Two more points that I want to mention:
1. The perception that if I rarely bid on any AH items and/or rarely consign any items to an AH and/or rarely bid on any eBay auctions, then shill bidding really does not affect me. Absolutely incorrect, the market price manipulation caused by shill bidding affects everyone who buys and sells sports cards.
2. The perception that only the 5, 6 and 7 figure items would be involved in shill bidding is also incorrect. As stated in the AH terms and conditions, if the consignor of a $9K card wants to ensure that he doesn’t lose a good chunk of their investment, they can either ask the AH to bid on their item up to a certain amount or, if not agreeable to the AH, they can then bid themselves or have someone else bid on it. There is no cutoff at any monetary level in the AH terms and conditions so no reason that every AH consignor can’t have the same “privileges” as the most affluent consignors. The rules are no different for those with a lot of money and a lot of high end cards than they are for everyone else. We all have our own inner circle of friends that can look out for each other and protect our investment.
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