Phil,
There's a very real difference today compared to the shill-bidding of
the past. Prior to internet bidding, there was no way for the "house
shill" to *know* what the other bidders were willing to pay as their
maximum bid. So it was much harder for a shill to keep pushing up the
price unless the house wanted to get stuck with a lot of wins. A shill
who won too many auctions was soon looking for employment elsewhere.
But with computerized auctions and people being encouraged to enter
their "maximum bid" prior to the last second, it is too easy for the
house to KNOW what the other bidders are willing to pay and so only
shill them up to that point (or perhaps just a tiny bit below it for
appearance's sake).
I think it is astounding for the President of Heritage to admit the
shill won "only 1% to 2%" of the items it bid on. First of all, with
computers, the President of Heritage knows precisely to several decimal
points the exact percentage of auctions the shill won so what's with the
rough estimate? But mostly, he has virtually admitted that the shill
knew the maximum bids of those he was bidding against. Now, in the case
of live floor auctions there is always the possibility of a genuine
bidder deciding to bid more than their previous maximum at the last
second. But that's immaterial. Knowing the pre-last-second maximums
allows a shill to drive the prices up to that point with virtual
impunity of "getting stuck" with an item most of the time.
At least on Ebay, there is no way for a seller to know the maximum bids,
which is one of the few positive things you can say about Ebay auctions.
But if the house can see all the maximum bids, that renders The Gentle
Art of Shilling far more onerous than it has been in past.
-- JR
p...@cinemarts.com wrote:
Many auction houses (and I remind everyone that auction laws differ
country to country) and private auctioneers reserve the right to have
the house bid on the item, or allow the seller to bid on the item.
That is, disclosed shill bidding.
If the potential buyer is aware that these are the rules of the
auction house/auctioneer they are using because it is clearly
disclosed in the terms of sale (even if buried in "the fine print")
then what is the issue? If you know it going in and you know what the
top weight is you want to pay for something, then it is just another
part of the overall /caveat emptor /factor.
That doesn't mean I think it's right, because outside of playing
bidders up and up, it can mean that there is an undisclosed reserve
which makes a nonsense
of " loew starting bids".
Shill bidding sucks. The bad news is it has been part of the auction
business since The Dawn of Time, which we all know was a Very Long
Time Ago.
Phil
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