Wall Street Journal Runs Buyer’s Premium Correction

I could not find this anywhere on the Wall Street Journal‘s website, but on its “Letters to the Editor” page today it ran the following as a correction, concerning Alexandra Peers’ article that had suggested that the major art auction houses sometimes reduce the buyer’s premium for third-party guarantors who are successful bidders:
Christie’s does not discount its buyer’s premium. In return for assuming the risk involved in a third-party guarantee, the guarantor—who can be a dealer, collector or financial institution—receives a fee based on a percentage of the hammer price and the buyer’s commission. “What the Auction Houses Are Doing to Try to Keep the Art Market Booming” (Leisure & Arts page, Nov. 6) reported that only dealers were third-party guarantors, and that they were directly rewarded with a reduced buyer’s premium.