Chapter 381 The Mysterious Buyer

[Anchor, help me check if this auction company is real]

[I also met someone from this company looking for me a few days ago and asked me if I wanted to send photos]

[Don’t worry about the barrage, I believe Master Zhang will not let the liars go]

[The anchor will take us to take a look at the official website of Harpers]

[Yes, yes, we can’t tell the difference between these auction companies at all]

There were more than 40,000 viewers in the live broadcast room. At this moment, the screen was flashing, and all Zhang Yang could see was the name "Harbors Auction House".

The atmosphere has been heightened to this point, and it would be inappropriate for Zhang Yang not to help and take a look.

It should be considered as a meritorious thing.

"Everyone, please be patient. It just so happens that this treasure friend who is going to spend money to send it to the auction is here. Let's take a look at what this auction company is like."

Zhang Yang adjusted the live broadcast screen to desktop mode, then opened the browser, followed Baoyou's instructions, and quickly found the official website of Harpers Auction House.

Needless to say, the website is pretty good.

Auction information, auction previews, contact information, historical transaction records, etc., the auction company's official website has all the elements.

Except in the historical transaction records, the transaction price of every item was higher than the market price. Zhang Yang didn't even find any major problems.

At least it seems that this auction company really put a lot of effort into its website. Even if it is a liar, it is still a professional liar.

"Friend Bao, did you click on this online collection?" Zhang Yang asked, pointing to an entrance link on the official website.

"No." Baoyou shook his head and said, "I posted the things on Douyin, and the auction company's sales directly came to me."

"Huh? Then how are you sure that this person really belongs to this company?" Zhang Yang was stunned.

"They have an official website. The salesperson told me this URL."

"I have opened the official website now, but that doesn't mean I belong to this website." Zhang Yang refuted Baoyou's idea.

"Um..." Baoyou recalled for a moment, "Teacher, if you say so, the official seal of Harpers Auction House seems to be of no use."

"Of course it's useless. These days, official seals carved from turnips can be used to defraud money. You really can't tell by looking at the seal."

"Oh, I remembered that that person's WeChat ID is the same as the contact information on this official website."

"Really?" Zhang Yang followed Baoyou's instructions and opened the "Contact Us" page of the official website.

There is actually a phone number and WeChat ID underneath.

"It's this WeChat ID." Baoyou said categorically, "I'm very sure it's this account, otherwise I wouldn't be able to transfer money to the other party."

"That makes some sense." Zhang Yang nodded, but immediately asked another question, "This address is Xiangjiang International Financial Center. How do you send your antiques there?"

"I can just take it there in person when the time comes. It's not a first-class cultural relic, so there should be no problem."

"No problem." Zhang Yang nodded. He had studied the policy carefully. Qing Dynasty porcelain can be taken out casually without going through any formalities.

Just be careful not to break it.

“I really don’t see any problems with this web page at the moment.”

Zhang Yang always tells the truth.

"Let me tell you this, there is an unwritten rule in our industry, that is, any company that charges money before the auction, under any excuse, is a fraud, without exception."

"So the auction company you are looking for has to collect and deliver the auction fees in advance, which is a bit..."

[This is a bit absolute, don’t you need to pay the cultural relics storage fee?]

[I like how the anchor speaks so absolutely]

[I am also engaged in auctions, this is indeed the truth]

"Ah? Isn't there any charge before the photo shoot?" Baoyou said incredulously.

"But I paid 2,000 in catalog fees (the cost of antique photography and promotion), and 3,000 in storage fees. Including the cost of sending the photos, the total is exactly 30,000."

"That's right." Zhang Yang nodded, "Originally, I thought the method of collecting and delivering the auction fee in advance and returning it after the auction might be a special case."

"But if you said you charge catalog fees and storage fees, then this is 100% a fraud."

"Really?" Baoyou's tone was visibly anxious, "But it's been a long time since I transferred the money."

"Don't worry yet." Zhang Yang told Baoyou not to panic, "Where do you live now?"

"Suqian."

"Okay. Internet police in the live broadcast room, please contact your colleagues in Suqian. There is a user here who is suspected of being defrauded."

"Also, is there anyone in charge of this kind of website? If no one is in charge, I will directly arrange for someone to blow it up?" Zhang Yang appealed to the barrage.

Soon, several Internet police accounts popped up in the barrage, saying that they would follow up the investigation and also thanked the anchor for his cooperation.

"You're welcome, cracking down on antique fraud is what we should do." Zhang Yang said, giving a thumbs up to the camera.

…

After the afternoon live broadcast, Zhang Yang hadn't even taken off his makeup yet, but he couldn't wait to see Zhou Baotan's reply.

Sure enough, there were four or five missed calls on the phone, all from Xiangjiang.

Zhang Yang quickly dialed back.

As soon as the call was connected, Zhou Baotan on the other end said in a very exaggerated tone: "Wow, Master Zhang, you finally answered the phone!"

"Hahaha, Jason (Zhou), do you have any good news for me?"

"Yes, if you don't answer the phone, I will fly to Linhai to find you."

"You don't know, I posted your auction to Christie's member group, and everyone immediately went crazy. My private chat kept ringing..."

Zhou Baotan described the matter with added detail, Zhang Yang listened silently, and waited for a long time before finally getting to the most crucial sentence:

"A wealthy Chinese businessman in Indonesia is willing to pay 80 million to buy your collection, and he is now in Shenghai."

"If you agree, I will give him your address and contact information."

"Why did the price increase?" Zhang Yang asked in surprise.

"Because this is a private transaction."

Zhou Baotan smiled and told Zhang Yang that if it were placed at Christie's auction, according to the latest handling fee standard, the transaction price would be 75 million, and the handling fee alone would be 15 million.

So the price of 80 million is really not a price increase.

"Then according to your calculation, who would go to auction?"

"For sellers, you can make more money by auctioning good things. As for buyers, of course, if you have good things like the ones you want to sell, they would prefer to trade privately."

"Okay, I have no doubt about the price. But you have to tell me, who is the rich Chinese businessman in Indonesia?"

"Don't wait until the end. There was something wrong with the source of the money he paid me, so he blocked my card."

"Then don't worry, I still don't know the domestic policies?"

Zhou Baotan patted his chest and assured that the Indonesian boss Li’s money must be clean.

Because he specializes in antique business.

The total turnover of antiques auctioned by his companies at Christie's alone exceeds 600 million.

If he hadn't been such a high-quality customer, he wouldn't have dared to introduce him to Zhang Yang.

"How much? 600 million? Isn't this Boss Li the boss on the other end of the phone who makes consignments at auctions?"

"Almost, you will know when you meet Master Zhang. He also said that he would bring you some meeting gifts."