Reserve Price is the minimum price the vendor or auction house will accept for the artwork on sale. In most cases, the reserve price is secret, except when the auction house has farmed out the risk by finding a third party to guarantee the price. Auction houses defend the secrecy of the reserve price by stating that revealing it would be unfair to the consignor – bidders would allow the work to pass under the reserve then try to buy it for a lower price under the reserve.