Posted By:
martindl
I spent a good deal of time last night browsing the catalog.
One thing that stood out for me were how low a good number of the 'estimates' are. I'd like to think that this is merely conservatism on behalf of the auction house, but wonder if there is more behind it than that.
Is it a mechanism to get people to bid i.e. "Good heavens - thats a bargain estimate. I think i'll bid on it".
Is it a mechcanism for future marketing? e.g. "the auction grossed xx millions, x million higher than our estimate thus consign with us because we do better than advertised".
REA is not alone in this practice, but if you look at some of the estimates you'll find some that are laughably low.