My sister and I went to an auction a while back. It was the kind of household auction with box lots of miscellaneous household items stacked on long tables. At the same instant, we both spot a large cardboard box loaded with Lenox dishes.
My sister, who is a sometimes antiques dealer but mainly a collector, says “Oh, those plates are soooooo pretty! They would look so nice on the sideboard in my dining room”.
Meanwhile, I’m looking at the plates and I see dollar signs shooting out of the box….dollar signs like little shooting stars. I want that box of dishes, not because they are pretty or because I like them. I want them to resell and make money. Mwaaaaahahaha.
So, bidding for the box of Lenox begins and I follow my sister’s bid with a surprise bid of my own. She was so outraged by my betrayal that she stopped bidding. I won the box handily.
After I retreived the box, my sister hissed “I can’t believe that you bid against your own sister for a lousy box of dishes. I turned to her and said, “Sorry, Sis, but it’s the Antiques Business, not the Antiques Friendness”. Needless to say, my comment put a damper on sisterly love for a few weeks!
Seriously, this story DID happen but I have learned since that once you invite a friend or family member to attend an auction with you that you’ve turned the potential business outing into a social outing. At least it’s that way for me. I may want to bid on an item but I feel like I have to be a nice person and not hog every bidding opportunity.