"Wm. Sanderson-Cassidy"  wrote....
> I have noticed this happens in the eBay tool auctions quite a bit,... you 
> put in a $75.00 dollar bid.... The minute you bid, an identity with no 
> stars or numbers next to his handle bids you straight up to your maximum, 
> in increments, and then disappears..... I have been to enough auctions 
> (actual and virtual) to be able to distinguish a legitimate bidder from a 
> shill bidder (they exist in both venues).... Everybody goes to auctions 
> believing they are going to steal something, not realizing the opposite is 
> the case. By the time something reaches auction, appraisals have already 
> been done and assessments have already been made. It is ridiculous to 
> think you are going to get a bargain. The auction gives you a shot at 
> immediate possession...nothing more, nothing less.
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    Well maybe someone will explain it to me but I don't see how anybody , 
the seller, a shill, or a legitmate bidder can tell on an ebay  auction what 
another bidders high bid is unless they bid past it.Sure maybe somebody 
might bid up to your high bid by chance but how do they really know that 
your high bid was $75 ....and not $100 or more? I have many times at live 
auctions paid the exact amount that I was willing to pay to and I don't 
think the consigners shills are reading my mind to know what it was....esp. 
since I line my hat with Tinfoil to prevent them from doing so!....I am sure 
shill bidding happens but I would sure like to hear how somebody "Knows" it 
is happening.I have a friend down in Fla. who bid on alot of my Ebay 
auctions because he had a Colt pistol I wanted and he took the price of the 
ebay tools off the pistols price.Worked out good for us both and I don't 
think it was unethical at all .After I got the Colt he kept bidding on my 
stuff ,[and paying  cash of course when he won] almost exclusivly because he 
knew and trusted me. My point is that i am sure it looked "Funny" to see 
this one bidder with feedback only from me bidding just on my auctions but 
of course it was legitment and he wasn't a shill.
   Disapointed to hear that it is "ridiculous to think you are going to get 
a bargin" at an auction....Gee I was a thinking  I did pretty good today 
getting that matching set of  6 Stanley 160 chisels with most still having 
the decals and never used for $25 the set ....oh well,  I had  already sort 
of figured I paid to much at $10 for that little open handle English 
dovetail saw though.....Todd 

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