bidder. For example, if a gold coin worth $2,000 is at a $3,000 price point, it might be a good idea to call the bidder, or alert support.
  
  
• A bidder who is the high bidder on almost all items / a significant percentage of items in your sale. If a first-time customer is bidding on a significant number of lots in your auction, sellers should reach out to that individual and contact support if they still have doubts.
  
  
• If a bidder requests shipping to a different address. Sometimes this happens due to an unforeseen circumstance on the bidder's part. Sellers should try speaking with the bidder before alerting support.
  
  
• Bidder names that appear fake. Think Jane Doe, or names with initials like D Smith. 

Isn't the payment processor protecting sellers from fraudulent activity? 

Though protections are in place through both payment processor options for vendors, as well as through AuctionNinja, such activity is inevitable especially during high traffic seasons. 

CLICK HERE to read about Stripe.com's security system. 

CLICK HERE to read about Authorize.net's security system. 

What should sellers do if they notice suspicious bidder activity? 

Email juli@auctionninja.com and/or tanjanay@auctionninja.com

We will conduct an internal investigation. If we find suspicious behavior, sellers should make the bidder in question inactive. Making a bidder inactive will automatically pull that bidder's high bids from the seller's sale. AuctionNinja will also issue a site wide ban. 

If there is insufficient evidence, the seller ultimately decides whether or not that bidder should purchase items from their sale.

Please remember that all sales are made at the seller's discretion. If a bidder raises red flags, the sellers are responsible for operating in the best interest of their own business. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please email juli@auctionninja.com

Thank you. 

Written by:

Juli Dupont

November 18, 2022     Updated 01:06 PM

Juli is the customer success guru at AuctionNinja, specializing in helping sellers achieve maximum success on the platform. With a background in the estates and acquisitions department at AuctionNinja's parent company, BRG, Juli possesses a deep understanding of the challenges and dynamics of the auctioneering and estate selling industry. Her expertise makes her the go-to person for sellers navigating the ever-changing marketplace. Juli holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

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