A Basic Guide to Online Auctions (Part Two)

Well, it worked. The previous post convinced you that online auctions proffer a lot of benefits and now you're ready to go. Here are my tips for getting started.

Look 

Stow Wengenroth,
courtesy of Skinner, Inc.

You might be ready to dive in, but first, like any neophyte, you need to first study the landscape. The easiest way to do this is to go to an auction aggregator. My favorite, by far, is Live Auctioneers, an eBay owned company that provides the platform for countless small, medium and even large sized auction houses across the country. On Live Auctioneers, you can leave bids, save favorites, and even bid live (though often you don't have sound, a disadvantage that I'll get to later). So, if you haven't already, go to Live Auctioneers, set up an account, and start poking around the upcoming auctions to see what you find.

Go 
Okay, so, maybe you went to Live Auctioneers, ran a search and found a few things you HAVE TO HAVE. Patience, my dear friend. As we all know, things look different online. It's hard to have a great sense of colors, scale and texture. Some auction houses are great at showing several angles on an item (none better, in my opinion, than Kamelot Auctions, a place I love so much I'm hesitant to share it with you!). Most, however, seem to oddly cling to the old catalog format and show only one measly view, making things even more challenging. And, since the single biggest drawback to auctions is that you cannot return things, I want to make sure you are well informed before you purchase. That is why I suggest you get some practice going to local auctions and seeing things in person. This is particularly important for rugs, oil paintings and upholstered furniture. Live Auctioneers (I swear I don't work for them), has this great new feature that lets you search for "Auctions Near Me" via a tab on your profile page. This is a convenient way to find local places, but of course you can always search online for auction houses in
your area too.

Bid

Clarice Cliff porcelain,
courtesy of Kamelot Auctions

In the coming weeks, I will spend time addressing bidding strategy. For now, know that most auction houses provide a fairly reasonable estimate, usually a dollar range (i.e. $600-800), of the final selling price (pre-commission). Note that an estimate is exactly that: a guess. You do not have to bid within that range. You can go higher or much lower.

If you go much lower, however, you might not hit the reserve. A reserve, quite simply, is the minimum price at which the seller agrees to sell. Think about it: you're selling grandma's dining set, but would you accept $50 bucks for it? Often no, but sometimes yes. If there is no minimum, often times--but not always--the auction house will mention in the description that there is NO RESERVE (or what I think of as the "just get rid of the darn thing"). If the reserve is not met, or if there is no bidder, the auction results will list this as "passed" or "bought-in," meaning that the item is still owned by the seller. Note that you might have left an absentee bid (a bid which you either leave directly with the auction house or online through Live Auctioneers) for higher than the reserve, but if the auctioneer started the bidding below the reserve, your bid amount might never be reached.

Some online auction houses list a "minimum" along with the estimate. The minimum might be related to a reserve that has been placed on the item. Then again, the minimum might simply be the auction house trying to edge up the prices; thus, feel free to ignore it and go lower if you want to. (The Hirado figures in the previous post are an example of an item that went for below the purported minimum, which you can see if you follow the link.) If you are on Live Auctioneers and you can't type in a lower bid, try the auction house's own website. But monitoring the live auction is best, if you can

Generally speaking, I urge bidders to think about bidding this way:

Michel Comte photograph,
courtesy of Phillips de Pury

1. What have other people paid for similar items at auction? (you can search Live Auctioneers and auction web sites like Christie's and Doyle New York for sales results). Be sure that you consider the sales date, as a sales price from last month is obviously much more relevant than a sales result from twelve years ago.

2. What would I pay at retail for this item?

3. What is the most I'd feel comfortable paying? Or, to think about it another way, beyond what price would I not be pissed that I "lost" the item?

Jansen swan magazine rack,
courtesy of Kamelot Auctions

Once you decide on your dollar amount, you have do decide HOW to bid. There are four main choices: in person, telephone, absentee and live online. The best way to bid is another topic I'll discuss in depth in the coming weeks. For now, in person will definitely teach you the most, but is definitely the most time consuming and, for most people, the least practical. Absentee (which is when you leave a bid with the auction house or with Live Auctioneers), is definitely the most convenient but provides you with the least control. Telephone (when the auction house dials a number you provide and an auctioneer bids on your behalf live) and live online are, to me, the closest thing to a happy medium, particularly if you're bidding with an auction house like Christie's that provides both video and audio feed. For those of you new to live online, auction houses across the country are hooking up with aggregators like Live Auctioneers, and Auction Zip to help them reach a broader audience via a live feed, enabling you to bid "live" right from your computer.


Win
With time, practice and determination, you'll find and win real treasures for a price you're happy with--a true winner take all situation!