3. How many of you have ever sold an item on eBay? Now of those people how many of you have ever had a friend bid on your item to help give it a boost? I can assure you most have. It sucks and that's why I hate online auctions most of the time because I feel like this happens more often than not.
I did it for some of my auctions when I joined eBay many years ago, and it ended up biting me: I sold it to myself!
Anyway, it's not worth it on eBay, given the high volume you always get a good price.
It's also clear that you can't make the price go up that much; the real bidders have to set the price in the end. The best you can do it create a bit of hype so they raise their max.