Eskimo, he got me interested so I clicked on the ME link he was talking about and then on her link. On that page it's got her picture and her name is "Gina Marie Rush".

So I went back to the auction and clicked the link for the seller. On that page it states "My name is Michael Rush". So I went back to the girls link (http://luvurskin.myarbonne.com/) and on the My Arbornne Testimony page I found a picture of her baby in front of, you guessed it, Silver Star Imports.


I think Kamil may be on to something. Still could be a conisidence, but the odds just went way down.

Nice catch then, Kamil. We'll have to follow the auction to see if feedback is exchanged at the conclusion. Maybe drop Gina Marie an email to ask if the transaction went smoothly.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

I was going to bid on a car once and sent out emails to some of the previous auction winners of the seller asking for feedback. One sent me back a reply using the same e-mail address as the Seller. I'm glad I caught that before bidding on the car.

I agree, that's a lot less thin! That someone in the same town could make a legitimate bid, I can believe easily. That someone in the same town, with the same last name, and with some visible connection to the dealership could make a legitimate bid, well, when I try to believe that, my wiring starts smoking.

I've always considered it likely that at least some shill bidding took place on eBay, but figured that most of it wouldn't be easily noticeable. In this case, with the additional information you point out here, I'm having a hard time imagining how it couldn't look suspicious. In line with my previous post, I'll say this: if it is shill bidding, then it's stupid shill bidding. If one were doing any serious amount of business on eBay, how would it be worth the risk? Even if one had a local relative who was interested in buying the car, wouldn't one discourage them from bidding (or bounce their bid) simply to avoid even the appearance of something shady?

It's the sort of thing that one might wish to report to eBay. Maybe not even a bad idea to capture screenshots of the relevant web pages in case they abruptly and mysteriously change...

(I'm not on a witch hunt here, but there's a certain lack of permanence to the web that can be disturbing - sort of like the old Mission Impossible thing where someone goes back to find an office they visited, and it just isn't there.)

The car still looks real presentable to me. If it were some one elses money I'd say spend it. I have to buy cars for under $300 these days. You know being Married With Children and all.

Just call me "Al"

__________________
1984 280SEL, 62,000 miles
Euro model in the USA
1983 300D (Totaled out 10/2004)
New Factory Mint Green paint
Palomino int
1982 240D (Steak dinner for two)

:p
Local Dr. offered me $3600 for the car about 2 weeks after I bought the car. Every once in a while I wish I had done the deal, but then I drive the car and get this big s**t eating grin on my face.

__________________
'10 Chrysler T&C Stow-N-Go White. Grandpa's ride.

'13 Chrysler 200 Touring Candy Red. Grandma's ride.

Age and cunning will always over come youth and vigor.

I considered bidding on this car, but not now. It just doesn't smell right that I'd be bidding against the current owner (or the current owner's wife).

Definitely something fishy going on here. I hope she "wins" and they get stuck with the costs of listing the car in the first place.

- Patrick

We can only hope.

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Well I am reporting it if nobody else is. And it has been reported

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

It certainly suspicious, but you would think if one were to shill bid they would be less obvious about it.

Notice that on her bio pages in the Arbonne site she mentions that her husband's name is Calvin, who was a night manager at a hotel. It may be that Michael Rush is a brother-in-law who has told her what a great car this is, but to stay Kosher with Silver star she must bid on it against everyone else.

Just trying to give the benefit of the doubt. If I were to shill bid I would stop once some other sucker was the high bidder

Kevin

Judging by the age and married name of the people in question and the obvious buisness connection , I'd guess that she is most likely a daughter in law.

-----------Robert

Good observation. Michael Rush apparently founded Silver Star Imports 18 years ago, sounds like a Father-in-law.

Kevin

My car was listed on ebay in Milford and I live right down the street from the dealer that had it listed when I bid on it. So I would not say that a bid from the same town is a shill bid. But this action smells funny, I would stay away.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I knew I was right, eventhough nobody believed me.

Have a nice day.

__________________
Audi TT