It's not uncommon -- especially where you don't have to pay an auctioneer -- to enter some number of fake bids to make it evident bidding has started. When there's just one, you can assume that happened, and impute no dishonesty.

The reason an auctioneer matters is they typically are paid a (sometimes decreasing) percentage of the final bid, or a (sometimes lower) percentage of the reserve, if there are no bids. But details vary.