One of the signal tropes of this auction season is that the auction totals are down because auction house guarantees have supposedly evaporated. But as this morning’s 10-Q shows, Sotheby’s is still making substantial and aggressive guarantees that are then covered with so-called “irrevocable bids.”
As of November 4, 2016, Sotheby’s had outstanding auction guarantees totaling $258.8 million and, as of that date, Sotheby’s financial exposure was reduced by irrevocable bids totaling $144.2 million
