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brian parkerThe big auction houses like Mastro certainly have the system rigged in their favor, and they are smart to operate the way they do. They have developed the auction catalogs to the point where it is a collectible itself. People want to continue to receive this fabulous catalog, so they feel compelled to place a bid in the auction (I know I make sure to bid each time) so that they will not be dropped from the mailing list. Thus a collector better put in his bid early on an item that they are interested in so that the bid amount isn't already beyond their financial means. Even if you have the money to burn, you got to place a bid before the "closing" time to participate after hours. My guess is that a large portion of bids are placed because of these two factors, even though in many cases (even money to burn individuals) they realize they have little to no chance of winning. It makes me yearn for the old days of black and white photos in stapled catalogs, and less restrictive bidding policies--it least it felt like a normal collector had a fighting chance to win, like Bob has mentioned before. Then again, these Mastro catalogs are so fun to leaf through...
Brian