[npa589]

I don't even think one can produce a fact-based argument saying that the shill bids did not influence the final price. For example, what if both competing buyers had not seen any other competition other than themselves? Isn't it possible that they may have both entered a lower snipe? Also, though unlikely, there is a possibility that any specific buyer could include a filter in their search that does not include items below a certain price threshold. The shill bids revealed more of what the "3rd place" buyer was willing to pay, so obviously this added an element of demand that didn't in fact exist. All of these perspectives, however, are more for conversation than for their connection to the fact that it is illegal. Perhaps Joe is avoiding more of the illegality of it by consigning to Probstein!