Auctions: The Social Construction of Value / Edition 1

by Charles W. Smith

Overview

Long the preferred method of exchange for antiques and horseflesh, auctions are used today to sell everything from bestselling books to real estate, government bonds to abandoned automobiles. As sociologist Charles Smith reveals, the mechanical law of supply and demand rarely governs the auction process. Rather value is determined by a complex social process combining both the beliefs and actions of the auction participants and the assumptions and practices on the auction floor. Based on years of participation in and observation of different types of auctions and interviews with hundreds of auctioneers, Smith gives us not only a theoretical understanding of the auction process but the sights and sounds as well.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520072015
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	08/09/1990
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	237
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Charles W. Smith is Professor of Sociology at Queens College and the Graduate Faculty, City University of New York, and author of The Mind of the Market.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Auctions Everywhere
2. For How Much and to Whom?
The Basic Questions
3. Creating and Maintaining Auction
Communities
4. The Search for a Fair Price:
The Primary Objective
5. The Show: Putting It All Together
6. Bargains and Bonanzas:
Structures and Strategies
7. What Auctions Tell Us about Values

Appendix: A Methodological Note
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index