I'd be annoyed with a business where I'd always paid in a timely manner, and then one day they want proof of financial wherewithal. But that's not what started this thread.
As a consignor, I recall waiting a few weeks for payment; which annoyed me. The high bidder hadn't paid yet, I got the feeling he was a whale and he didn't want to pay until his funds had stayed in some account until an interest payment had been paid. And the auction house didn't want to pressure him for payment because they didn't want to lose his as a future bidder.
And then there's the auction house that was taking bids on cards that had recently been stolen without timely disclosure about the cards being gone. So AH's can want financial disclosure on bidders, but bidders don't get proof that the AH really had the cards.
I can see that if I had a high value card out there, I'd be annoyed if they accepted a huge bid from an unknown bidder early in an auction driven up by another colluding bidder that discouraged other bidders from bidding, then the two colluders don't pay, and my card goes unsold.
All in all, I don't see a bright line rule that would protect buyers from AH's, AH's from buyers, consignors from buyers, consignors from AH's.... tis a mess.
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