Query: if I end up in jail, will the BB people help bail me out?

Seriously, I have often wondered if it was illegal (restraint of trade or whatever) for a group to agree to have one person bid for the group. Any lawyers around? I’d appreciate serious comments. I don’t need quips and jokes. (Any bets?)

I once read long ago in a book about the antique business that a group of, say, four rug merchants would get together to form their own auction bidding group. One person --the “group bidder”-- would bid for the group. Let us say that with active, vigorous bidding, a rug should go for $1000 at such an auction. Due to the group bidding, let us say that the group “wins” it for $700. After the auction the group of four would conduct their own auction for the rug. Say it went for $900 at this post-auction auction. The winner of this second auction, in effect, pays the group bidder the $900 for the rug, and the group bidder pays each of the four members (including himself) $50!

If I remember correctly, the group members were eventually arrested.

Any lessons here pertinent to eBay? In the case here of the Olympic chips, I am not conspiring with anyone, so the above questions are just theoretical.