Auctions: The Social Construction of Value (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780520072015)

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.

Author: Charles W. Smith
ISBN-10: 0520072014
ISBN-13: 9780520072015
Publisher: University of California Press
Language: English
Published: 08/09/1990
Pages: 237
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.72lbs
Size: 8.96h x 6.00w x 0.61d