Analysis of current AH's rules regarding shill/internal/sketchy bidding practices

[benjulmag]

This topic has come up before in other threads, but I have never been comfortable with an AH competing against its own customers by buying on the house account lots the AH feels are undervalued. A consignor can protect him/herself via a reserve price, and it seems to me that if the consignor is okay with letting the item go at a "wholesale" price, then the party that should reap the benefits is the AH customer, not the AH. The primary business of an AH is auctioning items, not buying undervalued items in its own auctions. And the profitability of the AH is directly tied to the business its bidding customers give them. So would it be so bad once in a while if a customer walked away believing he/she got a bargain?

I remember recently when I bought an item from a major AH. The item went for significantly less than both I and the AH thought the item was worth. But it met the reserve and I got it. The owner of the AH told me after the auction that while he felt bad his consignor did not get a stronger price, on the other hand he felt happy for me that I was able to get it at that price. That auction house does not buy on its account, and at least it could say its consignor's loss was its bidding customer's gain.