Knowledge centre
Our sales are timed online auctions. The answers below explain increments, reserves, maximum bids, extended closing and what happens in the final minutes of a lot.
Each lot opens for bidding when the sale opens and closes at its own published time. You may bid as often as you wish while the lot is open; the highest bid at the moment of closing, provided it meets the reserve, wins the lot.
Read the full answerThe increment is the minimum amount by which a new bid must exceed the current one. It rises in steps as the price advances, so that bidding remains orderly at every level; the next acceptable figure is always displayed on the lot page.
Read the full answerA maximum bid, sometimes called an absentee or proxy bid, is the highest sum you are prepared to pay for a lot. The system bids on your behalf in the ordinary increments, using no more of your maximum than is necessary to keep you in the lead, and stops when your maximum is reached.
Read the full answerYes. Your maximum is never disclosed to the consignor, to other bidders or in the bidding history. Only the executed bids appear publicly, and they appear anonymously.
Read the full answerThe reserve is the confidential minimum price agreed with the consignor below which a lot will not be sold. It never exceeds the low estimate. If bidding closes beneath the reserve the lot is unsold.
Read the full answerA bid placed in the closing minutes extends that lot briefly, and each further bid extends it again, until a period passes with no new bid. This protects both bidders and consignors against last-second sniping, and allows bidding on each lot to reach its natural conclusion.
Read the full answerBids are binding and cannot be withdrawn. If you believe a bid was placed in genuine error, write to us without delay: we cannot guarantee any remedy, but a request made before the lot closes has a better prospect than one made afterwards.
Read the full answerYes. Registered bidders receive notice when they are outbid on a lot they are contesting, and a reminder before the lot closes, according to the correspondence preferences set in your account.
Read the full answerNo. Our sales are conducted exclusively online, which allows every client anywhere in the world to bid on identical terms and leaves a complete audit record of every bid placed. Maximum bids serve the purpose that telephone bidding serves elsewhere.
Read the full answer
4 min read
A first purchase at auction is less daunting than it appears. This guide sets out the whole sequence in order, from reading a catalogue entry to collecting the property, and explains what is expected of a buyer at each stage.
Read the guide
3 min read
Registration is the point at which an interested reader becomes an approved bidder. This guide explains the four stages, why each exists, and how long each is likely to take.
Read the guide
3 min read
The mechanics of a timed online sale: how increments are set, how a maximum bid is executed on your behalf, what a reserve does, and why the closing time can move.
Read the guide
