Quote:
Originally Posted by dmanrico
It takes two to shill. So unless:
A) card isn’t paid for, or
B) Goldin auctions allowed the high bid to be retracted, or
C) Vegas Dave or a buddy decided paying a $180,000 fee plus another $60,000 sales tax to keep the card makes sense (which would only work if you had a second red which he doesn’t)
Then this is a legit sale.
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Splashy fake sales happen routinely in this hobby— it is an unregulated marketplace with little to zero consequences for the unscrupulous who pull such maneuvers.
On eBay it is obviously easy to pull off. At an AH, often times the owner-seller-buyer will pre-negotiate what is called a "negative 10 or negative 15 percent" deal with the AH.
This means that the owner-seller-buyer pays a 5% fee, which admittedly may be quite hefty depending on the final hammer price— but still very much worth it, considering what one gets for it: a brand new, sky high valuation for their asset, plus valuable publicity. The AH also benefits as well from the attendant publicity, and depending how in cahoots they are and how much the publicity is worth, they may provide an even better deal.
But yes, it happens. And in these cases it is financially worth it for the owner to pay the fee, considering what the valuation does to his other holdings.
Not saying one way or the other on this Trout card, as no one can ever know unless they possess inside information and confirmation. End of the day, each person in the public will believe what they want to believe, based on the views that they bring to the table and what benefits them. Just offering another angle to hopefully benefit fellow collectors/buyers who may not have heard of this is all.