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Collecting ABU 101

Collecting
General details of the www.realsreels.com Collection
Specific details of items in my Collection
Other ABU Collections
Good Collecting Advice to follow, if you use Auction sites
It does not matter how much a person is willing to pay
for the item of their dreams on Auction sites,
if the seller
uses a shill bidding account (either one of their own or
that of a mate) to raise the price, then an offence has been
committed.
The scam can be done several ways
1....the mate bids high enough to
win, which exposes the under-bidders' maximum bids. The seller
can then go down the list offering the lure either as a private
sale or a "super quick Buy-it-Now on eBay"
If you are ever offered this kind of deal and you want to go
along with the mongrel then you should never pay your maximum
bid. You should only pay one bid above the bloke below you on
the list.
2...You win the auction but you notice that an apparently
dim-witted bidder (usually with zero feedback,
maybe one or two at most and then only from this same seller)
has had multiple little nibbling bids to push you to where the
seller is happy.
3...Most obvious scam is where the nibbling bidder actually gets
ahead of you and then withdraws their
winning bid saying they had made a mistake. You should never pay
the mongrel seller under this scenario. They may threaten you
with negative feedback but I doubt they would have the guts to
do it.
There is a lot of information still available on auction sites
even with the crappy secret bidder rules. The feedback system
and following the seller's completed items over some time can be
quite useful.
The over all point is to be wary, (buyer beware!) not
every seller is a "good guy",
however,
One can make wonderful lasting friendships with "good guys"
who would never have crossed your path.
I have already visits from new friends in Europe who have
enjoyed fishing here and with whom one day I will fish in
Europe!
All of this said, it is quite remarkable what one can accumulate with
persistence, patience and some good luck, not to mention a fund
to support ones passions! This is most especially so, for those
of us who live in rural areas without access to other
means of finding the objects of their desires, like garage
sales!