Posted By:
warshawlaw We've often discussed the possibility of shill bidding driving up prices in major auctions. Robert Edwards says the following:
"We have long admired the inherent security provided by eBay with reference to the privacy of "Up To" or "Limit Bids." Robert Edward Auctions has gone to the trouble and considerable expense of commissioning the design of this application, for our bidders use, by Create Auction, Inc., a division of Collect Only, Inc., one of the world's leading independent auction software development and service providers. To emphasize the distinction between this Left Bid service and that provided by others, we have named this bidding option "Honest Auto Bid TM."
Bidders will now be able to place bids with a 100% certainty that absolutely no one in the world, except the bidder, will be privy to the limit of your bid, or even that you have placed an "Up To" bid on a given lot. Not our bid department. Not our telephone operators. No one - not even the President of Robert Edward Auctions. There will be no one to potentially reveal details about your bids or bidding limits. No one to potentially be tempted by conflicts, fraud, or poor judgment. Absolutely NO potential for leaks or improper handling of bidding information on the part of even a single auction house employee. Bidders can now enjoy the ability to bid with an absolute privacy and certainty that no one - unless you choose to tell someone - will know that you have placed a limit bid, or the maximum limit of your bid (should you decide to leave a bid limit greater than the next bidding increment.)
This application provides for bidders an option for security and privacy in the bidding process which, outside of an eBay "private format" auction, to the best of our knowledge, previously simply did not exist. We invite any and all bidders, members of the media, as well as other auction houses potentially interested in adopting these systems, to contact us to verify and receive a demonstration of the 100% guaranteed security of this significant, and in our opinion, revolutionary bidding system feature."
If this is true (and I have no reason to believe it isn't), this should become the standard for auctioneers.