Live Auctioneers Listings - Anomally - I'm Confused

[gonefishin]

As I'm sure everyone knows, Live Auctioneers is an auction platform that hosts various types of auctions for auction houses throughout the United States and abroad. I've participated in their auctions many times in the past and have been satisfied with the process.

Recently while surfing listings, I came across something that struck me as very odd. I noticed that 3 different auction houses were using the Live Auctioneers platform and had several of the exact graded cards listed. They had different starting price points and ended on different days, etc. I have attached a photo of a graded Mantle that was listed with Mynt auctions, the auction ended in 16 hours, and the same card listed by 3 Kings with a $16,500 BIN price that ended several days later. There were 3 auction houses that offered a few of the same card (different start dates, ending dates, bids, BIN, etc.), Mynt, 3 Kings and Pacific Global.

I know nothing about the 3 auction houses, and I'm not accusing them of anything illegal; I'm just trying to figure out how this process has a fair playing field for bidders.

I contacted both Live Auctioneers and 3 Kings asking them to explain how this is happening.

I received the following reply from 3 Kings:

"Hello,

Oftentimes consignors can list in multiple locations"

I just received the following reply from Live Auctioneers:

"I hope you're doing well.

Upon further review, we found that the auction houses in question have agreements in place that allow them to list items on behalf of third-party sellers. In this case, the consignor authorized multiple sellers to relist the same item on LiveAuctioneers.

Please let us know if you have any further questions or need additional clarification."

Am I the only one that sees an issue with this? Does that mean a consignor can simultaneously list a card with 30 different auction houses and then select the highest amount bid?

What happens to the poor bidder that thinks he has won an auction because he was the high bidder, but finds out he didn't as another auction house had sold the item in question?

I have about 30 different questions, but I think everyone gets the drift.

Maybe it's just me and if I'm off track, I apologize to everyone for taking their time.