I received an email with a question about how some auctioneers
handle Absentee bidding.
handle Absentee bidding.
I recently attended an auction where an absentee bid had been
left. I happened to be at the counter registering when someone
called to leave a bid on an art print and heard the auction house
side of the exchange. The buyer left a high bid of $970.
When the print came up, the auctioneer did not start the bidding
where he had started the other prints at $50-75, but said he had
a `sealed' bid of $970 and asked if anyone wanted to bid more.
Frankly, if the print had started at the $50 level, it probably would
have brought about $250-350, max. Of course, no one over-bid
the amount and the left bid `carried the day'.
Personally, I think this is a very ugly practice that smacks of greed.
"After all, if I can get $970, my share (commission) is higher." (No,
he didn't say that, but you know that's what he was thinking.)
Frankly, I believe that will eventually backfire on him. I, for one, will
NEVER leave a bid at his auction. Just because I'm WILLING to
pay that much doesn't mean I don't hope to buy it for less. And you
know if the buyer had been there, he wouldn't have started the bid
at that amount. The whole thing seems like cheating.
Can anyone tell me a good reason to do this kind of thing? He is
only the 2nd auctioneer I've seen do this and I no longer even
attend the other man's auctions. He has proven to be less than...
above-board, shall we say?, in other areas.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the subject.
Thank you,
Bobbi
My Reply:
The point you bring up is one that I've heard other auctioneers
talk about on many occassions. I'll provide the two sides of this
subject as I've heard them rationalized.
On one side... the auctioneer is basically acting on behalf of the
seller and it's the auctioneers duty to the consignor to get the best
price for their merchandise. So, if there is an absentee bid, then
that's where they start the bidding. Since this is the amount the
buyer was willing to pay, then it's fair to both parties, as it is the
price that a willing buyer and a willing seller are both agreed to
(as long as it was more than any reserve price that might be
held on the item).
On the other side... the auctioneer must be fair to the buyer. That
doesn't mean that they have to give them everything at the lowest
possible price, which is especially apparent if there is a reserve
on an item. In fact, if there is a reserve and only one person is
bidding, the auctioneer may also bid on behalf of the reserve
(the seller's minimum sale price) until the reserve is met. Of
course, in your story, the absentee bid was apparently much
higher than any reserve (if there was one)... so, where should
the auctioneer start the bidding? I suppose that is up to the
individual auctioneer.
I can only tell you how I handle absentee bids. I may take one of
two different possible actions.
In respect to your story, I may try to start the bidding on the floor,
only because similar items had already been sold. I would then
bid on behalf of the absentee bid. In this case, I feel that this is
"fair" to the buyers and the consignor (since any reserves were
apparently already met in previous transactions).
On the other hand, if I am calling for bids and backing down to
find someone to offer a starting bid, I may start the bidding at
approximately half of the absentee bid. Since the absentee
bidder was willing to pay twice that amount, then they are still
getting a deal if they get it for less than the maximum amount
they were willing to pay. It's definitely fair to the consignor, as
they received much more than expected, as long as it's above
any reserve price that they required.
I hope this provides a little insight to the auction from both
perspectives.
Jim
"mizbob" wrote:
Hi Jim
I agree wholeheartedly with your way of handling left bids. Most
of the auctioneers I've had dealings with do the same thing. It is
really unfortunate that the rest do not, as I think they lose out in
the long run. Only very rarely will I or my friends leave a bid with
them, and when we do, we leave less than half of what we're truly
willing to pay. I have passed on several things I would like to buy
because of their attitude. [Most of them seem rather arrogant as
well but that could be just because I'm irritated by the way they
handle it. :^)]
As you say, you have to be fair to both the consignor and the buyer.
The way you do it is.
Thank you for your reply,
Bobbi
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If you have any questions about auctions, contact me through
the Texas-National Auctioneers website at http://www.t-na.com
