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Live Auctions and How to Bid.

Mike | Jul 18, 2011 |

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Auctions are an exciting way to purchase or sell items. Almost everyone is familiar with an ebay type of auction, but going and bidding at a real live auction is an entirely different experience. Many people aren’t familiar with the legality of bidding at a real live auction. For the article we are going to use an estate auction as the example.

The first thing you have to determine is if you are going to be able to actually attend the auction. If you are you will need to get a bidding number once you arrive. This process with be discussed later. If you are not going to be at the auction you can bid by proxy. To do this you will need to contact the auctioneer prior to the auction and place a maximum bid on items. This process is very similar to ebay.

Once you get to the auction find the office or payment trailer to get a bidding number. To get a number you need to have a valid photo ID. Some auctions if they are in a sketchier area will also require you to put a credit card on file or a voided check. That way if you leave without paying they can still get their money.

Once you have your bidding number you are ready to bid on items. If you are not familiar with the auctioneer and he/she is not familiar with you, you are going to be fairly grand in your bidding style. This means that you are going to have to flail your number or arm around in order to get a bid in. Once you have an established relationship with the auctioneer you can get by with a head nod.

Make sure that you set a price limit on the items you are bidding on. Unlike an online auction being in the real heat of things means that it is very easy to get out of control. Don’t take on the mindset of one more bid and I will get it. You may get stuck paying much more than you wanted to pay.

Once you are done bidding or the auction is over you have to pay for your items. Many auctioneers will not take out of state checks, so this is something to check on before bidding. It may also surprise you that there may be a buyer’s premium on the items you buy. This is a new phenomenon. It the olden days it were the seller that had to pay a cut of the proceeds to the auctioneer. This has flipped somewhat and has now become the buyers responsibility.