I received an email tonight asking me why I haven't expressed an opinion on a thread that has already been beaten to death. For those reading this who don't know me I've been an auctioneer for 12 years(mostly automobiles) and I've called the club auction from day one. How do I feel about shill bidding? In my opinion its dishonest. Does it happen a lot? Yes, In almost every kind of auction in existance. Can it be prevented? Yes, to an extent. In a small closed sale like ours I have a list of consigners in front of me, although I don't know everyone, after seven years I know who most of the sellers are. That brings me to a point, I think we might have a misunderstanding on the rules for the club auction. When we went to a no reserve sale we decided to allow the consigner ONE protection bid. It is not that hard to tell the difference between a shill bid and a protection bid and this rule is what I try to enforce. A third party shill is a lot harder to spot and control. On the reserve vs non reserve issue, it makes no difference to me. The pros and cons are obvious and I do what the club askes me. The shill bidding is a different matter, I have no desire to be part of any auction that encourages and allows shill bidding. Jim Kruse