Quote:
Originally Posted by 4815162342
In recent weeks, we have been introduced to two new hobby terms: “offensive shill-bidding” and “defensive shill-bidding.” This morning a third new term entered the hobby lexicon: “self-bidding.” I am having a difficult time keeping up.
Beginning at 7:00 -
“… Here’s the catch, all shill bidding is wrong. But is all self-bidding wrong? Is all self-bidding illegal? And the answer to that, Geoff, is no. …”
https://youtu.be/RwwJMMYEWJk?si=jK1R9roZz4cbZLbx |
I didn't have the knee jerk on this video (before reading the comments at least) that many did, because I have just more or less always assumed this is how the big AH's work. It's a huge old boys club, and the rules decades ago were if possible even more lax than they are now. Not that I generally can afford much that usually appears in auctions like that, another reason I've never really tried them out is my perhaps my high level assumption of how things work and situations I don't want to get into.
I think Dr. Beckett perhaps lacked some self-awareness of how his comments would be perceived. Yes, clearly shill bidding is wrong / illegal - but it's also something that is related as he said (correctly) to intent, and in any event it's usually pretty difficult to prove in a criminal proceeding. At least to my understanding.
The other guy came off much worse to me, especially the comment about shill bidding just so some other "idiot" wouldn't get a deal on something. That was painful. And the other thought that was running through my head was along the lines of "just because you were stupid enough to post publicly about bidding on your own items doesn't necessarily mean that you lacked intent." Clearly if he were formally accused of something based on that one incident (he won't be) - then intent would still have to be investigated.
I'm sure both will be given a pass (to be clear, I don't think Beckett did anything wrong) in the world we live in today where conflicts of interest are routinely glossed over, and especially in a hobby that loves money at the end of the day over all else.