Archie:

If you see something on sale that you would have paid full price for, do you pay the full price anyway? Of course not. If the store asked if you would mind paying the full price without a valid reason, you should probably refuse. Why? Because the product was available for a lower price, even though you were willing to pay a higher price. similarly, if a bidder can get something cheaply and the seller uses a shill to extract extra dollars, it's dishonest. In my opinion, the buyer is being screwed by the seller's dishonesty even though the buyer was willing to pay a higher price. Even though the final price is acceptable, it is not the price the buyer could have or should have paid in this instance. It seems clear to me.

JMHO.

Michael Siskin