All That Glitters In The Auction World Is Not Gold....

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Posted By: Ryan Christoff

Words cannot express how deeply saddened I am to see an innocent auction house like Sotheby's dragged through the mud with these terrible accusations. Especially considering their special partnership with SCP Auctions, a leader in the field of auction house ethics. As stated on the SCP website, "We pride ourselves on customer service and speedy response to any issues and inquiries. We're proud to call many of the nations top collectors clients and more importantly friends."

It just gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling to know that their clients are not merely clients. No, more importantly, we are friends. I can honestly say I have never had a friend treat me with the same dignity and respect I receive from SCP/Sotheby's.

It is only because of the intimate relationship (very intimate, in fact) I have with the dynamic duo of SCP Auctions and Sotheby's that I can say with certainty that these accusations are false. Both of these companies are beyond reproach!

Otherwise, you'd have to think that having a policy with minimum price guarantees for consignors might motivate a lesser auction house to resort to truly despicable and unethical acts such as doctoring catalog photos and otherwise misrepresenting items in their auction prior to artificially driving the price up by shill bidding. If not for the impeccable morality we all know SCP/Sotheby's are known for, someone could wind up paying $10,000 for an item, say a photograph, that was really worth less than half that amount due to a large amount of undisclosed damage and shill bids.

Even in a worst case scenario like that, I take great comfort in knowing that such a bidder would receive top-notch customer service and a speedy response to any issues or inquiries they had.

Isn't it about time we stopped picking on the good guys like Sotheby's and SCP Auctions? Remember, they are not just auction houses.

They're your friends.

-Ryan