Money Stuff: The Podcast · Friday, September 4, 2026
The practice of 'chandelier bidding' in art auctions, where auctioneers may place bids on behalf of the seller to meet a reserve price, is being compared to Amazon's alleged use of a 'soft reserve' in its advertising auctions. While art auction houses may disclose this practice, the FTC argues Amazon's disclosure was insufficient, leading to advertiser deception.
“I was thinking about this. Are there other examples of this sort of you run an auction, but you introduce your own bidder?”
“Does it sort of resemble spoofing in financial markets?”
“So apparently the term in art auctions is a chandelier bidder.”