+1

Must have been a REALLY secret meeting! 80+ posts and nobody has any idea what went on or even if there WAS a meeting!:D

It's probably not too hard to guess what went on.

Getting their stories straight.

As reported earlier on the thread, a relatively large sum of money was requested from each of the dealers/auction house principles who were present; from what I was told, there was great (silent) laughter in response.

Dan & Jeff--
 

I think both your replies sum it up quite perfectly!

Uh, that would be auction house PRINCIPALS, counselor. Of course you were confused because they are all men of great principles.

Ha! No, I meant that each of the principles had to pay: sloth, greed, shill bidding, Frank DiRoberto, deceptive listings, altering cards, stealing money from partners' bank accounts, you name it.

Jeepers, can you believe that I wrote such a thing? I'm such a dick who adds nothing to the board.

And a boor at the dinner table.

Golly!

Did Anyone Here Attend PSA's Registry Luncheon at the National?
 

I'd be curious to know if PSA president Joe Orlando hosted the traditional "Question and Answer Session" and if anything noteworthy was discussed or if there were any major announcements as has been the case in prior luncheons.

I find it odd that no one on the CU/PSA Board has even made mention of the event - which was usually not the case in past years.

Thanks in advance.

I was there. The only question was about authenticating jerseys, which Joe said that PSA was going to start doing soon.

Really:confused: This is not what I "heard" happened. All that over Jerseys:eek::eek::eek:

Thanks for the fast reply
 

Only one question - that's interesting.

Thanks again for the update.

The answer about jerseys was in response to a question about PSA's annual luncheon, not the Wednesday night meeting.

NewsFlash: Trade Association (Perhaps) for Auction Houses Only.
 

Thought I would include this link in here for prosperity (just in case man-kind is completely wiped-out by aliens, at least "they" (the aliens) might stumble across this thread and realize which of the two sexes was more intelligent (oh, and in the event that a male alien is reading this; please see Rob D.'s Helen Reddy post in the women thread for the answer).

http://mddailyrecord.com/maryland-bu...rs-convention/

If you don't want to read it, here is the jist.................Bill Huggins says Trade Association for Auction Houses only. I realize it's yesterdays news, but I could live with that (as long as it doesn't cost me $$$ - yeah right!). Here is the quote:


Bill Huggins, of Huggins & Scott Auctions in Silver Spring, said business has been steady and that he’d bought and sold several select items already that day.

In response to the FBI investigation, he said one thing the industry could use is a national association. Since the first convention 30 years ago, he said sports collecting has gone from a hobby to a full-blown industry with no national oversight. He said forming a national association has been tried twice in the past but that coordinating thousands of dealers and collectors was no simple feat.

Huggins added it was likely a national association could be set up for auction houses, as it’s much easier to get the dozen or so across the country to agree on terms than it is to get thousands of dealers to reach a majority.


Lovely Day...

Ah, yes, just as Sotheby's and Christie's agreed on terms. Er, on second thought, perhaps not quite like that...

U.S. Department of Justice Seal and Letterhead
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2000
WWW.USDOJ.GOV AT
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888


SOTHEBY'S AND FORMER TOP EXECUTIVE AGREE TO PLEAD GUILTY TO
PRICE FIXING ON COMMISSIONS CHARGED TO SELLERS AT AUCTIONS

Sotheby's Agrees to Pay $45 Million Criminal Fine

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sotheby's Holdings Inc.--one of the world's largest auction houses--has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $45 million criminal fine for fixing the price of commission rates charged to sellers of art, antiques, and other collectibles at auctions, announced the Department of Justice today. The company's former president and chief executive officer, Diana D. Brooks, has also agreed to plead guilty to price fixing charges, and will cooperate with the Department's ongoing antitrust investigation.

In separate one-count felony charges filed today in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Sotheby's and Brooks were charged with participating in a conspiracy lasting more than six years, from April 1993 to December 1999, to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing prices in violation of the Sherman Act. The conspirators also agreed to limit or eliminate other inducements to sellers, such as interest-free loans and charitable donations.

