Our first response was from Robert Edward Auctions (I had predicted that in my head) Here's how it went
Eric


Answers to questions for Robert Edward Auctions are below.

1) Does your auction house list items in which you have a financial interest? (Either you own it, or have a stake in?)

The auction house does not own any lots in part or whole. Here is an except from our terms and conditions page (a link to which I am providing here: http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/site/terms.aspx)

We provide the following relevant text in our auction guide, both in our catalog and online:

"A WORD ABOUT CONFLICTS OF INTEREST:[FONT='Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif']Edward Auctions’ policies regarding Conflicts of Interest are summarized by Section #13 of REA’s Terms and Conditions:[/FONT][FONT='Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'][/FONT]
"13. There is no circumstance under which Robert Edward Auctions, LLC may execute bids on its own “house account,” thereby unfairly competing with bidders. In fact, to be clear, Robert Edward Auctions does not even have a “house account,” unlike many other auctions. Under no circumstance may any executive or employee of Robert Edward Auctions, LLC place bids in the auction for their personal accounts. Under no circumstance are consignors permitted to bid on their own lots. This is a consignment auction, conducted on behalf of consignors, by Robert Edward Auctions, LLC. Under no circumstance will any lot be offered in any Robert Edward Auctions, LLC auction which has been purchased or is otherwise owned outright by Robert Edward Auctions, LLC. Executives and employees of Robert Edward Auctions, LLC may consign their personal property to the auction. Any and all lots consigned from the personal collections of any executive or employee of Robert Edward Auctions (or any relative of any executive or employee) will be explicitly and formally identified as such in the lot description. All bidding records are archived, as always, indefinitely, and will forever be available for auditing purposes, if necessary."[FONT='Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'][/FONT]
We are not dealers. And we mean it. Robert Edward Auctions will never place a bid on material in our auction. Robert Edward Auctions will never purchase material outright to offer at auction. With Robert Edward Auctions, bidders are guaranteed that they never have to worry about the auction house bidding against them on any lot in the auction – EVER. With Robert Edward Auctions, bidders also never have to worry about secret hidden reserves – EVER. These firm policies translate into greater and well deserved bidder confidence, and in turn higher prices for consigners.[FONT='Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'][/FONT]
Many auction houses are also dealerships, offering material they own at auction, often intentionally misrepresenting this fact to the public. Many auction houses, as a standard practice, place bids in their own auctions against their bidders, with an emphasis on higher-priced items and on material they own. Some auction house rules actually clearly state that the auction house, as an entity, may bid in the auction, in addition to permitting all executives and employees of the auction house to bid. Some auction houses routinely alter or destroy bidding records after each sale. These and other common practices in the auction industry expose consignors and bidders to numerous irreconcilable conflicts - conflicts which can and do cost bidders and consignors money, and can ultimately make bidders uncomfortable even participating in the auction. [FONT='Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'][/FONT]

These are conflicts that DO NOT EXIST with Robert Edward Auctions.[FONT='Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'][/FONT]
Robert Edward Auctions believes that protecting the integrity of the auction process, by taking clear and unambiguous positions with reference to conflicts of interest, results in greater bidder confidence, greater participation, and higher prices. Everyone likes an honest auction. [FONT='Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'][/FONT]

Also relevant is the following additional text:

"A Word About Auction House Consignment Disclosure:[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']With reference to recent attention in the industry regarding questions about auctioneers identifying owned lots, the following text is from an REA email that was sent in August 2006 in which REA amended our Terms and Conditions regarding material owned by employees. The relevant text of the email reads as follows:

“Effective immediately, we are amending Section 13 of our Terms and Conditions to provide a formal identification in the lot description of any and all lots consigned from the personal collections of any executive or employee of Robert Edward Auctions (or any relative of any executive or employee). Because REA does not buy material for auction, in many ways this policy amendment is a non-event. In the April 2006 auction, for example, a total of sixteen lots out of 1,411 would have been identified as property consigned from the personal collections of executives, employees, or their relatives (and we should add that every single one of these lots was purchased many years ago). [In the April 2007 auction a total of only 5 lots out of 1594 represent property consigned from the personal collections of executives, employees, or their relatives.] So why are we even bothering doing this? Because Robert Edward Auctions believes that the many conflicts of interest that are so common and so accepted in the sports card and memorabilia auction world today play a great role in promoting many of the most serious problems that are epidemic in the auction industry. Robert Edward Auctions strives to stand out as an example to the auction world, demonstrating how auctions ideally should be run. So while this policy amendment has no impact on REA, it is intended to be a call to action for all auction houses, and a wake up call to all collectors who participate in auctions. Bidders should never intentionally be misled about who owns the lots they are bidding on. Some auctions have claimed they are not dealers, when in fact that is exactly what they are. Some auctions present collections of very well known collectors or ballplayers, and intentionally give the impression that these collections have been consigned, rather than the truth: that the collection has been purchased and is actually owned and is being sold by the auction house. If bidders are being intentionally misled about something as basic as who is really offering a collection, and a false impression is given that material has been consigned when this is not true, it is misleading both to bidders and to potential consignors, and it raises the question, “What else is not as it seems?”

