Tough Sells Every auction has its long shots, yet these two, oddly enough, areemblazoned on catalog covers for the sales.
"Sixteen Jackies" was being sold by Peter Brant, the Connecticut newsprint magnate who has large holdings of Warhols "Whoever bought it got a good deal," Mr. Brant said after the sale, adding, "It's always tough for whichever auction house goes first, because people generally hold back".
When the going got tough, these companies auctioned prized selections from their art collections.
In 1995, another tough year in the auction business, the pattern of price increases was repeated, this time on the commissions that Sotheby's and Christie's charge sellers.
In the world of celebrity memorabilia, says Sotheby's specialist Leila Dunbar, it's the famous owner that determines value, and that is tough to fathom until auction day rolls around.
The exhibition also offers other business advantages: It brings people into the auction house during tough economic times, and it allows Sotheby's to regain the spotlight after Christie's coup in Paris last month, when it sold $483.8 million worth of art and objects belonging to Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé.
Seriously in need of cash flow, Miles says he made the tough decision to sell at auction.
While there are currently sellers of gold and silver on the eBay marketplace, it's tough to apply either the auction or fixed price model to these items because the value is constantly in flux in a given day.
Auction theory uses very tough mathematics to grind out results.
Auction houses suffered a tough recession, with the Rics survey revealing price drops across virtually every category in 2008 and values down more than 30%.
Yet the diehards came — collectors and dealers who hung in after a tough two days and nights of auctions.
