Live From Sothebys

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Posted By: barrysloate

While Corey carried the negative aspects of the reserve book bidding to the next level, it's true that when you are sitting in the audience it all happens so fast that you can never be sure if anybody is bidding, but you still get some sense of whether the bids are real. Also, when the auctioneer bangs the hammer, he then declares "sold" or "pass." Of course, if you get caught up and overpay for the lot it doesn't matter at that point.

That's why it is always good to set a limit, but auction houses know all too well how impulsive bidders are, and they take maximum advantage of it.