It's very clearly a personal spat, as you call it. It has nothing to do with me bidding on the auction. This is clear if you read the sources I've linked. I know the event timeline is a bit messy, but that's how these things always are. Anyway, it's clear that Vod misunderstands me in an illogical way (explained here (ref 5)) -- maybe on purpose, maybe not, and rates me negative, because of that, according to him. Looks like on purpose, because he still hasn't done anything to correct this failure. Simply, the reasons he has given to negatively rate me are based on illogical misunderstanding (on purpose or not) and provable lies (explained in the sources). Shortly, his rating reason itself is complete bullshit.

It's not against rules for auctioneer to transparently bid on the auction. In my opinion, there's nothing scammy about it either. I asked theymos too, and he agrees with me. I understand the initial reaction may be "ooo, that's scammy" if it's an uncommon auction practice for you. I know it's uncommon in these forums. However, it's a common practice around the world. It's kind of a hidden reserve price.

In any case, this auction in question happened two years ago and even Vod himself told me he thinks I did nothing untrustworthy. Because that's how it is. So maybe we could drop this "it's a valid reason for negative rating" as it's not. Vod rated me negatively, because I pissed him off by not doing what he wants. He simply fulfilled his threat, so why on Earth are you trying to find some other reasons? He states it clearly.