The deceptive auction practices for personal property are not and will not be accepted by those auctioneers involved in the selling of real property.  Although the two do have substantial differences in debtor/creditor law, as far as I know, the only specific distinction between the two forms of property is one is movable (personal) and the other not (real).   The essential difference in the auctioneering process between the two is that a minimum bid price is disclosed before the start of an auction of real property. Without that honest and forthright start to the process, any form of chicanery and deception can take place, and it certainly does.  For…

It doesn’t take much for the public to mistrust antiques dealers.  We see it in New York Times articles like Christopher Mason’s scathing account of the Hobbs brothers family feud over the veracity of what they were selling or walking the Haughton International Art & Antiques Show and rarely finding a dealer openly disclose descriptions and prices of the items they are selling.     Auctioneers don’t have a lock on deceptive practices. With secret reserves, sham bidding, and conflict of interests, they have taken the high road with the public’s acceptance of their methods.  Dealers and their representative organizations are in a major state of self denial over their…

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the last 2 investment banks standing from the financial collapse of 2008 were summarily reorganized into regulated commercial banks by the government, in order for them to survive.  In the art and antiques industry, the Sotheby’s/Christie’s duopoly still operate in an unregulated, dangerous, and reckless manner.  Just like investment banks wrote their own rules on credit, the duopoly has redesigned the auction process.   Investment banks have regaled in their image as aggressive and creative market makers for new products and services.  As we have discovered, most of it was financial fluff, with a lot of smoke and mirrors on real valuations, with the investment…

The New York Times published an article titled “Passion and Prudence, the Secrets to Collecting” as topic in a section on wealth management.  One again we see how dealers are treated and misunderstood, at the expense of auctions and specifically the Sotheby’s/Christie’s duopoly).  I responded to the author.   Dear Ms. Rozhon,   I think your article on collecting antiques couldn’t come at a more opportune time in an industry that has suffered image issues and the intense competition of the Mid 20th Century modern design trend.     However, you have done a great disservice to the dealer trade by depicting them as good only for charging a fee…

The traditional antiques trade has enjoyed little if any contact with a younger generation of style conscious teenagers.   I should know, as my 15 year old daughter and as her older sibling brothers when they were her age, show not desire to have these objects interfere with their Blackberry, iPod, or video game. We have a real problem here.   Kids today are bombarded with the media and advertisers for their attention.  Teens and young people in general have been the focus of the movie, fashion, and technology industries.  Art and especially antiques is a complete sideline in their life.  What they are taught in art classes is more about…

Connecting the Olympics to antiques seems like a bit of a stretch.  The over 100 years of the existence of the games qualifies for that threshold definition of “antique”.  But just like antiques you can have fakes.  Fakes can be real or imagined and perception has a lot to do with it.   This year’s Olympics in Bejing have been nothing short of spectacular in the performance of the athletes and level of skill.  The competition and quality of the various sports has been at the highest level I have ever seen since watching these games as a kid.  Most of all, I believe the athletes are not using illegal…

As one of the essential senses like smelling roses, an unexpected visual experience can have a cathartic effect.   I just experienced one of those occurrences, but in my back yard.   I’ve noticed that this year (at least in my area of North Jersey) the native rhododendrons are in an exceptional state of blooming.  Everywhere is pink and white, as small pink “finials” open up into white, big puffy snowballs.  The petals have the form of snowflakes.   When I stared down my driveway, I imagined it was snowing, as the falling white petals had formed a snowy impression of the plant on the ground.  This is seeing nature, the true…