Recognition & risk
How do auction houses protect themselves from fakes?
Auction houses protect themselves through three mechanisms: contractual disclaimers that shift authentication risk to the buyer, limited guarantee periods (typically 5 years for authenticity, often less), and expert vetting that varies wildly in rigor by house and category. The bigger the house, the tighter the pre-sale filter — but even top catalogs carry attribution hedges ('attributed to', 'workshop of') that transfer doubt onto the buyer's wallet.
The Method's take
The Method reads the disclaimer like a map of where you're alone. 'Sold as is' means no refund path; a 5-year guarantee sounds long until you realize detection often comes later, and burden-of-proof sits with you. The affordable-loss rule applies in reverse: below your absorption threshold, the house's vetting can guide you; above it, you need an independent written opinion BEFORE the hammer — the house's name doesn't pay your loss, and their expert's error is legally your problem the moment you sign the buyer's conditions.
The math
A mid-tier fake (€8,000–€15,000 paid) that surfaces as wrong after the guarantee window closes is a total loss — no refund, no recourse, and the piece is unsellable. Three such mistakes cost €24,000–€45,000. The annual pass is €3,800 and catches the contractual gaps, the category red flags, and the timing to demand the Condition Report that would have shown the problem. One saved error pays for a decade of access; ignoring the disclaimers you signed costs you the price of ignorance every single time.
One question answered here saved you a mistake. The engine answers yours — the exact object, the exact number.
Ask the engine — 24h pass €100