... such bids, Peter. Furthermore, as Jim Kruse mentioned in his post, it would be impossible for him to tell if they were occurring. And, the auction format, which permits seller "protection bids" [funny how David Whalen was blasted for saying he used "protection bids" on eBay], and does not allow for either reserves or minimum bids, certainly encourages third party shill bidding to protect a seller's investment.

In any event, seems to me that if the rules don't prohibit shill bidding, then it's permissible. At least, I wouldn't want to be the lawyer who has to convince a judge or jury that it's not allowed when the rules don't prohibit it.

----- jim o\-S