Auction mistakes - web-site?

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Posted By: Scott

I just received an auction catalog from a trusted auction house. The catalog contains a misrepresented item which has a starting bid 4X it's value, and while the item is worth about $20 (that's what I paid for one), it will probably sell for $500-$5,000 based on the erroneous description.

The dilemna: do I simply call them and report the mistake?

Normally I would make a simple phone call, but given some of the things that David Rudd and Robert have posted, it makes me think that we could use a web-site listing all auction errors that board members have spotted - this way we don't have to rely on the auction houses updating their own web-sites. I have personally bid on items based on auction catalog descriptions that I didn't realize had been updated on the auction web-sites. If I had a single place to check for ALL auction house errors and corrections, it would be much easier.

PS - certainly I would call the auction house prior to posting a note on such a web-site, just to make sure there wasn't more to the story. This particular auction house is very, very honest, so I definitely won't post more detail until I've spoken with them.

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Posted By: Judge Dred

Great idea - who's going to host it or can we dedicate a thread to it on this board?

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Posted By: hankron

I think this board would be as good as any to point out errors, as it gets good readership and allows people to discuss and even disagree with the situation.

It's always best to contact the auction house first. Gives them a chance to give their side of the story, perhaps point out how they are correct, and correct the mistake right away if they see fit.

Personally, I would rather not have to point out material errors on a chat board. I don't post every error I see (some material, some technicalities), and don't get enjoyment out of posting when I do. I would much rather things were dealt with directly through the auction house, or for bidders to privately contact me about they stuff they are interested in (Which some do).

I also beleive there should be hobby karma. There's more to than just bitching and moaning about auction lots. One should also offer positive information to collectors to help them idenfity, date or appreceate material. There's more to it than saying an ad sign is bad and the auction house should be ashamed. You should also offer constructive advice at some point or other to help collectors identify the fakes theselves. Even if you're correct, only bitching about the hobby or auction lots gets to be a drag after a while.

Lastly, someone would have to be nuts to personally finance/host a site for others' to make wild accusations of forgery and intentional deceit against Sotheby's, MastroNet, Christie's, etc. The site owner would have potentialfinancial liability if there was a lawsuit ... I think this public chatboard is fine.

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Posted By: Scott

Maybe Robert would host it?

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Posted By: hankron

A piece of sage advice when making big accusations is to say "In my opinion" or "It is my opinion that such-and-such is fake." It is not libel if you are saying something is an opinion. It can be libel if you incorrectly say something is fact ("It is a forgery.")

Also, when you realize you've made a big boo boo in judgement, be the first and never the last to admit it.

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Posted By: Scott

How about a site that simply lists corrections issued by the auction houses? Each time an auction house lists a correction on their own web-site, or via email, the web-master would copy the info on the "corrections" web-site with a status of "correction" (perhaps under a heading set up for each auction house). For errors we spot first, the procedure would be:

1. Contact the auction house with the correction
2. If the auction house agrees with you, or is "looking into it", add the correction to the "corrections" web-site with a status of "pending correction".
3. If the auction house DOES NOT agree with you, but you feel certain you are right, add it to the "corrections" web-site with a status of "in (your name goes here) opinion".

#3 could be left out all together if desired - the web-site would still serve a useful purpose as an area to quickly check for ALL auction house corrections.