It's not that simple to simply refrain from leaving a max bid. In the case of many whales/recognized collectors, certain auctions houses simply know that these collectors have a way to go before they have reached their max. In some cases, these auction houses have over the years been asked to be on the lookout for certain cards/memorabilia items in the hopes of doing a private transaction. In other cases, these auction houses simply know the collecting habits of their well-healed collectors so well that they know with a high degree of confidence what these collectors will spend. So when such an item finally should appear in an auction, all the auction house needs to do is call up a friend or two (or maybe a silent minority owner of the auction house), "suggest" that this is a good investment item up to a certain level (just below the level the auction house knows that the whale/recognized collector will bid), and bingo, the item will almost always reach that stratospheric level. I have reason to believe the FBI has been tipped off to this practice, as well as the risk that certain auction houses will out of desperation seek ways to alter their bidding records in ways undetectable to law enforcement. It is my understanding the FBI has tremendous expertise/experience in computer-record-alteration, and feels highly qualified to detect it should it occur.
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