Shill bidding occurs when a seller places a bid on their own property to artificially inflate its price, search visibility, and appeal to actual buyers. This can also include anyone associated with the seller, such as an agent, friend, family member, or co-worker, making a bid to manipulate the outcome.
Many auction platforms have strict policies against shill bidding. Reputable sites will remove listings where sellers bid on their own properties and may even suspend or limit the associated accounts. In some cases, they may report such actions to law enforcement. At TheAssetGrowth, we fully support these practices as they help deter sellers from bidding on their own assets.
Unfortunately, many auction platforms allow sellers or their agents to bid on properties, often leading to inflated prices for you, the real buyer. At TheAssetGrowth, we enforce a strict no-seller-bidding policy, ensuring that every property is free from manipulation. During every event, we verify that no seller bidding has taken place.