Hypothetical #1, Auction Lot Mis-Described
dragon
Posts: 4,548 ✭✭
You submit a small group of very high quality Carson City dollars to an auction company, and they are all in PCGS MS67 holders. Upon receiving the auction catalog 3 weeks before the sale and viewing the lots online, you notice that one of the coins is mis-described as being an NGC coin, not PCGS. You call the auction company to tell them of their mistake and they say they will note their mistake during the floor bidding session.
You attend the auction, and the auctioneer does note before that session starts that Lot #XX is a PCGS coin and not NGC. Well your lot comes up and the bidding is far less than it should be for a PCGS coin in that grade, and you are forced to bid on it yourself and 'buy it back' to avoid a large loss.
About a week later you receive a settlement statement from the auction firm which states that you owe them a $450.00 'buyback fee' for that lot which was mis-described in both their catalog and also their online version (the online version was corrected before the auction though). You call and tell them you should not be responsible for that large fee because they mis-described your coin as being in an NGC holder which considerably affected the bidding. Should the auction company waive that $450.00 buyback fee??
You attend the auction, and the auctioneer does note before that session starts that Lot #XX is a PCGS coin and not NGC. Well your lot comes up and the bidding is far less than it should be for a PCGS coin in that grade, and you are forced to bid on it yourself and 'buy it back' to avoid a large loss.
About a week later you receive a settlement statement from the auction firm which states that you owe them a $450.00 'buyback fee' for that lot which was mis-described in both their catalog and also their online version (the online version was corrected before the auction though). You call and tell them you should not be responsible for that large fee because they mis-described your coin as being in an NGC holder which considerably affected the bidding. Should the auction company waive that $450.00 buyback fee??
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<< <i>You attend the auction, and the auctioneer does note before that session starts that Lot #XX is a PCGS coin and not NGC. Well your lot comes up and the bidding is far less than it should be for a PCGS coin in that grade, and you are forced to bid on it yourself and 'buy it back' to avoid a large loss. >>
While the auction company misattributed the lots, any buy-back arrangements/fees based upon that error shoud have been discussed and made PRIOR to the sale. So, each of you is at fault in some respect.
Still, since the auction company started the whole mess, they should do the honorable thing and eat the buy-back commission, even if they are not technically obligated to do so.
Should the auction company waive that $450.00 buyback fee??
Should they, yes, but once you agreed that they would just note their mistake during the floor bidding session, you created a new contract with them which holds them harmless for their actions. You should have had them pull the item from the auction.
<< <i>Should the auction company waive that $450.00 buyback fee?? >>
yes
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I firmly believe in numismatics as the world's greatest hobby, but recognize that this is a luxury and without collectors, we can all spend/melt our collections/inventories.
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Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire