over at MEARS:
http://www.mearsonline.com/news/newsDetail.asp?id=448

1) "The REA rule #12 states:
In accordance with the applicable FCC regulations, under no circumstances may consignors bid on their own materials."

note that it doesn't say in accordance with REA or MEARS or rob lifson's regulations. F. C. C. i don't know of an auction house in operation in america that doesn't have to follow FCC regs.

2) "The owner informed me that in previous auctions, others than those of REA, he has been permitted to bid on and win his own items if he paid both the buyer premium and the hammer fee"

if someone shill bid at an REA auction, then what are the odds that others have shill bid at other auctions? apparently, according to the individual in the MEARS article, pretty good considering they admitted they had done so at other auctions and those auction houses clearly permitted such actions.

rudy.