Sotheby's and Christie's International, its chief competitor, control more than 90 percent of the world's auction business. They provide substantially the same services to sellers and, prior to the introduction of the fixed, non-negotiable commission rates, they competed primarily on the basis of price, undercutting each other's offers to sellers. As a result of the conspiracy, sellers lost their principal bargaining tool.

"Those charged today were engaged in classic cartel behavior*price fixing, pure and simple," said A. Douglas Melamed, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division. "These are serious crimes, and the Antitrust Division will prosecute them wherever they occur."

Today's cases, the first to arise out of a federal investigation into auction house collusion, charge that Sotheby's, Brooks and their co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by participating in meetings and conversations in the United States and elsewhere to discuss sellers' commissions. At those meetings the conspirators:

* agreed to raise pricing by fixing sellers' commissions;

* agreed to publish non-negotiable sellers' commission rate schedules;

* agreed to the order in which each co-conspirator would publish its non-negotiable sellers' commission schedule;

* issued sellers' commission schedules in accordance with the agreements reached;

* exchanged customer information for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the non-negotiable seller's commission schedules;

* agreed not to make interest-free loans on consignments from sellers; and

* agreed not to make charitable contributions as part of pricing to sellers.

This pricing scheme impaired the ability of sellers to achieve the best price terms through negotiation, as had been possible under the conspirators' previous commission structures.

The Department also confirmed the announcement by Christie's International, one of the world's largest auction houses, that it has been cooperating with the investigation under the Antitrust Division's Corporate Leniency Program. Under the Leniency Program, a company may qualify for protection from criminal prosecution if it voluntarily reports its involvement in a crime and satisfies certain other criteria.

Sotheby's and Brooks are charged with violating Section One of the Sherman Act which carries a maximum fine of $10 million for corporations, and a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment and a $350,000 fine for individuals. The maximum fine for both corporations and individuals may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

Sotheby's $45 million fine, which is payable over five years, is subject to court approval. Brooks' sentence will be determined by the court.

Sotheby's Holdings Inc. is headquartered in New York, New York and provides auction services worldwide. Its revenues from sellers' commissions during the period charged in the court papers were in excess of $225 million in the U.S.

The ongoing investigation of the auction business is being conducted by the Antitrust Division's New York Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Anyone with information concerning collusion in the auction business should contact the Antitrust Division's New York Office at (212) 264-0650 or the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at (212) 384-1000.

Very simple way to accomplish this: all bidders and auction houses would agree to open their bidding records to an independent auditor for review. Also, all IP info from all computers which placed bids would also be disclosed. Sounds unweildly (and it might be) but it's at least a start in combatting shill bidding.

I must have missed something. Who, besides legitimate bidders, said they want to combat shill bidding?

And how do you propose to combat the real problem, card doctoring?

That's a tougher nut to crack, for sure.

way to money involved:D. after this is the good old USA:(

When you talk about card doctoring, what do you mean?
Ive recently moved from comics to cards again and I am aware of the things that go on in comics.
However, I have no clue as to what card doctoring is, what is done, etc.
Im trying to figure out what this thread is about and also who these people are. ive got this link http://www.network54.com/Forum/15365...ANE+FULL+STORY
to read and anymore like it will be a help

Update
 

Whatever happened to this so called "committee" that was going to be created to help combat fraud in the hobby? They may want to regroup.

Anyone have any updated info?

Tony

Tony, I think Marshall Fogel was the Grand Poobah for the first year of the organization's existence. There was some snappy stationary and some stern words for those who would dare to tarnish the hobby with allegations of misconduct of some principals of auction houses, etc.

But now that Marshal's great friend Bill Mastro was indicted for ripping off everyone who dared to bid in his auctions, I'm guessing the organization is on permanent hiatus. Shame, considering all the good works they were doing.