Posted By:
Jeff LichtmanThe auction houses get away with murder for one reason: they can. Obvious shilling, false authentication, bad conflicts of interest, PSA cert numbers changed, doctored catalogue pictures -- the list could go on and on. At some point a major house will get closed down by the government and its principles arrested; this will surely chill the auction business for, say, an hour or two. After all, you've got one auction house run by a guy who can lie to your face and steal millions -- you think a little shill bidding would bother him? Or a criminal investigaiton?