Heritage T206 Wagner Card at the National

[calvindog]

Ok -- we've got it figured out. Pete was accurate in what he wrote. Heritage bid the hell out of the card up to the level right at the reserve -- to provide the imaginary scenario of the card being worth 242K, with the hope of someone being dumb enough to actually make the next bid, thus bypassing the reserve. No one did. Had the card actually sold for what the last real bid was, the seller, who was into the card for 225K, would have 'gotten killed.'

[Matthew H]

Maybe he borrowed money to buy the card and needs more then 245k to make good.

[FUBAR]

Greed is all that is.... making a mere 10% in one month.....

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by Matthew H

Maybe he borrowed money to buy the card and needs more then 245k to make good.

No. He bought the card for 225K but without Heritage bidding the card up on its own, the last real bid would have been way below 225K. Now the owner has to fool someone else into buying a Frankenwagner.

[vintagecpa]

I'm curious, how does someone know that it is the auction house bidding up the card instead of a legitimate bidder?

[calvindog]

Because it says so in the Heritage rules. And Pete confirmed it by saying that if not for the reserve the seller would have gotten killed. Who would pay 292K for a Frankenwagner? Answer: no one.