This has to be read to be believed OA dealer practices

[carlito1978]

imo overinflating prices for premier pieces in a premier auction house has greater trickle down effects that impact everything from lower end pieces and commission prices.

the right thing for HA to do is to boot him off auctions in order for them to maintain their reputation as a quality auction house.

[risingstar]

Originally Posted by JadeGiant

I assumed that HA would not bid their own auctions up. They indeed can and do bid on their own auctions.

I assumed that a person’s maximum bid was closely guarded information within HA and that HA employees that are able to bid would not have access to this information. This was also proven untrue – there are employees that have access to your maximum bid and can bid with this knowledge (ie bid you up to close to your max).

There's confirmation of this actually happening?

[risingstar]

Originally Posted by carlito1978

imo overinflating prices for premier pieces in a premier auction house has greater trickle down effects that impact everything from lower end pieces and commission prices.

the right thing for HA to do is to boot him off auctions in order for them to maintain their reputation as a quality auction house.

The practice needs to be frowned upon as a whole.
It seems like others might be supporting the same shill style practice.

[Ghost9]

JG - those are reasonable assumptions and the fact that they are proven untrue is abhorrent.

And I do believe what Carlos says is true, that there is a trickle down effect. OA prices & Commissions have jumped substantially in the past 5 years. I get that part of it is the popularization of the movies, more people entering the hobby, hundreds of conventions each year, etc, but the percentage increase each year is unmatched by I would dare say most other "commodities" (and yes, I know art is not a commodity).

[qz33]

Any post that starts with

"I go to Las Vegas for a week to relax and bet on a few football games for the weekend"

should tell anyone all they need to know in regards to his business practices.

[candyrocket786]

I seem to recall seeing a similar situation blow up with Movie Poster auctions on Ebay a few years ago.

[madmanny]

This is really eye opening. I can't believe how forthcoming he is.

[JadeGiant]

Originally Posted by risingstar

There's confirmation of this actually happening?

Read this thread and tell me if you think this possibility exists. I know where I stand on the topic and it has influenced my bidding practice as a result (I will not place my best-price bid and let it ride through the auction end, it is snipe mode for me).

http://boards.collectors-society.com...43#Post9043443

[JadeGiant]

Originally Posted by madmanny

This is really eye opening. I can't believe how forthcoming he is.

So true. He has removed doubt on the topic of shill-bidding. I can’t decide which I find more surprising – that he does it, or that he sees nothing wrong with it.

[joefixit2]

Originally Posted by JadeGiant

Read this thread and tell me if you think this possibility exists. I know where I stand on the topic and it has influenced my bidding practice as a result (I will not place my best-price bid and let it ride through the auction end, it is snipe mode for me).

http://boards.collectors-society.com...43#Post9043443

Yeah, I agree. I will be much much more selective on HA and would follow the same process.