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Auctioneer sues woman over $300,000 Internet purchase
By Morning Sentinel staff Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 05/10/2008

SKOWHEGAN -- Online bidders have opened up the lucrative world of the Internet to traditional auction houses, but the anonymity of the Web also brings new headaches.

Bids can be made, but payments can come late, or not at all, and bid-upon merchandise can remain at auction houses, uncollected by the bidder.

Auctioneers say that while such situations are rare, the auction house's position between the bidder and the consignor can put them in a difficult position when a buyer fails to show up or pay.

"It does happen," said Bob Grant, auction manager of the Thomaston Place Auction Galleries in Thomaston.

In some cases, the person who buys the item suffers "buyer's remorse" after they tell their spouse about their purchase and get in trouble.

There have been times when a person who bought items actually died before they had a chance to complete the purchase, Grant said.

"There are some good excuses for why this happens," he added.

But Fairfield auctioneer James D. Julia is no longer patiently waiting for an explanation, in one case.

Julia filed suit against a woman who bid for items valued at more than $300,000 at a June 2007 auction and then failed to make good, according to a lawsuit filed in Somerset County Superior Court.

Shari Moore, of Nether Providence Township, Pa., successfully bid for a Tiffany Linenfold table lamp valued at $32,000, a Pairpoint Puffy Pansy lamp valued at $18,500, a Daum Applied vase valued at $22,000 and more than 40 other items, according to the lawsuit.

Moore registered for the auction on the Internet but then failed to follow through with the sale or collect the goods, said Julia.

Moore could not be reached last week at a phone number listed for her in court documents. A search for listings under her name in two towns where she might have a residence also was also unsuccessful.

Julia said that when somebody successfully bids for an item and then either can't or won't pay, it can create problems. The auction house itself has invested money in the buildup to the sale -- Julia said the auctions might cost $400,000 to $700,000 -- and stands to lose out on part of its profit.

Other problems can escalate. The person selling the item might have been counting on the proceeds to pay a bill or make a purchase and could now face a cash flow problem. Finally, the item itself could come under new scrutiny and even drop in value.

Those problems can be magnified if auction houses are selling especially valuable items.

James D. Julia Inc. recently completed a firearms auction in which the gross proceeds were about $12.7 million -- a worldwide record for firearm auctions, according to Julia.

With careful screening, problems are rare, said Julia, but he said the anonymity offered by the Internet can increase the difficulty of determining who is qualified to bid and who isn't.

Moore registered to bid at the June auction on the Internet. As the auction proceeded and she bid for a number of items, the auction manager did more research, actually calling her on the phone.

"She sounded very legit," said Julia.

It was only after the auction, when the money did not immediately arrive and the auction house did more checking, that there appeared to be a problem with the sale, said Julia.

Julia said Moore's unpaid $300,000 bill was by far the highest that his auction house has seen.

Grant said that the growth of Internet bidding has been a "double-edged sword" for auction houses.

While the Internet means more bids and often better sales for clients, it also means more people are buying expensive objects without seeing them in person.

The auction house does the best it can to faithfully represent the item and to answer any questions, said Grant, but there is no substitute for actually seeing it and asking questions in person.

He said it is very rare there is a problem when somebody is bidding from the floor.

Transactions that take place over the Internet, however, are more likely to result in issues.

Grant estimated Internet sales make up only about 13 percent of his auction house's business but result in roughly 70 percent of the problems.

Regardless of whether it is actually a better way to buy antiques, Grant said it is clear the Internet is here to stay.

"Whether we like it or not, it is the communication of the future," he said.

Alan Crowell -- 474-9534, Ext. 342

acrowell@centralmaine.com

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