I bought lamps and noticed that all the auctions start at $.01 end at about $150. It is rigged to this price for the seller why?

[banoolnsw]

The other items for auction appear to have the same result of a rigged minimum auction price. Does the seller bid themselves and if the price does not exceed  the return they want they just re list it? I believe this is corrupt and not legal. The names of the bidders are kept confidential why ? to cover up this fact maybe   The other auctions i have participated in show the bidders partial names and are still confidential but i can see if one bidder is doing the lot or not. I would like answers please?

[lyndal1838 · Accepted solution]

If the lamps are being sold regularly and the seller knows they will go for around $150 then it makes sense to set a low starting price.

A lot of sellers who have many of the same item will have a good idea of the market price and will start the item very low. Sometimes you can get a terrific bargain, other times you will pay much the same price as the seller is asking as a BIN listing.

It is possible that the seller is shill bidding, but if it is the lamps are going for roughly the same price every time then it is unlikely.