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ACV Auctions accused of ‘shill bidding’ to drive up vehicle prices
August 19, 2021
WIVB Channel 4 News
ACV Auctions, considered in some circles as the darlings of Buffalo’s nascent start-up industry, has reported rapid growth after it won the 43North competition’s $1 million prize. Since the 2015 victory, the company has taken the industry by storm as the nation’s fastest-growing dealer-to-dealer online wholesale auction marketplace for vehicles. But ACV’s success is now under scrutiny in a federal lawsuit filed by two local car dealerships, which accuse the Buffalo company of allowing, and participating in, what is called “shill bidding,” to increase interest in, and boost sales of, vehicles on its platform.