OK, one other auction house that does something similar is Heritage. The link to the thread where this was discussed is here:
Link
According to that thread, Heritage states that what they do is "placing house bids" and that this is distinct from shilling. From that thread, they state:
"1) Placing house bids in one’s own auction. This is what Heritage does. We place bids on material at the price we would be willing to pay if someone came up to our table at a card show wanting to sell. This is done a week before the auction closes, long before the competitive final bidding has even begun. We bid in our competitors’ auctions as well. We win very little because we only bid wholesale prices. "
I do not want to misquote or take Jonathan's (from Heritage) statement out of context, so please see the link about for his complete statement on Heritage's policy. It is Post #9 in that thread and further clarified in Post #44.
I do not know if what Huggins and Scott does is the same or similar. However, I did want to point out that what they do is not unique. There are many other auction houses that also have an online store. I do not know what their policy is on bidding on lots in their auction. I think REA is the only auction house with really impeccable ethical standards, but I'm not an expert in this area. calvindog would know much better than I do here.