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#1
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![]() Quote:
Barry..... If that was the rule for grading companies.... I would suggest the same rules for auction houses. I think 'auction house' - owned lots opens a tremendous path toward potential conflict of interest. Yet.... I believe most auction houses (even the ones I would trust most) have owned lots in their own auction. With the proper transparency and the proper checks/balances in place - I don't think this rule would be necessary for either graders or auction houses.
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Joe D. |
#2
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I think it is important to distinguish between a grader, owner or president of a grading company who collects, and to what degree, and one who is an active dealer selling hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to the public. In one of those scenarios, if something is happening "after dark" then the public is really not so much at risk. In the other scenario, if there is foul play, the public is directly impacted.
There are no checks and balances that we know of. What prevents someone with keys to the establishment from walking in after hours, say, or on the weekend (hypothetically speaking, of course) and holdering a few dozen cards? How long would that take and who would know? |
#3
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Joe- I agree with your thinking and I will tell you that when I ran auctions I owned many of the lots. But here was my predicament: as a small auction house it was becoming increasingly difficult to get consignments, especially high end ones. The only way to round out my auctions and give them some pizzazz was to put in my own material. If I relied entirely on consignments, I was basically done. A big auction house doesn't have to worry about that, but I did. It was sink or swim.
As it turned out, I sank, but that's a story for another day. |
#4
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Barry - the hobby misses your auctions for sure.
To be truthful - I don't have any problem with an auction house owning lots - but I do believe those auction houses should disclose the ownership in their catalog. I also don't have a problem with employees of a grading company owning cards. I would just like for there to be checks and balances to be in place to ensure that the graders don't know who the submitters are. Lets face it.... you have to trust the employees in any auction house / or any grading company. If insiders are looking to defraud people - they sure have easy access to the ways to do so (no matter what rules are in place).
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Joe D. Last edited by bijoem; 02-06-2010 at 03:45 PM. Reason: grammar |
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