Ace the Pennsylvania Auctioneer Test 2026 – Hit the Gavel and Seal The Deal!

The term for the practice of accelerating bids to artificially drive up prices is commonly referred to as shill bidding. This practice involves an individual or party placing bids that they do not intend to win, typically to create the illusion of increased demand and drive up the price of an auction item.

Shill bidding undermines the integrity of the auction process since it misleads genuine bidders into thinking that there is more interest in the item than there actually is. It can lead to inflated prices based not on true market value but rather on deceptive tactics, ultimately harming buyers and skewing the fair competition that auctions are meant to promote.

Other terms like bid rigging and collusion involve agreements between parties to manipulate the auction process, but they do not specifically describe the act of inflating bid amounts through deceptive bids. Collusion generally refers to two or more participants cooperating to fix prices or allocate bids, which is distinct from the practice of a single entity driving up bids. Fraudulent bidding, while it encompasses illegal activities in auctions, is a broader term that may refer to various deceptive practices and is not specifically tied to accelerating bids.