[Archive]

Posted By: barrysloate

Al- you bring up a host of issues.

First of all, my software does allow me to see who has bid and whether any ceiling bids have been placed. Of course when I ran telephone auctions everybody had to leave their bids with me including maximums. So in that sense, my auction is not like ebay, where you do not know any of the ceilings at all.

Yet I get dozens of ceiling bids throughout every auction. Obviously, that is done based on the comfort level the bidder has leaving one. I guess any auction is only as secure as the people running it.

With regard to your other questions, such as do auction houses have profiles on bidders or share information with other auction houses, I have no idea. I think every seller in any business gets to know his customers, and I suppose I do know who bids conservatively and who bids aggressively. But I don't know of any software that tracks this information. If you've done business with somebody over the years you get to know something about him.

Now if all your questions are leading to an obvious conclusion, which is: can auction houses be trusted, my answer is I am only privy to what goes on in my own. No other auction house shows me their books or shares confidential information. I know stuff goes on, but exactly what that stuff is is open to conjecture.