All the talk nowadays is about political strategists being spin gods, but that’s wrong. The true masters of the art are the big auction houses.
You take yesterday. A photo of France’s first lady, buck naked, sold for $91,000. The auction folks had said to expect about $4,000. Oh please! Even I could see this one coming. You give me a nude shot of Mamie Eisenhower and I’ll get you a lot more than $4,000! But by managing expectations, the auctioneer looks like a genius!
The same day, a dagger that belonged to the dude who built the Taj Mahal sold for $3.4 million. The auctioneer predicted $1 million, so who looks heroic? Add the words gold-encrusted and Taj Mahal even to a dead puma, and it will sell for a million!
I’m thinking of auctioning a big chunk of marble I busted off the Taj Mahal when I visited. I’m expecting like $42, but in this market who knows? Watch and learn.
REUTERS photo of photo by Brendan McDermid
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