[drcy]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Shill bidding is not okay. There is my disclaimer.

I know this is unpopular to say, but when I see an item on ebay, I decide what I will pay for it, and that is my limit. Whether I'm bidding against someone who, in their heart, wants to win it, or someone who doesn't, really makes not much difference. Of course I don't want a shiller bidding me up, but I'm not going to let him push me past my self imposed limit.

Now, if someone shilled me up to my max, placing a bid above mine, then cancelling that bid, then I would complain to ebay and not pay for the item on principle. That is something different than shill bidding.

I haven't seen anyone discuss the risk to the shill bidder. Don't some of these guys win stuff frequently enough to make it too risky for them? I mean, I hope that happens because it might tend to discourage the practice.

Making shillers pay for what they win is important and preventative. In fact, in a sense that makes them real bidders. Alas, not all auctioneers make them pay.