Posted By:
scottI would like to add that i placed 4 very high max bids in the recent Goodwin auction and only 1 lot neared them, I then reraised it and it didn't move. The others never moved a bit, I can say Bill Goodwin has always run a legit auction, as so with the bigger guys Mastro, REA, etc.
Everyone must remember, despite being able to verify every single lot for bidding discrepancies, that it just doesn't happen in most auction houses, big or samll. In this day & age they have WAY to much to loose and not much to gain, an extra couple of points on a $5,000 lot is nothing compared to the potential implosion if they were caught monkeying with the bids.
As Hal pointed out, people often get raised to or above their max, and there is a legit bidder to pay for the lot as he found out.
Scott