by Ursula Kampmann
translated by honeycutshome
October 23, 2014 – We have become used to the fact that most of the time technology is working fine. LiveBidding, hence placing a bid via the internet during the auction sale, has become something we take for granted. Many auction houses are pleased that customers from distant countries are now able to participate as well. But how to react when suddenly, due to technical problems, live bidding has been rendered impossible?
This was the situation Jürg Richter, Managing Director of Sincona AG in Zurich, was faced with. He decided to cancel auction sale #21. The reasons for this breakdown were “serious technical problems caused by a last minute security update by the responsible IT company”. The customers are said to have been quite understanding, even though some of them had traveled quite a distance, e.g. from Russia, to attend the sale in person.
The cancelled auction will be held on May 20, 2015, as a regular floor auction – without the option on LiveBidding. All lots already sold (lots 5001-5016) are definite and will not be reoffered for sale.
With the announcement the auction house Sincona AG apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused. This is self-evident – albeit unnecessary, strictly speaking. After all, we are all subjects to the forces of nature. And technology has become something of a force of nature by now.
The results of auction sale # 19 and #20 as well as the information on the cancelled auction sale you can find here.