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...." if a friend of mine is bidding on an item, I won't. And if I am bid against by a friend, it always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. ... Aaron Peacock.
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Your "bad taste in my mouth" response surprises me somewhat Aaron. Bidding is competitive. Friends traditionally compete against friends. If you are playing shortstop on the opposing team with bases loaded, would you feel obligated to deliberately commit an error and let your friend's ground ball dribble through your legs to win the game just to make him and/or you to feel good???

I think not.

Isn't the purpose of an auction to sell to the highest bidder and not to my best friend? I think if you were the consignor; your thoughts might be considerably different and you might never consider putting up a valuable chip for bidding again.