[meteorite-list] Legal?? Lang AUCTION RESULTS

From: Michael L Blood <mlblood_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 09 Feb 2007 14:07:27 -0800
Message-ID: <C1F2309F.32BBD%mlblood_at_cox.net>

on 2/8/07 9:10 AM, Greg Hupe at gmhupe at tampabay.rr.com wrote:
> Dirk brings up a very good question, since the Lang's held a live public
> auction, are they licensed? A couple people have stated in the last 12 hours
> that there was some confusion during the Lang auction, which makes sense if
> one were to hold a public auction without proper and ethical training.
-------
The state of AZ, like most states, does not require an Auctioneer's license.
Proper training, on the other hand, is invaluable. I went to the Missouri
Auction School (the most highly recognized Auction School in the US) where
I was exposed to 5 days and nights of training followed by both oral and
written exams the passing of which were required to be issued certification
by the school. It was a very intensive and demanding experience.
        So, I have my training and Darryl Pitt hires a professional
auctioneer and a panel of clerks.
        I would like to point out that even though I am mightily concerned
about the difference in the sale price reported on the Sylacauga I purchased
vs what I paid ($3,200 - which I considered an absolute steal, even at that
price) that does not mean I consider Al Lang to have engaged in purposeful
fraud, even if the reported sale price of $1,525- proves to be accurate.
        There is a HUGE difference between running a "silent auction"
and the leap to a live auction and I would like to believe Al's failure to
appreciate the complications involved is the entire cause of the
discrepancies reported.
        BTW, not only is the posting of sales prices NOT required, some
types of auctions are conducted in secret. The most interesting example
(to me) is the Tobacco Auctions - some of you might be old enough to
remember a TV cigarette add that concluded with an auction cant (with
no distinguishable numbers) ending with, "SOLD, American! This was
in reference to The American Tobacco Company, one of only 4 or 5 tobacco
companies in the US among which all the various brand name cigarettes
are created and sold.
        Auctioneers conducting this auction (of all of the tobacco grown in
the US) to these tobacco companies tend to number ONE auctioneer in
the country. He teaches others, and, upon his death or retirement, one of
those who have received training from him takes over until his death or
retirement. I took one of my afternoon seminars with the current reigning
Tobacco Auctioneer and the most fascinating aspect of the tobacco auction
is that each and every number has been replaced with an English word
which sounds nothing like the number, with the exception of "semen" being
the word which represents the number seven. All the other numbers are
replaced with words entirely unlike the numbers they represent.
        The purpose of this is to prevent ANYONE from knowing at what price
a given lot of tobacco sold for, other than the auctioneer and the 4 or 5
representatives of the major tobacco companies.
        Best wishes, Michael
 
Received on Fri 09 Feb 2007 05:07:27 PM PST