**UPDATED* HUNT AUCTIONS

***Update*** Just spoke with them on the phone. Very nice and professional about the whole thing. Bottom line, everything worked out to both party's satisfaction. He answered and addressed my concerns and I in turn told him a check would go out tomorrow.

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<< <i>She then tells me that "Maybe they would" basically let me out. >>
Translation:
We f-ed up.
Refuse to pay and let HUNT take the deserved heat
That's if they hit your card, if not let Hunt sort it out. They started the whole mess to start with.
I think your friend was right, and a consignor set too high of a reserve and decided to accept your highest offer. (rather than the high bidder rejecting the lot)
Sometimes it does take a couple of days to iron out if you are a winner because of the live, email and phone bids being from a different location then their usual PA address.
<< <i>I feel as though if that is the case, then I should have been called and offered the card, not been sent an invoice. I didn't win the card at auction (if that is the case). >>
I'm pretty sure that is the case, hence the reason why HUNT will let it slide.
here is my experience with the auction, I was bidding on the phone , 3 lots that I won live on the phone showed up with "0" on the website . I do not think the website was official prices , they sent them back from the floor to Pennsylvania and someone input them. the lots were also about 100 behind on the website compared to the live auction.
I have bought from them many times and never a problem and they stand behind everything. If they say it was clerical then it was probably clerical as I know they did exist since some of my wins were not entered and would have showed with the same "0" winning bid which you thought was unsold.
I highly doubt they said after the fact sell it to him and send him an invoice.
It's also fishy that the final price just happens to be goose's high bid. I'm also thinking goose had the highest bid but didn't meet the reserve and they decided to sell to him. I know when we set bids on items we're willing to pay that amount if it gets that high. However, our hope is always that we can get the card cheaper and goose wasn't even given that opportunity. Sure you could say that if the reserve was exactly the amount of goose's bid, the situation would be the same. But it wasn't and it isn't.
My advice to you, goose, is decide asap whether or not you're going to buy the card and stand behind that decision regardless of what happens. If you walk into this indecisively, you could end up being backed into a corner.
You're right though. "Live" auctions have gotten kind of ridiculous in terms of being there and bidding, bidding over the phone, and bidding online. It's gotta be hard to keep everything straight at all times. Although it seems to be working in the auction houses favor because realized prices are at an all-time high.
Lee