We’ve had more than a few threads discussing shill bidding in the domain business.
https://www.namepros.com/threads/th...-unite-and-say-no-to-shady-practices.1055604/
https://www.namepros.com/threads/na...ing-update-and-platform-improvements.1031500/
https://www.namepros.com/threads/giant-shill-bidding-operation-at-namejet-exposed.1013479/
https://www.namepros.com/threads/le...s-idea-of-owners-bidding-in-auctions.1030988/
Compare to how the government finally cracked open a similar scam involving baseball card auctions. One lead that led to enforcement action was when someone who had sold his cards to the crooked auction house noticed that many of his cards sold at auction for suspiciously close to the price he had sold them for - as if shill bidding were ensuring that nothing ever sold at a loss.
https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/american-greed-reports-mastro-auctions-saga-hobby/
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/08/...on-house-defrauds-memorabilia-collectors.html
One thing that led to Bill Mastro's demise and prosecution was that he believed that while shill bidding might be unethical, it was not illegal. Unfortunately for him, he was wrong.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i...ill-mastro-20-months-prison-article-1.2332680
Mastro admitted in a plea agreement that the shill-bidding scheme spanned from 2002 to 2009. The scam involved submitting phony bids to artificially drive up the price of online and live auctions. Mastro admitted that he or one of several colleagues would place the shill bids as needed to inflate the price and to protect the interests of consignors and sellers – at the expense of unwitting bidders. If the shill bids ever won the item being auctioned, Mastro or his colleagues would cancel the sale.
The end result of this ongoing shill bidding, in thousands of auctions - was that baseball card end prices were artificially inflated about 25%, across the board, for innocent buyers who ended up paying more for these cards than they would have if the auctions had been conducted honestly.
https://www.namepros.com/threads/th...-unite-and-say-no-to-shady-practices.1055604/
https://www.namepros.com/threads/na...ing-update-and-platform-improvements.1031500/
https://www.namepros.com/threads/giant-shill-bidding-operation-at-namejet-exposed.1013479/
https://www.namepros.com/threads/le...s-idea-of-owners-bidding-in-auctions.1030988/
Compare to how the government finally cracked open a similar scam involving baseball card auctions. One lead that led to enforcement action was when someone who had sold his cards to the crooked auction house noticed that many of his cards sold at auction for suspiciously close to the price he had sold them for - as if shill bidding were ensuring that nothing ever sold at a loss.
https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/american-greed-reports-mastro-auctions-saga-hobby/
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/08/...on-house-defrauds-memorabilia-collectors.html
One thing that led to Bill Mastro's demise and prosecution was that he believed that while shill bidding might be unethical, it was not illegal. Unfortunately for him, he was wrong.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i...ill-mastro-20-months-prison-article-1.2332680
Mastro admitted in a plea agreement that the shill-bidding scheme spanned from 2002 to 2009. The scam involved submitting phony bids to artificially drive up the price of online and live auctions. Mastro admitted that he or one of several colleagues would place the shill bids as needed to inflate the price and to protect the interests of consignors and sellers – at the expense of unwitting bidders. If the shill bids ever won the item being auctioned, Mastro or his colleagues would cancel the sale.
The end result of this ongoing shill bidding, in thousands of auctions - was that baseball card end prices were artificially inflated about 25%, across the board, for innocent buyers who ended up paying more for these cards than they would have if the auctions had been conducted honestly.
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