Part 3

Attendance

Bidding in person

This means turning up at the auction house on the day of the auction and bidding in the room in front of the auctioneer.

This has several advantages, the first being nothing is like the atmosphere of a live auction, this can be great fun in itself.  Secondly, if you arrive before the auction starts you will usually be able to view the item you are interested in.

If you’re a collector of any sort, then auction houses can be a useful resource for adding to your collections in sometimes the most affordable way.  A quick search online will reveal your local auctionhouse, and if you have never been to an auction let alone bid in one, then this is probably the best way to start.

Absentee Bidding (Commission Bidding)

An absentee bid is, as it suggests, bidding when absent from the live auction.  This is called a Commission Bid.  You place a bid before the auction, either by visiting the auction house and filling in a form, or filling in an online form.

Commission bids work by asking what is your maximum bid.  The auctioneer will kick off the bidding by announcing there is a bid with him probably at the bottom estimate (note: the auctioneer will probably not accept a commission bid below the bottom estimate) the auctioneer will then bid on your behalf, against any other bids, until your maximum is reached, if they receive a bid above your maximum the auctioneer will usually say “I’m out” which means they have no more countermanding bids and a floor or internet bid will win.

Of course if the auctioneer receives no countermanding bids against your commission bid he will sell to you at the lowest price achieved.

Lets explain:  the estimate is 50 - 100, and you place a commission bid of £100 hoping to get the item at the high estimate or less.

There is no reserve on the item so the auctioneer opens the bidding at £50.  There are no bids, so he offers an opening of £20.  There is an opening bid of £20.  The auctioneer then says she has a bid with her of £25 (This is your bid) there is a counter bid of £30 from the floor, the auctioneer says she has a bid with her of £35.  She may do this by pointing or gesturing to herself.  The bidding continues in increments of 5 pounds up to £50 which is on the internet.  The auctioneer still has your bid of £100, so the next commission bid is £60 (After £50 the bidding goes up in increments of £10: see bidding increments)

There are no more bids, so the auctioneer sells the item to her commission bidder (you) for £60, without you being present at the auction.

This time it went in your favour, but it could easily have gone against you with a bid over £100.

If you were not prepared to pay more than £100 for the item then you will be pleased.

Some sites will encourage you to bid on an item online before the auction takes place.  It will show ‘current bids’ . My instinct is not to do this, you are not bidding in the auction, it is the auction's way of gauging interest in an item.

Bidding Budget

Before auction day, having viewed the item, you know how much the estimate is.  Now is the time to decide on your budget!  This is true whether you are bidding in person, online, or absentee

Let me say, your budget is not just what you can afford, it is what you are prepared to pay.  So you must prepare yourself to pay a particular amount.  Then stick to it!

Do I always stick to it?  Noooo.  I can, however, regret paying as much as I did, and no-one likes regrets.

When you come to bid, let the auctioneer say their piece and choose a starting price. Don’t jump in.  The auctioneer will give you clues to the starting price, they may say start me at £60, (no bid) ok start me at £50, I can’t go any lower.  This is your cue to bid.  The auctioneer will not sell the item (they will ‘pass’ the item) if they can’t get the reserve (the lowest price)

Order of lots

The order in which things appear in the auction catalogue plays a factor in your bidding.  If you are interested in more than one item in the auction, you will have to think about your wish priority. 

Let's say your first item you get for a little over the top estimate, then you realise that there is an item further on in the sale you actually prefer, but you have spent more than half your budget, especially when you add in commission and VAT.  So, think hard about the order of play. 

For another example: There are six identical items, all one after the other in the catalogue, and you want one of them.  Which item do you bid on?  The first one may go for more because some buyers will want to get in first.  You may use the first one to indicate the guide price you may pay,

If demand dries up before the sixth you may obtain it for less.  If someone wants to buy all six, you could lose out.  Only you can judge when to bid based on your budget, but remember, if there are six in one sale, there are probably more knocking around.

Successful Bidding

Of course you may say successful bidding comes with having the deepest pockets! And you're not wrong!  But there is more to it than that, and I want to give you some tips for enhancing your chances of being the winning bidder.

Bidding Increments

The bidding increment is the distance between bids, say, £20 to £30.  Obviously the bidding increment here is £10.  This is usually at the discretion of the auctioneer, but house rules may dictate increases in the increment at various amounts in the bidding.

For instance, if the auctioneer starts the bidding at £1, the increment to the next bid is unlikely to be £50, it will most likely be £1, so, £1, £2, £3, etcetera.  This may continue to £10, where the increment will increase by £5 to £15 and then £20 up to £50, when the increment may increase again to £10, making the next bid £60.

This saves time in the auction, and cuts out the speculative bidders, and the hangers on. (See the Psychology of Auctions)

It pays to visit a few auctions as a spectator, and witness this.  Especially if you plan on spending a considerable amount.  Get to know the auctioneer's style, yes they all have one!

Get to know the usual increments, for instance after a £500 bid they may go up in £50 bids and after £1000, it may increase by £100 bids.  This will be down to the Auctioneer, the house style or the value of the object.  If the estimate on the object is £500 - £1000 the Auctioneer is unlikely to start the bidding at £1!