[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

I just go into auctions expecting to be shilled. It's surely a reflection of the sad and pathetic, scummy side of the industry, isn't it? Yet it saves me a lot of grief and helps me sleep better instead of staying up until 2:00 a.m. to try to save a few bucks. While I don't condone such garbage, I needed a healthier approach to bidding. Therefore, I just plug in what would have been my max "buy" price if I was making an offer to somebody for the same item(s). Then, I go to bed. If I find I've been blown out of the water upon waking up the next morning, so be it. If I discover that I'm always paying my max bid with the same auction house, it's pretty easy to discern who the scumbags are. At least the really greedy and dumb ones who can't leave a bid increment on the table to appear like they're not always shilling.

But, to be fair, I do not feel that every auction house does this. It's been proven to me by my own bidding. Now, for those of you not fully versed in such matters, you can have some fun reading the fine print in some auction catalogs. There are at least a couple of very major players in the auction industry who specifically state that they condone in-house bidding during their auctions! Yep. Really. As long as they say so in all the tiny lettering, I guess that's apparently fine and dandy.