You're right, he didn't do anything wrong. But if you do business that APPEARS shady, people will be less willing to do business with you again next time. That's kind of his problem and what I was trying to point out here. Personally, I couldn't care less what he does, but I think people often underestimate the value of a little transparency. As for mentioning that "no one else bid before the guy got banned", using that as a reason is all over the place. Bidders tend to use good faith when bidding. They assume the auctioneer while stick to the rules and stipulations he sets out, such as insta prices and time frames. When the auctioneer can't be bothered following his own rules why would anyone want to get involved with his business? Who knows what's going to happen? For those kind of risks you'd be willing to offer a lot less.