Who attends an auction thinking they have must buy something . . . anything? Answer: The same type of person who can't leave a brocante empty-handed.
Here is SJ's new secretaire. She is correct for once: the hammer price was EUR 5,000. However, with the 26% buyers premium the total comes to EUR 6,300 (which is what Christie's reports as the realized price). What SJ doesn't reveal to her patrons is that, with VAT, the final price is actually EUR 6,560 (which is 31.2% above the hammer price). Then there is the cost for delivery or collection, which can bring the total expenditure to well over EUR 7,000.
I'll leave it up to my fellow connoisseurs to determine if this was a fair price. Considering the replaced veneer and unattributed cabinetmaker, I think not. The estimate was fine; and with the added Givenchy association I think it should have only fetched EUR 3,000-4,000 tops.
Just another thoughtless, random, expensive object for the shittoo.
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