Inside the Park Collectible auction. What a pleasure

[Rob D.]

I have a general question (independent of what auction house we're talking about, which is irrelevent in this case): Why is it "great for buyers" to have no premium? What does it matter to me as a buyer if the $960 I pay for an item is broken down as an $800 bid and a $160 premium or if the entire amount is my bid? Either way, I'm paying $960 for the item.

Do that many people place bids without knowing there's a buyer's premium, and then they're surprised by the 15 to 20 percent that's added to their winning bid? I think that buyer's premiums have been around long enough that they're the rule and not the exception -- and that bidders would be aware of them. But I certainly could be wrong.