John; While I dislike shill bidders as much as everyone else ... but the last sentence in your post leaves me somewhat befuddled.

"...Just bumms me out because now I wonder how much EXTRA I have paid for the chips I have bought in the past."... John Reynolds

My question is; I don't know whether a shill bidder was involved in the paticular item you won ... but how could you wind up paying more than you were willing to pay ... whether a shill bidder was involved in the process or not? When the bid gets higher than the price you are willing to pay ... simply drop out of the bidding war.