You "morphed" your own question from collectors to auction houses. It's certainly possible for each to have been successful without having screwed anybody over. Many collectors have assembled great collections by buying smartly over many years, leaving the sellers happy as well. Likewise, auction houses can be successful by working hard to acquire great items and collections, and leaving their consignors and buyers happy as well. I would never suggest that the hobby hasn't seen its share of unethical and illegal conduct over the years, we all know about that. But to suggest that those with the best collections, along with the successful auction houses and dealers, got there by screwing those they dealt with is absurd, and your "zero-sum" hypothesis flawed, in my opinion. Diligence, intelligence, and knowledge had more to do with it than bad behavior in most instances, I would say.
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