Also, lets remember what Mastro has plead guilty to doing (vs maintaining a minimum bid). He has said he altered materials and lied about it, he has admitting to shill bidding (when there was no minimum and he just felt like the item was too low), and he admited to mail fraud. What he did (particularly on high pieces) was to control the authentication, the pricing and supply. It was done clearly in a way which has violated the law. What you saw early on was that he was contrite and that he was religious. What has come out in the comments to the thread I have posted and in his defense, is that he is defiant and not contrite. He has now claimed his crimes were victimless because everyone made money.
While we may not like the practice of having hidden reserves, it is commonplace in auctions and fully disclosed. What Mastro has confessed to is staggering. The fact that he is posting in comments sections claiming no remorse and that the collectors made money so his crimes are excused is frankly lurid.
I think the major auction houses no longer think like this. My sense is that if there is a hidden reserve it is set at the beginning of the auction. I think most auctions no longer look at the highest price bid and thus remove temptation. We now have disclosure when an auction is selling its own stuff. In general, in most auctions, authentication is separated from the auctioneer. Is it perfect, no. But it is much better than being in a rigged system.
|