Posted By:
MattI tried to keep any editorializing out of the previous post and just report the conversation but will make a few comments here:
By claiming Hunt was not offering absolute auctions, Dave cleverly avoided having to explain why the reserves were set so high that 43 out of 97 lots didn't meet them. He said that people who bid in Hunt auctions are aware of this, but I certainly was not - I expected a fair shot to win the lots I was bidding on.
One point which was particularly frustrating was that he would not acknowledge that the reserves were to high, instead, blaming the location for the poor sell rate, even though he admitted that 60% of bids are absentee bids and it should not matter where the physical auction is held for them. Again, since they are not a pure auction house, bidders should have no expectation that the reserves will be what the bidders consider reasonable.