Bid at an Auction
Unlike the fictional auctions you see in movies, real auctions offer simple and well-organized bidding processes. Before you attend one, familiarize yourself with these basics.
Instructions
Preparation and Registration
1. Get a catalog from the auction house that lists items available at the auction. It will include photographs, brief descriptions and estimated presale values.
2. Note the lot numbers of items that interest you.
3. Inspect the items you're interested in before the auction. Many auction houses host presale viewings that are open to the public. Prospective buyers are encouraged to touch as well as view items.
4. Take comparison catalogs along to see what the prices might be on the open market.
5. Go to the auction house and fill out a registration form. Registration usually requires at least one form of identification and a credit card or bank reference.
Bidding in Person
6. Take the paddle you received when you registered with the house. The paddle will have your registration number on it.
7. Open the bidding by raising your paddle to bid on a particular item when the auctioneer calls for an initial bid. If this is $1,000, you have just bid $1,000.
8. Listen to hear whether someone raises your bid. Bidding moves in standard increments, usually 10 percent of the initial price. If so, that bidder has raised the bid to $1,100.
9. Raise your paddle again to bid $1,200.
10. Raise the bid by an increment different from the standard raise (called a "jump") by simply raising your paddle and calling out your bid.
11. Listen for the auctioneer to ask for final bids as the bidding winds down.
12. Hear how the auctioneer closes bidding and acknowledges the sale. He calls out the buyer's number and adds a description, such as: "Sold to number 35, the man in the third row in the red shirt and plaid trousers." This eliminates confusion about who bought an item.
