13 Aug
1998
13 Aug
'98
9:30 a.m.
But did she actually buy it? She placed her bid 6 mins
before the
close of the auction when the high bid was only $3000. Right at
the end of the action, someone else placed a $12000 bid forcing
her bid to $12100 and the reserve still hadn't been met!
In casinos it is a common practice to have employees sit at card tables
and play conservatively to fill out the card table till enough regular
players are seated. This is so the games (usually poker) can continue
if there aren't enough real players to make it interesting. This is a
legal practice (here in Nevada) but their playing is limited and they
must leave the table as soon as enough players are there.
They are called "shills".
There is also a type of shill in auctions. They are usually friends of
the auctioneer and are briefed beforehand to make a minimum bid on
certain items, to ensure the item does not go for too low a price. The
auctioneer doesn't sell to the shill, just puts it back for another day.
In this case the legality is dubious. Caveat Emptor, it appears shills
are at work on E-bay (I'm shocked, shocked to discover price rigging!)
Jack Peacock