: I don't see this as an issue. The reserve is what the owner defines
: as the minimum he will accept. It is strange that the estimate
: would be set lower, but hardly deceptive or illegal (at least in
: the US)...what I found odd was the ability to outbid yourself.
: In my case I outbid myself...this should not be allowed in an
: auction. Im not familiar with any legit auction that allows a
: bidder to outbid themselves.

I agree it should be illegal for an auction house to allow a bidder to outbid him/herself, it's totally unprofessional.

However I would very strongly argue that my point about the reserve is well founded, albeit not pertinent to your exact point. It is my very strong opinion that if there is a guide price for a watch, published by the seller, stating that it is worth between say $1,000-$2,000 then the seller should not be allowed to reserve it higher than $1,000 - in the UK abuse of this this is regarded as fraud - but not on Continental Europe where Auctionata often flagrantly put reserves higher even than the the top figure of their estimates.
I'll shut up now.:)