For buyers

Bidding, step by step

Enter the most you would pay, once. The room bids for you one increment at a time, only as far as needed to lead, and a bid in the last 5 minutes extends the close so nobody wins by timing alone. Here is each rule as the system enforces it.

Live window: 24 hours; after 4 days of registration
Soft close: 5 minutes; up to 120 minutes of extension in total
Buyer fees: None; hammer price plus shipping, nothing added
Deposit from: $10,000; reserve; a card hold, released when you do not win

Register for the auction

Registration opens 4 days before the live window and stays open until the close, so you can join an auction that is already running.

A verified business account
Level 1: business details, the last four of your EIN and a resale certificate or licence, approved by a person usually within 8 hours on business days. Level 2 (a bank account on file and one completed deal) is needed when the reserve is $10,000 or more.
A payment method on file
Bank debit, bank transfer or card. It is not charged at registration; it is how you pay within the payment window if you win.
Accept the auction terms
Once per auction. They are the same every time and published in full: Auction terms.
No registration fee
Registering costs nothing. Registrations show on the lot as a count, never as names.

Set your maximum once

Proxy bidding: you tell the room the most you would pay; it bids the least needed to keep you in the lead and never reveals your number. Try it with two bidders.

Start price

Bidder A’s maximum

Bidder B’s maximum

Bidder A enters a maximum
With no other bid the price is the start price, not A’s maximum.
$1,000.00
A leads
Bidder B enters a maximum
B’s maximum is higher, so B leads at one increment ($25.00) above A’s maximum, never above B’s own.
$1,525.00
B leads
What A would need next
The least a new maximum may be: the current price plus one increment.
$1,550.00
minimum next bid

When a maximum covers the seller’s hidden reserve, the price rises to the reserve so the lot can sell. The price never falls and never exceeds the leader’s maximum.

The increment depends on the current price: small steps at low prices, larger steps as the price rises. A new maximum must be at least the current price plus one increment.

Ties go to the earlier bid. Entering the same maximum as the leader does not take the lead. Raising your own maximum never changes the visible price.

You are emailed when you are outbid and 1 hour before the close of any auction you registered for.

Bid increments
Current price	Increment
Under $500	$10
$500 to $2,500	$25
$2,500 to $10,000	$100
$10,000 to $25,000	$250
$25,000 to $100,000	$500
$100,000 and up	$1,000

The soft close

Nobody wins by placing a bid in the final second.

A bid in the last 5 minutes moves the end to 5 minutes after that bid. Every late bid extends again, up to 120 minutes after the original end, and then the auction closes for good. The page shows extended and the new end time; the countdown you see is the one the database uses.

The practical effect: enter your real maximum early and let the room defend it. A rival who tries to snipe only extends the clock and meets your proxy.

Deposits on large lots

When the reserve is $10,000 or more, registration takes a card hold so every bidder is a buyer who can pay.

Hold: 5%; of the reserve
At least: $500; and at most $5,000
Placed: When live; the card is saved at registration; the hold is created when the auction goes live
Released: At the close; for every non-winner; for the winner when the payment settles

For example, a reserve of $20,000 takes a hold of $1,000. A hold is not a charge: nothing leaves your account unless you win and then fail to pay within 2 business days, in which case the hold is captured as the default fee the auction terms describe. Level 3 members are exempt.

Mistakes and limits

Bids are final. These are the only exceptions and limits.

A typo can be retracted within 60 seconds
Only when the maximum is more than ten times the current price. The retraction is recorded on the auction.
10 bids a minute per member
More than enough to set a maximum and raise it. The limit exists to keep the room fair when a close is extending.
Sellers cannot bid on their own lots
Nor can anyone in the seller’s organisation, nor a house account on a house lot. The database refuses the bid, not just the page.
Anything else needs an admin and a written reason
Retractions outside the typo rule are audited decisions, visible to both sides of the auction.

Questions people ask

Does everyone see my maximum?

No. Your maximum is private. The room shows only the current price, which is the least needed to lead: the second-highest maximum plus one increment, never above the leader’s maximum.

What if two people enter the same maximum?

The earlier one keeps the lead. A new maximum equal to the leader’s does not take the lead; the price rises to that amount and the earlier bidder is still winning.

Can I cancel a bid?

Bids are final. The one automatic exception is a typo: a maximum more than ten times the current price can be retracted within 60 seconds. Anything else needs an admin and a documented reason.

Why did the auction not end on time?

A bid in the last 5 minutes moves the end to 5 minutes from that bid, up to 120 minutes after the original end. The page says “extended” and shows the new time. It stops anyone winning by timing alone.

When do I need a deposit?

Only when the reserve is $10,000 or more. We place a card hold of 5% of the reserve, at least $500 and at most $5,000, when the auction goes live. Every non-winner’s hold is released at the close; the winner’s when the payment settles. Level 3 members are exempt.

How many bids can I place?

10 bids a minute per member. In practice you set one maximum and raise it if you must; raising your own maximum never moves the visible price.