Auction.com counter bidding

[Linda Smith]

I've bought one property through auction.com a couple of years ago. On that one I didn't meet the reserve but was the highest bidder. It was submitted to the bank and they accepted. Cash deal, I was skeptical all the way through but it turned out OK.

Now I'm interested in another property. I assume the first bid was a real person (auction.com wouldn't actually start the bidding, right?) I then watched the bidding go back and forth, assuming auction.com was counter-bidding after each bid, with every other bid being auction.com. This drove the price up quickly, too early in my opinion. At one point I jumped in and was high bidder. At that point the counter bidding stopped and I was high bidder at my absolute max for about 12 hours. Then I was outbid, and there it still sits with just a few hours left. I'm trying to figure out if that last bid was real or auction.com counter bidding... if it was a real person I think there would've probably been a counter bid shortly after? It still hasn't met the reserve.

Are there any hints as to whether a bid is real or not? What happens if the auction closes with auction.com being the highest bidder? I really want this property but can't go any higher. I guess I'm hoping that if it closes with a fake high bidder it will be relisted and maybe I'll have another shot at it.