I won one from Carson back in the day. I did get my poster, I just really don't think a public forum is the place for any kind of silent auction. It is just too easy for someone to get duped into over paying. I'm not saying that this is what happened in this case with Rdavey. I don't know him so I cant say one way or another.
But, I feel that something like these silent auctions should be reserved for auction houses or something of similar stature. The chance for someone to get played or tricked into over paying is just too high. Even if we have mostly honest sellers, if these silent auctions become "the norm" around here it will attract some of the not so honest types. There's just no way to regulate this sort of thing on a public forum and feel its just a recipe for disaster. Its just a matter of time before we would end up with another Carson taking advantage of the forum and its members and unless an elaborate sting operation was setup no one would ever know they are being lied to. Then again maybe Im just a cynical un-trusting ol' bastard 
I consider myself to be quite a cynical person as well, but I'm not sure I understand how a silent auction could result in such shenanigans. Maybe, since I've never partaken in one, I am not understanding how it works. I assumed that interested parties would simply offer up the maximum they want to pay for an item, and whoever has the highest number gets it for that price. So if five people bid $10, $20, $30, $40 and $50 respectively, the $50 bidder 'wins' for $50. Since it's silent, I didn't think the seller would go back to the other four bidders to try and solicit higher bids. And even if only one person bid $50, they would still have to pay $50 for the poster. Or am I missing something?
I personally wouldn't partake in one because I don't like the format. As a buyer, you risk grossly over paying for an item since you have no idea what other people are bidding. As a seller, you risk not getting the full potential of price because people (like myself) are reluctant to bid anything, or will just bid a small amount to minimize the risk. So while there are certainly "cons" to this method of auction, I'm not sure how someone could "con" a buyer. Unless of course they tried to actively solicit more bids by pretending that they were "tied" with someone else when they weren't, or if they just lied to everyone and told them all that they won and stole the money without sending anything to anyone. But I would consider that just blatant fraud and theft.
