Erik Buck, Modell OD61 - Same products, Different prices.  

These things happen. There is no "one true price."
And there are reasons beyond just the supply in the respective places, although that is a factor.
Have you ever noticed that beer is very expensive as baseball games?

Hi Leif!
I'm familiar with the supply and demand phenomenon in for example baseball games. But if we dig into this question further, how can it vary so much in price? I mean factors like country that I mentioned previously ought to be a reason. How about the time aspect? Both objects were sold in the early 2010s - so that can't be the cause.
Could it have to with the consumers in the states i.e. bigger economy, by far more rich people who attend these auctions?
/F

It's still supply and demand, there may currently be a bigger demand in Denmark than the U.S. Or it could have just been there were more (although it only takes 2) people bidding for the ones in Denmark that day. The circumstances being what they were, one just happened at a better time and location.

If you're only comparing a few auction results, it's simply a matter of who happened to be bidding that day on that lot. All it takes to jack the price up quite a bit are two individuals who really, really, REALLY want that lot. Bidders often lose their heads in the excitement and pressure of bidding and go much higher than they intended. This something that auctioneers know and count on happening so that they make more money.
If you want to track the market value of a particular item, you have to look at what it sold for at a variety of venues over time (and probably throw out the extreme high end and low end prices, including fluke auction results) and average it out. And in the end, if it's something you're looking to buy for yourself, you still have to decide what you're willing to pay for it and how long you're willing to wait to get it at that price.

Hi!
Thank you Spanky for that comment. It is true that you can get too caught up in a bidding, and get a bit irrational. It is interesting though that a site like Barnebys can give us evident reports of realized prices. Hence it could provide specific artworks and their market price - and then we would hopefully know when to cut off from a auction if the price rises too much.

Ultimately it's the responsibility of the bidder to decide how much to spend. If you're unsure of how high to go at auction, you should research prices on a variety of venues over time, like I suggested. Don't ever go by hammer prices at one or two auctions, even when you think the auction house has a good reputation. They shouldn't have any control over the hammer price beyond setting a reserve (though lots of auctioneers are a little manipulative and/or dishonest at times, some of them most of the time!)

The end of Spanky's comment can explain a significant part of why certain auction houses get higher prices than others. And why eBay brings in different prices. And craigslist, and yard sales...
There are a lot more variables in the "value" of vintage furniture than for new items. And these different variables can make the price of what is _nominally_ the same item very different, and different for good reason quite frequently. And sometimes it is different for no particularly good reason.