Once the cards were graded, the cat was out of the bag. Whether or not to disclose pop numbers in the auction descriptions was really moot. Do we know if the consignors told HA to sell all the cards at once or if they were looking for HA's opinion on the best disposition and HA informed them of all of the options?
When the breadth of the find was made public I made a comment on another thread that if it was HA's suggestion to grade all the cards at once and tell the scope of the find, that it was done not for the benefit of the consignor or their buyers but for the benefit of HA.
Sports collectibles are only one segment of their business. If they had graded these cards a few at a time, at the end of 5 years we could all look back and see how they mislead us, it would have a direct impact on their reputation among the buyers of all segments of their business. They knew the consignors were going to do just fine getting the cards graded all at once even if they were going to be leaving money on the table by not grading and selling these off a few at a time.
A house needs buyers, even if you have disclosed that you bid up your stuff and buried it in paragraph 21.
|