Why Can They Never Resist Fiddling?

I was always under the impression that the purpose of an auction was to obtain a price for an article dictated by market forces and demand.

On the one side the seller hopes to obtain the HIGHEST price whilst on the other the bidder attempts to acquire the article at the LOWEST price. If anyone holds a contrary view they simply bid against the would be buyer. Simple.

Once again we have an organisation tinkering with a time honoured mechanism in not one but two areas :

1.) 'Select Sales' or 'Green Pages' (as they were previously referred to) have been tried before. They were abandoned for a number of reasons because they didn't seem to work as well as hoped for. One of the reasons put forward was that compacting most of the perceived (emphasis on 'perceived') best lots into one uninterrupted sequence rather than scattering them through the entire catalogue unbalanced the sale. Who knows for sure? But here they are....back again.
2.) Most sales in SA have 'minimum bids' although they are usually pitched at a nominal level of up to R50k and often lower or NIL. Why change? The seller usually stands within 'nodding distance' of the auctioneer and declines the current bid if it is felt the bids fall below the minimum amount that he/she was prepared to let the lot go for. Alternatively he/she can nominate a reserve.

Yet somehow we continue to drift away from a 'free market mechanism' and prescribe 'forced minimums' whilst the sales company still parrots on about 'a horse for everyone'. Huh?

I have yet to see a vendor slice R1,000,000 off a lot which has been bid up to R4,000,000 because the price might have escalated up to 'a bit more than the bidder can comfortably afford'. That's the flip side.

But by introducing this unwarranted rule the sales company simply kills off the dream of obtaining a lot for a 'steal' and makes the sale exclusive rather than inclusive.

Garrick you are so right. An auction price should be what the market dictates
I wonder how many remember Auction Alliance who got into trouble because
they were manipulating their auctions.
I went to one of their multiple property auctions wanting to buy a commercial
property. I placed a figure of R5m on the property When the property came up
I realised there was not much interest and waited, came in at R4.2 and was immediately
raised by another new bidder until R4.8 by which time I saw who was bidding. I stopped
and walked out of the room, was immediately grabbed by a staff member of AA to try to get me
to continue
The following month the property was sold for R4.25m
Last year I was taken up from R100K to R150K and stopped on a horse
The horse was later offered to me for R120k by the vendor
No thanks

No Vendor should be allowed to bid on their own horse at an auction or have anyone bid on their behalf but in this industry up is down and elephants fly......

never mind the pressure then they put on these 1st few drafts to look the part.....perhaps even push them a bit too much


disgusting

Tigershark wrote: No Vendor should be allowed to bid on their own horse at an auction or have anyone bid on their behalf but in this industry up is down and elephants fly......

Can you explain why not? (follow up: reserves?)