Ethics of bidding on family item at auction

[parkplace33]

My only concern would be if you did win the book, but it went below what the family was expecting (price wise). There could be some hard feelings there.

Maybe ask if they will sell it to you directly?

[slightlyrounded]

Wow - really appreciate all the responses and fodder here guys. Realize I probably should have provided a little more context:

• My grandfather is survived by his wife so technically the estate is transferring over to her. She is liquidating his collection and I believe plans to distribute the funds to her children and grandchildren (of which I am one) but I have no idea about the equity intentions.
  
• I didn't really want to approach her with interest because I felt the worst case scenario was she'd offer to give me the item(s) which would likely be poorly received by the rest of the family. Under a best case scenario I could have agreed to a market value but even then I'm not sure how all involved would have felt. I also didn't really want to broadcast my personal finances since my family's situations are pretty disparate right now.

The general consensus I'm getting is its probably okay to be bidding on these items without guilt, and I may or may not need to tell the auction house depending on their rules.

Finally - thank you for the condolences....we all lost a helluvah man but at 91 it was a great run and I appreciate the ample time I had with him.

[timzcardz]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

My only concern would be if you did win the book, but it went below what the family was expecting (price wise). There could be some hard feelings there.

Maybe ask if they will sell it to you directly?

Hard feelings?

If that turned out to be the case I would call them irrational feelings.

If it went for less than what the family expected, then they should be thankful you bid or it would have gone from even less.

But then again, I don't often hear the word rational in conjunction with family!

Whatever you decide, good luck and best wishes with the auction and/or family!

[Rhotchkiss]

If it is being auctioned by an independent third party and you are bidding genuinely to win it, I see no ethical reason for you not to bid, and bid to win. Indeed, your participation likely results in maximized value for the family members who will benefit from the proceeds.

[Lorewalker]

If your intentions are pure, which it appears they are, I see nothing wrong with it. Last thing you need is to make an offer to the family and have it turn out to have been too low. Buying it on the open market relieves you of that burden.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

If it is being auctioned by an independent third party and you are bidding genuinely to win it, I see no ethical reason for you not to bid, and bid to win. Indeed, your participation likely results in maximized value for the family members who will benefit from the proceeds.

+1. I see no issue either...
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