Weights and Measures Accuracy in Auction Sales
This domain tests accuracy when an auction lot is sold by weight, measure, or count. Massachusetts weights and measures law, M.G.L. c. 98, and DOS oversight require commercial devices to be approved, tested, and sealed. The exam focuses on whether the device and the auctioneer's representation are accurate, not on how the lot is described in marketing.
Device rules
A commercial scale or measure used to determine a sale price must be of an approved type and must be tested and sealed. A device with a broken seal, an expired inspection, or a known error cannot be used for trade. The auctioneer must read the device correctly, apply tare where packaging is included, and avoid presenting an estimate as an exact weight.
Net quantity and disclosure
Lots sold by weight are priced on net weight unless the terms clearly state otherwise. Packaging, crates, and pallets should not be charged as commodity. If a lot is sold "by count," the count must be accurate; if sold "as is," that does not excuse a false weight statement.
Worked example
A scale over-registers by 1.5%. A 40-pound lot at $3.00 per pound is charged as 40.6 pounds: $121.80 instead of $120.00, an overcharge of $1.80. Across ten lots that is $18.00. The error is not harmless rounding; the device is inaccurate and the price representation is wrong.
Traps
Confusing gross weight with net weight; using a household scale for trade; assuming a seal from last year guarantees present accuracy; hiding an error behind "approximate"; and treating count lots as exempt from accuracy.