Kit blows the whistle…

….bull breeder Kit Pharo has a blurb in his weekly newsletter partially….if only partially….exposing the nonsense at many cattle auctions.  I recall the confusion I felt at my first auction 25 years ago and wondering how anyone could really understand what was going on.

Eventually, as I watched the bidding and the auctioneer more closely, and particularly researched the follow-up information, I began to realize that I wasn’t seeing and hearing what was really happening.  As Kit puts it:

Funny Money –  

Every week, I read and hear about bulls selling for $50,000, $80,000, $100,000, $130,000 – and even $400,000.   JUST ONCE, I would like to know WHO the second-high bidder was on these bulls.   I would be willing to bet any amount of money that there was NO legitimate second-high bidder.   These are funny-money bulls that are being sold at less-than-honest auctions. 

We invite you to check out our unique Cowboy Auction.   Everyone who has attended one of our Cowboy Auctions has appreciated and enjoyed it.   It provides a very honest, quiet and low-pressure way to market bulls.   There is no hype, no yelling, no fast-talking auctioneer, no confusion – and no phantom bidders.   You will be able to know who the second-high bidder is on each and every bull we sell.

We now know there are all sorts of scams in these auctions to inflate prices and create hype:  not only the phantom bidders that Kit mentions, but the phone bids, the trading of checks, and the behind-the-scenes trading.  That’s before you even get into the accuracy of the catalogs.

You’re forewarned.