It is exactly this latest search that has brought to my attention a few peculiar auctions. I’m not talking about ancient heirlooms, works of abstract art, or grossly overpriced political souvenirs. No, these auctions are suspect of some kind of shady business tactic, the only problem I have is that I can’t tell whether it is from a company or a few individuals.

Take a look at eBay auction 130352382036, which is for a slightly used 2nd generation iPod touch. It looks like your typical used iPod touch: the headphones and charger (charging cable, actually, it’s just USB) are missing, but there are some silicone cases included, since the seller won’t be needing them anymore. Oh, and free shipping, that’s a nice selling point. Totally worth $1009 at the end of the auction.

WHAT?! $1009? The seller doesn’t even have any feedback rating, he/she’s never done any business on eBay before! Let’s get real, folks: This item was $229 when it was new, and it’s current equivalent is $199 new. How on earth is this worth 5x the current price? Let me see… no, it’s not laced with crack (to our knowledge) and it doesn’t have have any charitable recognition.

Oh, that’s right, maybe it was just a bad bid and it was all a mistake. Let’s go check the bid history, that’ll explain everything! Uh oh, the person originally bid $900, and someone overbid them by $990, so they had to outbid them again. Now this is just weird.

Oh, and before we start trying to rationalize this as some kind of fluke, let’s not forget auction 180444077200 which ended only twenty-four minutes earlier. Again this one sold for the price of $1009. And the seller has no prior feedback, and wouldn’t you know it, the same two bidders bid the same highest three bids. Notice a pattern?

I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but this just irked me. How is that two auctions from unknown sellers manage to attract the same two bidders to place bids well over any reasonable amount for used and outdated gadgets? It’s all rather suspicious.

Crazy conspiracy time! 1. These auctions actually were for crack cocaine/mail-order brides/foreign slaves/etc. Illegal goods being paid off in the form of multiple accounts and auctions. (That one is rather crazy, but I’ve seen crazy stuff in my life.) 2. Someone is trying to raise the average selling price of iPod touches. It could be Apple, or an agent of Apple, or some crazy Apple fanboy. The significance is that eBay has a tool to rate the average price an item based on previous auctions’ ending bids. At least two auctions for 8 GB iPod touches at $1009 certainly could raise that average, even if only by a few cents overall.

Who knows? I’m just seriously concerned and interested to know what these auctions were really for. I hope this doesn’t become a big trend on the site; it’s already hard enough to find any model for a decent price, I’d hate to only see prices higher than they are new.