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Posted By: davidcycleback

As far as the Sotheby's V MastroNet debate goes, don't look at MastroNet's starting bids, but at their bids 24 hours after the auction has started. Some people who noted MastroNet's low minimum bids will be complaining that their' maximum bids were out bid hours after the auction started.

In REA, Sotheby's and Christies, the winning bid is commonly higher than the estimate. Sometimes their estimates appear low from the start, sometimes they are offering material for the first time and the winning bid establishes the current pricing.

Then there's that Jayco fellow or whatever is his name on eBay. His pre-auction estimates are multiple times higher than the realized price, even if you are paying in yen. I think he takes the normal book price and times it by the number of times he shows the same picture in the auction.