Rick, I think the reality is that once people consign something to you, they can then bid on it via themselves (or if you actually monitor that) via proxy.

Now at least on ebay people can semi-see who is bidding, analyze patterns, and try and sniff out the shills.

The reason why AHs offebay don't allow any transparency is because this same thing would happen, people would see some funny business and then call it out.

I submit that it's actually a good thing that people are as vigilante as they are with your auctions, and frankly I wish ebay would have FULL transparency like they used to.

The way things are now, I think it's up to the masses to police auctions they are interested in and to speak out if something seems off. Rick can't do that himself, and I don't think it's fair to expect that he does.

Furthermore, I think it's commendable that Rick takes the time to actually post on these forums and react to the concerns of people. That's more than many other big time sellers do, and I think it speaks volumes to his credibility and willingness to keep things as clean as he can.