Posted By:
MikeSchmidtLeon:
I would be interested to hear any more details that you can provide about this individual that has caused you so many problems. That he is simply a board member in my mind doesn't enable any sort of "please let's talk before bidding each other up policy". Is this a person with whom you have regularly communicated? Do you two share stories/make trades/find cards for one another? I would just like to hear more about the nature and background of the relationship that you have with this problem person.
Though there are many people with whom I chat, and many boards on which I stay, I would say that there are only about a dozen or so individuals with whom I would feel comfortable to regularly communicate and "help" each other out on auctions through non-bids, etc.
From a devil's advocate perspective, when there are too many bidders involved in a "I'm not going to bid, so you can win at a lower price" scheme, I do not find the end effects that much different from shill bidding by the dealer's friends to raise the final hammer price. Helping out friends pick up key materials in certain cases seems fine, but conspiring to keep prices artificially low on a continued basis doesn't seem entirely fair.
Sorry for the rambling, but I am hesitant to take any sides in this matter without really knowing more about the relationship you have with this other individual.