Shill bidding only occurs when a person selling an item has someone they know or whom is associated with, bid on said item with the intent to artificially raise the price. It is illegal, and if the parties involved are discovered, can lead to legal action along with permanent forfeiture of your eBay acct (although I have NO faith that flea bay would actually do anything about shills as it profits them to have auction prices as high as possible). As for what was brought up here, talking to a competitor for an item, to avoid a bidding war, fully legal. BUT this is also why fleabay hides the identities of those bidding, because they WANT bidding wars to make the prices go un-realisticly high, so as to MAXIMIZE there profits. If an individual wishes to sell an item, I personally would use the sales area in my direct market, ie. the ad board here, or a forum like CraigsList, keeps prices realistic and doesn't fill the coffers of a corporate giant that really does little for our country or our hobby as a whole. Just my .02 because I personally DESPISE flea bay.
