Lu Huairu's words left the other four people momentarily stunned.
"Mr. Lu, are you saying that the man who was bidding just now is merely a shill arranged by the auction house?"
Zhou Zhen subconsciously asked.
Lu Huairu nodded slightly: "Otherwise? This is a default behavior in the circle. The auction house wants to make a profit, and this is the most common practice."
"If there are many people bidding on an item, the likelihood of the auction house muddying the waters increases, and so does the frequency of price hikes. The more fierce the competition, the less likely the shill will be spotted."
"However, for an item like the one we are bidding on this time, there's no inherent competition, so the auction house can't go too far. They're afraid the item might end up unsold in their hands. So, they found someone to raise the price once, which won't be too obvious or cause resentment among real bidders, allowing the item to be auctioned off smoothly."
