Though the popularity of online auctions has brought the term shill under the mainstream radar, the word itself has been around for many decades, comfortably pre-dating the Internet and everyday use of computers. Shill dates back to 1914 and is thought to be a shortened form of the earlier term shillaber. Its original use was to describe a person who acted as a swindler’s accomplice by reacting in an enthusiastic way in order to encourage others, often as an audience member at a carnival in order to elicit interest in an attraction. Over time the word began to be applied in a variety of contexts. For example in marketing, a shill is a person who gives the impression that they are a satisfied independent customer of someone they’re in fact secretly working for. In gambling scenarios, a shill is someone employed as a player who keeps games going when there aren’t enough players, or makes winning appear more likely than it actually is.

Though the popularity of online auctions has brought the term shill under the mainstream radar, the word itself has been around for many decades, comfortably pre-dating the Internet and everyday use of computers. Shill dates back to 1914 and is thought to be a shortened form of the earlier term shillaber. Its original use was to describe a person who acted as a swindler’s accomplice by reacting in an enthusiastic way in order to encourage others, often as an audience member at a carnival in order to elicit interest in an attraction. Over time the word began to be applied in a variety of contexts. For example in marketing, a shill is a person who gives the impression that they are a satisfied independent customer of someone they’re in fact secretly working for. In gambling scenarios, a shill is someone employed as a player who keeps games going when there aren’t enough players, or makes winning appear more likely than it actually is.