[griffon512]

Originally Posted by Mark17

To me there is a big difference between a shill bidder and a bidder who reneges (retracts - basically same thing.)

A shill bidder is just another person you have to bid against if you want to win an item. If the bidding gets too high, drop out. If the shill bidder tries to push your bid up further but you decide not to do so, the joke, and expenses, are on him.

Someone who bids and reneges is either a shill bidder who is not willing to pay the consequences of failing to push your bid higher, or he does so in order to gain private information - namely, what the max bid is. In the first scenario you're bidding against a ghost who is trying to maximize what you will pay, while running no risk of expense himself, and in the other, he is basically making your max bid public information.

So ask yourself, when you place a max bid, would it bother you if the AH knew what it was? Would it bother you if everyone seriously watching that item knew what it was?

Somebody wants to shill bid me I don't care, as long as he/she pays when I don't take the bait. People who retract (renege) on their bids are cheating and it is a problem.

great points, thanks for your input