I've never given much thought to it Ian.
Going back far into the past I used to buy at auction frequently. No buyers premium, auctioneers charged 10% of the hammer price, no GST (VAT). These days its a totally different ball game.
As you say there are telephone bidders and they bid from all over. At the auction I attended they had I don't know how many people up front taking calls and doing all sorts of funny things. Not like the old days when it was an auctioneer and a penciller.
Used to be simple, now its complex and the commissions and premiums pay for the complexity.
Replace this circus with what?
I don't know.
ebay and other similar sites seem to work OK for some people.
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