Tales from the saleroom
Steve Woolnough reports on stories and items from inside the auction houses
Our writer explores the murky world of porters and whether they have the inside track on bargains at auction.
The email from Anon in
November’s Armourer raised some interesting points. I have known porters to volunteer their services in exchange for favours such as waiving of commission, which allows them to avoid tax on their income and admin costs are reduced for both parties. However, this will be up to a pre-agreed level. If this was not done, the auction house could potentially lose thousands of pounds in commission to save a few hours’ work, normally paid at minimum wage. So, I believe where such arrangements are in place, the impact on the wider bidding public will not be great.
With regard to auctioneers ignoring bids to allow staff to purchase at reduced prices, I feel this is unlikely. The auction house would again be losing commission and any hint of deliberately overlooking bids would result in significant reputational damage, especially as many vendors attend auctions to see their items sell. As Anon states, this issue was resolved once he took a more noticeable seat.
I do not believe porters gain an unfair advantage by being able to more closely inspect items. Potential buyers should always ensure that they have undertaken appropriate due diligence before bidding. An increasing number of auctions show lots online considerably before their printed catalogues are available or cataloguing completed, allowing research to be undertaken well in advance of the sale date. What I do object to is auctions who don’t show their items until the week of sale, give limited viewing opportunities, and have very restricted returns policies.
Dealers, whether porters or not, have always used auctions to dispose of poorer quality items. I have no problem with this as it allows purchases to be made for restoration or for parts at prices below that which retailers charge. Fakes are another matter but porters do not undertake the cataloguing or valuing, or decide if any consignment is accepted. Of greater concern are dealers employed by auction houses to catalogue their own items, representing an obvious conflict of interest with the danger of deliberate mis-describing of items.
The possibility of porters colluding together to fix prices I feel has minimal effect, being no different than friends or dealers agreeing not to bid against each other. Also, bidding people up may end with an unwanted item being purchased. The Society of Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers (SOFAA) provides guidance notes for good practice that members should comply with. These state: ‘Should an auctioneer or member of staff wish to bid … a written bid should be submitted in advance of the sale. Bids executed on this basis should be on the strict understanding that items so acquired would be for personal use only, and not for re-sale’. Unfortunately, few auction houses are members.
With regard to people apparently attending online only auctions, these will almost certainly be members of staff. There are a number of circumstances where staff can legitimately bid and this has increased significantly during the Covid-19 period, which has prompted a massive uplift in commission bidding. Frequently, offices have been unable to process the volumes in advance of the sale, with the result that details are printed off and handed to staff to bid. I also saw this pre-Covid, after an auction house’s computer records system failed. I have benefitted from a member of staff bidding on my behalf when a road traffic accident on the way delayed my attendance. I phoned the saleroom manager, who bid on my behalf. Staff may also be bidding for known clients who, often with good reason, don’t trust the office admin to appropriately record their bids.
There are murkier sides to some auction houses, as with all business sectors, such as at the
Paris Drouot auction house where several porters were jailed for theft in 2016. However, other practises I believe have a far greater adverse impact than disreputable porters. Ultimately, no-one is forced to use any particular auction house, so if you have negative experiences, stop using it.