boa
Joined: 26 Sep 2008
Posts: 14
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 Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 9:06 pm Post subject: Art Auction Bunfight! |
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Hi - has anyone read the latest article by Adrian Newstead on AASD, rubbishing the Sothebys sale? Two points need to be made here:
(1) There is the potential for unethical behaviour by the writers of these articles, given that all of them work in the trade and will be buying or selling at the auctions they are covering. There is currently nothing to stop then "hyping up" an item that they have consigned themselves (to get a better price), or rubbishing an item that they themselves want to bid on (to get it at a bargain price). To guard against this, the writers should have no interest (as vendor or bidder) on the items they are describing, and there should be an explicit disclaimer stating this on each article. I would not be too pleased if I was the vendor of the Rover rubbished by Writer X and the found out Writer X bought it at a bargain rate, after putting off all the other bidders!
(2) Adrian's latest article is way too personal. It is OK to criticise Sotheby's sale presentation as lacklustre, but implying that the entire staff need to be sacked is way out of line. One wonders if he has aspirations for their jobs. |
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