We believe that collectors approach auctions very differently when they understand that material presented is often owned by the auction company, as opposed to being consigned as represented, and are much less enthusiastic about bidding on all lots (including those lots which are actually consigned) in any auction in which they feel they have been intentionally misled. When collectors finally learn the truth about this issue, let alone when they come to understand that at many auctions the auction company consigns hundreds of lots, and its employees also consign hundreds of additional lots, and both the auction house and the employees bid in their own auctions, they become less enthusiastic bidders in those auctions. This should be very important to all bidders and consignors. We are seeing a greater awareness of these issues that affect all lots in auctions which combine secretly owned auction-house lots and consignments. As collectors grow more sophisticated, they are gaining a greater understanding of the conflicts and misinformation that are regularly presented to them. It's time that all lots owned by auction houses, auction house executives, auction house employees, and their relatives be identified, as opposed to being camouflaged among consignments in a manner that could be interpreted as a deliberate charade of deception.”

End of quote.

We think our policies are very clear. They are always evolving. We are pleased to see serious attention to topics that we consider to be among the most important and overlooked in the field. REA cannot solve these issues, but by calling attention to them by formally adopting and communicating our policies, we have always felt that we were playing an important role in encouraging and heightening awareness. It is our hope that these discussions will result in greater awareness and play a role in promoting significant change where it is needed.

Sincerely,

Robert Lifson
President
Robert Edward Auctions LLC
www.RobertEdwardAuctions.com"
[/FONT]


2) Do you allow your authenticator (one who's services you pay for) to consign items to your auction?

Yes, we do allow authenticators to consign items to the auction; however, it is our policy that this is done with full disclosure right in the lot description. The text from our terms and condition pages reads as follows:

"Robert Edward Auctions does not prohibit authenticators from consigning lots. Robert Edward Auctions’ formal policy regarding consignments by authenticators is the requirement that ownership or financial interest of all such lots be clearly communicated in the lot description in all cases where such authentication is cited in the lot description."

David Bushing, for example, has several lots in the current auction which have been authenticated by MEARS. Since David Bushing is one of the MEARS authenticators, the fact that he is the consignor is communicated clearly right in the auction description. If anyone was not comfortable with the fact that these items are owned by David Bushing, with this full disclosure bidders have the ability to either: choose to have confidence in the MEARS authentication process and guarantees, choose not to bid, or choose to arrange to have another authenticator look at these items (a process that we would always be very happy to cooperate with).

3) Are members of your auction house allowed to bid on the items in your auction?

Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT. Not only are employees and executives prohibited from bidding, so are their family members. Section 13 of our terms and conditions is very clear regarding this issue:

"13. There is no circumstance under which Robert Edward Auctions, LLC may execute bids on its own “house account,” thereby unfairly competing with bidders. In fact, to be clear, Robert Edward Auctions does not even have a “house account,” unlike many other auctions. Under no circumstance may any executive or employee of Robert Edward Auctions, LLC place bids in the auction for their personal accounts. Under no circumstance are consignors permitted to bid on their own lots. This is a consignment auction, conducted on behalf of consignors, by Robert Edward Auctions, LLC. Under no circumstance will any lot be offered in any Robert Edward Auctions, LLC auction which has been purchased or is otherwise owned outright by Robert Edward Auctions, LLC. Executives and employees of Robert Edward Auctions, LLC may consign their personal property to the auction. Any and all lots consigned from the personal collections of any executive or employee of Robert Edward Auctions (or any relative of any executive or employee) will be explicitly and formally identified as such in the lot description. All bidding records are archived, as always, indefinitely, and will forever be available for auditing purposes, if necessary."

We always welcome inquiries about our policies and procedures which are always evolving. This has always been a priority with us and we thank you for your interest.



Sincerely,




Robert Lifson
President
Robert Edward Auctions, LLC
P.O. Box 7256
Watchung, N.J. 07069
908-226-9900
908-226-9920 fax
www.RobertEdwardAuctions.com