Jim, This is the first time I have offered an opinion on this entire thread regarding the use of shills.

For people such as me, it really doesn't matter if a shill is used or not as I have not bought anything from any auction in quite a while and have no intention of doing so in the near future.

I have set a certain limit as to what I will pay for a chip under most circumstances which is as many people know is $7.00 for a $5.00 chip. ( $7.50 if I really MUST have it <g>.) Being that it is rare that chips sell for that low in an auction plus the fact that they then want upwords of many more dollars for inflated shipping cost, is the reason for my abstention.

When one adheres to ones principals or in this case limits, who cares if a shill is used or not.

But back to your basic question of whether I agree to the use of shills, I don't think it is proper because it doesn't represent the true value of the item. Although, again, if one sticks to his guns and doesn't get caught up in the hype, no one is harmed.