Those who scream themselves red in the face about the ''scandal'' have short memories. Once upon a time, Sotheby's was the first to institute a 10 percent charge. Christie's opted for no charge, and then set it at 8 percent. Eventually, it brought the rate to a par with Sotheby's. The reason is simple.
Common sense dictates uniformity of sale conditions.
Every collector understands this. The last thing he or she wants is to have a moment's hesitation in working out mentally the global price as bidding proceeds, when there is so much you really need to worry about at auction, if only making sure that no one is aware you are personally in the running. This is where the danger of price fixing, abhorrent to lawmakers, comes in - without any law being broken. Some deal with the ''reserve,'' or minimum price demanded by the vendor. The auctioneer may bid on the vendor's behalf until that reserve is reached.