I actually never thought about the up sides. I lost several bikes to boxdogbikes in NC back when they listed names, and learned he/she would go higher than I would on bikes that were his/her size. However, I also learned that when folks knew I was bidding on an Ironman, the price would jump, and almost always by a bidder who rarely bought anything.

I don't mind if they hid names, and all that stuff, but I'd like to know if, for example, "b***n" actually completed a transaction. It's my guess that I've bid against a bunch if shill bidders, and the shill bidders, of course, can win and simply not pay.

I've lost a few bikes in auctions, against a repeated bidder, only to get a 2nd chance offer when it fell through. I bought one item, got it and realized it was probably shill bid. When, from the same seller, I lost one, and a 2nd chance offer came in, I went back to the bid history. It was always me against one other bidder. I refused the 2nd chance offer, made an offer lower than the shill bids, and got the item 2 out of 3 times.

Now, I'm like the above poster. I decide what I want to pay, bid it, forget it.

If I get a 2nd chance offer, I review the bid history, and if it's just me and another bidder, I assume that was the shill, make an offer lower than the shill. Chances are if I don't get it, it gets relisted.