[Exhibitman]

OK, I've had some fun with this thread but in all seriousness, I am appalled by the twisted thinking behind this comment:

"Every bidder is looking for a bargain--we understand that bidders wouldn't want us in competition for material they're trying to buy."

No, you clearly don't understand that, because if you did you would realize that every bid Heritage places on its own account does the exact opposite: it takes away the bargain that the bidder might otherwise get in a truly open market and directly competes with the bidders.

Jason's point also is well taken about consignments. I would never, ever consider consigning to Heritage as long as I know that they might try to buy my item in the guise of an auction to resell for a profit. If I want to wholesale my stuff I might as well just wholesale directly to a dealer for cash on delivery and not waste my time waiting around for a consignment to be auctioned and paid.

I guess the bottom line is that taking at least the 19.5% Buyer's Premium out of the hides of consignors isn't enough, so Heritage's management feels it is justified in taking away lots that are good wholesale buys so it can resell them and reap additional profits from their consignors. The justifications are simply insults to our intelligence carefully crafted by corporate flacks to divert attention from what is going on.

Frank Lopez: You know what a chazzer is?
Tony Montana: No, Frank, you tell me. What is a chazzer?
Frank Lopez: It's a Yiddish word for "pig." See, the guy, he wants more than what he needs. He don't fly straight no more.