Mastro or Memory Lane

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Posted By: SC

"Even if you feel that the item that you have already consigned isn't going for what you hoped for, having one of your "friends" shill bid the item to the point of winning your consignment back is a lousy idea. Is that item going to sell for enough more in another auction to make up for the seller's commission (0-15%) and the buyers premium (15-20%)that you'll be on the hook for if you buy it back?....Probably not."

This would be the case if the only items shilled were the ones bought back. But as we often know, from eBay as well as other examples, the benefit can be in having that bid topped by the current hi bidder. Easiest example:

10 items currently bid to $1000 ea.

Consignor (through an intermediary) tops all 10 items to $1100.

Other bidders top 8 of 10 items to $1210. Consignor buys back two of them.

Consignor sees 8 items sell for an extra $1680, less 10% seller's fee, nets $1412. Consignor loses 25% on two items @ $1100 - total loss $550.


I can clearly see the financial benefit in pushing your own consignments in an auction. However, as long as the auction house isn't allowing direct consignor bids, or cutting side deals - what more can you ask? Whether you think they are or are not, or the degree to which they police it, is a question you have to determine for your own comfort.

The best example is an auction house receiving bids from a single bidder on five different items, all the same consignor's item, and all varied enough that it is unlikely a single bidder would pick out these exact lots (vs. someone bidding on all T206s that happened to be consigned by the same person). _I would ask the auction houses - do you have any abilities to track such a suspect circumstance? Do you care?_