Common practice in big car auctions, especially big $$$ auctions. I catch that show 'chasing classic cars' on HD Whatever sometimes and he mentions it during the bidding that he doesn't think they have a 'real' bidder. It can be effective to a point, but if the seller doesn't want to let the item go for less than what the 'shill' is bidding, and they have a reserve in place and no other bidders, it makes sense to me. The auctioneer keeps calling out bids, as though two people are going against each other, until they're close to the reserve, and hope a real bidder gets interested enough and carries the torch to the finish line. Notice how they'll NEVER bid above the reserve, so if there's no real bidder, there's no sale. If NO ONE is bidding on an item in a face to face auction, it's awkward, and becomes the job of the auctioneer to move the show forward. But, a seller getting into a bidding war with a buyer to drive up the final price of an online auction would be a dirty move.
