Had Garr255 warned people he could manipulate the prices would you still participate in the auction? After all, Garr255 has a right to sell his products for whatever price he would like to, and might've just been using the initial "auction" as a way to gauge the demand for the chip, and then set a price he would be willing to sell at.
Is that a rhetorical question, and if not, what would the answer change? If i came to a shillathon, my buying strategy would certainly differ from that of a real auction. I'd still show up & see how desperate the seller is to sell, but i wouldn't "bid"
Perhaps if i knew the seller was gauging the market, i'd bring 10 shills of my own & troll the price up absurdly high, just to get the seller to overstock & be forced to sell at a loss 
You evil, evil genius.