Quote:
Originally Posted by Leon
I think the answer is usually yes it's illegal but, in our hobby, it is almost never enforced...from wiki.....
"Collusion is an agreement between two or more parties, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage.[citation needed] It is an agreement among firms or individuals to divide a market, set prices, limit production or limit opportunities.[1] It can involve "wage fixing, kickbacks, or misrepresenting the independence of the relationship between the colluding parties".[2] In legal terms, all acts affected by collusion are considered void.[3]"
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It's usually hard to prove. Most stuff like that is done somewhat privately and most of the time it doesn't make a huge difference in price.
But a group of stamp companies got in big trouble for making arrangements about who would buy certain large lots or collections at auction. I think the restitution was around 3 million. They were turned in by a disgruntled employee who saved memos.
And at a live auction one time I saw two people in the front row bidding against each other. At one point one turned to the other and said "How about I stop now and we'll split it" They were close enough the auctioneer heard and stopped the auction. He told them not to do that, or to do it beforehand somewhere he couldn't hear. Also that he could have them arrested. Then he restarted the bidding at the high bid when he stopped it but asked for another bidder. That way the final bid would be above the point where they colluded. I think it went for 50-60 more.
Steve B