I have been reading on this board for a couple years and recently joined. I have read about people questioning the legitimacy of auctions, photo scans and in general the ability to police auctions - online or otherwise. So I wanted to bring up a reasonable, if unlikely, solution:
The good people here at Net54!
Seems to me there are hundreds, maybe thousands of members? That means if you all pooled some money (Leon sets up a crowdfunding page and acts as custodian) and some time (most of you research anyway for free, so set up a rotating 'police' force) you could create the ideal auction house for yourselves. You all seem to have vetted each other, you have the ears of the major auction houses and you possess the knowledge of what practices are unethical. You could set the fees to make it so that it is self sustaining - money is accrued to maintain and run the site, but the vast majority of funds could now be realized by the seller. The buyer also benefits from a better marketplace and no big attached to the buy price.
I'm aware that this is unlikely - that a group would form to shake the status quo and break from tradition, making sacrifices for a better future. There is precedent for this. Fifty six men in 1776. Stakes were higher, still worked.
My two cents, which incidentally is about what I could kick in.
