Posted By:
Cobby33I understand and agree with the collusion theory. However, more times than not, as Peter points out, these groups are seen as co-ops, which actually drive the prices up.
Take, for example, the recent Mastro Pirate horde. One buyer ended up winning that lot. However, had there been an organized co-op, the likelihood of, say, 100 bidders paying $10K each (~1 card per)- would have actually driven the price up. The same analogy could be used for any grouping of cards. I think that benefits the majority of buyers AND the consigner AND the auctioneer and makes these cards available to the general population, as opposed to a handful of buyers who can afford to spend close to $1M on cards. I cannot think of an example, in this business, of co-ops driving prices down.