[drcy]

Logically speaking (In response to "But I won a lot below my maximum bid"):

I never understand why people think an auction house that is shilling and believe that their shilling could be illegal would shill to the max bid all lots. That would be the easiest way to arouse suspicious and get caught. Shilling is an covert operation, and they would never (except on eBay, home to many idiots) be so obvious and blatant to bid to the max bid everything.

I mean, if someone wins 20 lots over two auctions and all 20 lots are won at his exact maximum bid, he'll come straight to Net54 or PSA boards and complain loudly. If instead 6 of the lots are won below his maximum bids, he'll post in a thread "I don't believe that auction house shills, because I've won some lots below my maximum." And he may have been shilled in both scenarios. It's just that the first scenario involved an auction house that was really stupid.

Also, and as often been said, shilling is likely often from consignors and their helpers who probably have no knowledge about the maximum bids.

In fact, I would guess some shilling comes from neither the auction houses or consignors, but collectors who want to keep the 'market value' for cards they own at a good price.

The best way to counter shilling on a personal level is to regularly sell items so you know what the items are really worth when you go to bid (i.e. what you can sell them for) and not rely on auction prices and all that. All that matters resale-wise is what you can sell an item for. If you sold a card twice for $15 on eBay, you won't be so ignorant to bid $120 for one in auction. And regular sellers are the ones who know when something in auction is a good value, or sometimes even a steal.