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Posted By: barrysloate

Josh- you make valid points and I again think it is a matter of intent. There may not be empirical evidence to prove a group may keep the price of a lot down, and I agree it may in fact have no effect. However, let's say a group of caramel cards sells for 10K and everyone feels that is a fair price. But what if you knew that one of the members of the group would have gladly topped it and gone to 11K, but since he joined the group never had to execute the next bid. It would be an imperceptible difference if you were just checking the prices realized after the auction.

I do agree that most groups form simply because each member only needs a few cards. And that is the right reason to do it. And with regard to using snipe services to get the best possible price, there is no ethical issue at all. That is merely a resource available to all bidders equally.