Dilemma on a bilbo

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Helleri

So it's down to the very nature of participating in an auction. Part of that nature being a degree of risk. A gamble on what you are paying for what you are getting.

There is another aspect to this however. If a piece sells for more than it is really worth, and if Auction house records go unchanged regarding the sale of that piece and remain inaccurate. That can harm the integrity of the system. It could with enough such small errors, artificially drive the price up on some items. So another question would be, do you have an onus to correct errors and receive fair pricing for the sake of preserving the integrity of the system?

Well put Helleri, it does seem to me that errors, no matter how honest or unintended, should be addressed, not just to the benefit of the clientele, but those of the auction who stand to gain important detail and awareness.
It is their fiduciary responsibility to be as accurate as possible, and if reputation is of concern, should be grateful for input.

There is a great deal of psychology involved here, as noted, and often 'good deals' just happen due to degree of specialized traffic at the time to one item or another (I once got a great deal on an Uzbek sword amidst the volume of British military swords being presented).

I have a great deal of respect for those who catalog in many of the large auction houses, and have had the privilege of knowing a few. They would have been horribly chagrined if one of their entries had been inadequate.