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Posted By: barrysloate

I think one way to look at the buyer's premium is to simply say if a lot is worth $1000 to me, my top bid will be $800. Isn't that the same as bidding $850 in a 15% auction? I think one of the reasons buyer's premiums are going up (besides the obvious profit margin) is that auction houses want to be able to offer selling fees as close to 0% as possible. That makes them look more competitive. Nobody likes to see these premiums go up but it is clearly a trend.