Posted By:
Hal LewisI guess we can't have it both ways.
If we want to know whether the auction house owns the item for sale... we have to be willing to live with the possibility that someone will pay more for the "fame" of owning something that was owned by Mastro or Lifson or Sloate, etc.
Personally, I think it would probably be an even "wash" in that some people would NOT bid on the item for fear of being "shilled" by the auctioneer/owner... while a few might bid harder since the item must be "real" if it was owned by someone as knowledgeable as the auctioneer.