[Archive]

Posted By: barrysloate

I believe Harry is correct. Sotheby's has a good deal of leeway as to what they are legally permitted to do as long as the bid is below the reserve, since the lot can not sell anyway. Once they get one increment below the reserve, then that's it for them, because if the next bid comes in and meets it, they are no longer legally allowed to bid. While it is a common practice, it always confuses bidders on the floor because they have no idea whether anybody else is actually in.