Jefford on Monday: Auction Fever
Why buy wine at auction? After another affluent year in the salerooms, it seems as if auction purchasers enjoy paying over the odds - and that's before they've found handfuls of extra money for the alarming buyer's premium (and local taxes). Acker Merrall & Condit claimed to have set "145 world auction records" at its Hong Kong sale on November 4th to 5th last year, while some of the prices reported in Decanter magazine's monthly 'Auction news' over the last 12 months suggest that the paddle wavers simply don't bother with - or forget all about - their homework.