Auction Item returned to seller. This ever happen to you?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by ksabet

Lastly I am not sure but I don't think a single auction house would purchase items from consignors due to non-paying bidders as a rule of thumb, if this was the case it would promote shill bidding even further as consignors could drive up the price and know the auction house would bail them out.

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I don't understand this point, if the consignor wins the lot due to his own shill bidding then there is no one to pay or to bail out? Maybe i am missing the point.

[scgaynor]

I don't know any auction houses that go after non paying bidders legally unless it is a very high value item. Usually people don't pay because they don't have the money so you can sue them all that you want, but you can't get blood from a stone. An auction house is not going to go through the time and expense of trying to get a judgement that they most likely won't collect on anyway.

Every once in a while an auction house will buy an item that was not paid for, but only for really good consignors or if the item went cheap anyway. My guess is that your contract probably states what happens if the buyer does not pay (I put it in my contract). The standard protocol is that the item is either resold or returned to the consignor.

Scott

[ksabet]

Originally Posted by scgaynor

I don't know any auction houses that go after non paying bidders legally unless it is a very high value item. Usually people don't pay because they don't have the money so you can sue them all that you want, but you can't get blood from a stone. An auction house is not going to go through the time and expense of trying to get a judgement that they most likely won't collect on anyway.

Every once in a while an auction house will buy an item that was not paid for, but only for really good consignors or if the item went cheap anyway. My guess is that your contract probably states what happens if the buyer does not pay (I put it in my contract). The standard protocol is that the item is either resold or returned to the consignor.

Scott

Thank you for so eloquently making the point I guess I was failing to articulate.