Edison Standard 109 Bids?

[syncopeter]

That would be shill bidding, which is punishable in most countries.

[brianu]

this has been discussed a lot in the past, the ethics behind it. but the laws and rules concerning "shill bidding," at least in the US, really vary from state to state, and a given auction can even impose stricter rules than the laws of the state in which it's located. some impose none at all. and definitions vary just as much, in some cases that it only applies where the owner is bidding on his things, in others that it also includes third parties bidding on the owner's behalf.

regardless, in a lot of ways, it's really just another means of enforcing a reserve price, even if somewhat deceptively.

but on ebay, I can't imagine there's any cost of doing this if someone the seller knows ends up as the high bidder, then the sale can just be cancelled by mutual agreement to leave no one facing any fees. if you do suspect someone of doing this, however, you can report it to ebay - there's a link on each listing to do so. ebay then, I believe, looks at the contact information for the bidders and compares it to that of the sellers for similarities - similar last names, similar locations or addresses. as a mere user, though, it's become harder to tell, as the site no longer reveals bidders' id's (essentially to limit the communication between buyers and sellers that might facilitate off-ebay transactions to circumvent ebay's cut... which I can appreciate, but the accompanying complications of that, how it actually encourages more duplicitous activity even though ebay justifies the practice based on its attempts to prevent that, seems really counterproductive - ebay's middle name, if it had a last name).