[cashflyer]

Auctioneers can either choose to charge a flat fee, or can charge a percentage fee. Sometimes, they charge both. It sounds like this guy charged them $1k up front, but was expecting a percentage on the back end of the sale. It was in his best interest to get the bidding going.

That being said, it was a conflict of interests for him to place a bid. Normally, shill bidding involves a planted person in the crowd that will start up the bidding. Often, they not only start the bidding, but also work the crowd to get the bidding up to a higher level. They do this by reading the enthusiasm and incrementally raising the bid until enthusiasm starts to dwindle.

Unethical? Yes. Illegal? I don't know. It may be in certain areas, and auctioneers have to be licensed so there may also be a review board for this type behavior. Unfortunately, it is a rather common practice.

Shills sometimes are not the auctioneers people. Sometimes they are the property owners people. Again, they purpose is the same - to get the most interest and the most money.

Many eBayers have multiple accounts so that they can schill their auctions. This is one reason why researching seller history is important on ebay.