Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Auctions & Terms

With a few spare minutes this evening I was checking out an upcoming auction with McCoy Pottery. I'm not a big bidder at auctions but I do enjoy lively atmosphere and comraderie of bidders. This afternoon I came across something I'd never noticed before.

RESERVES: "Each item may have a confidential minimum reserve price established by the auctioneer and the consignor. The AUCTIONEER may bid on behalf of the consignor at the auction up to the reserve."



Then I discovered this on "Live Auctioneers":
Shill Bidding:
Fraudulent bidding by the seller (using an alternate registration) or an associate of the seller in order to inflate the price of an item. Also known as bid rigging and collusion.


Is an auction not to sell items to the highest bidder? Reserves considered, the bids "would" be between two people who are interested in owning the item for sale?
So what's the deal if someone on the auction staff is bidding to get the price up? Hummmmm...prices are being set by the staff and seller, not the bidders.


If the bids on an item do not reach the reserve...then could it be the item is over priced?

I'm Confused!