A night at the Auction.... well almost

Let's say you've found the auction and can preview the items but you cannot stay for the auction. At this point you still have options to get those treasures; left bids and phone bids. Most, if not all auction houses offer left bids, but not all offer phone bids and of those that do, they don't always offer phone bidding at all auctions, so be sure to ask. A left bid is just that; you leave a list of items you want to bid on and your top bid with the auction house. This will allow the auctioneer or one of their assistants to execute your bid for you, almost as if you were there bidding yourself. The bidding proceeds as follows; the auctioneer opens the bidding, takingthe next increment from the left bids or floor, then the next increment from a left bid, then floor, etc., alternating in this way till a top bidder is victorious. Now I have done left bids and only rarely have I been the high bidder (three times to be exact) so it's not foolproof. The other issue I have with left bids is some auctions I've attended, where others have left bids, the auctioneer has done it this way; He reads quickly through all the left bids, finds the highest one and has actually said: "Eliminating all lower left bids, I'll start the bidding at...", although this shortens the bidding time, it doesn't really feel like an auction, more like a sale. I think this method puts people off, and would rather have the auctioneer open at a lower left bid and bid the item up incrementally, it just feels more like an auction, and gives the floor (auction attendees) a chance to get in on the action early in the proceedings. Rarely, some auction houses offer a special type of left bid called a plus one, this means that they will, if you choose, bid one extra increment over your maximum for you, I've never used the service as I alway put my top bid as my maximum, but you'll have to decide for yourself if it's offered as an option.

Your other option is the phone bid, which I personally prefer over left bids as I have more control. As with left bids, again you leave a list of the items you wish to bid on and a contact phone number (or numbers). The auction house will call you to get your bids on an item, how cool is that! It's the next best thing to being there. A few minutes before or a couple of items prior to the item you're interested in will cross the block, the auction house will call you and confirm that you are set to bid. The person at the auction house will relay to you the current bid price, and relay back to the auction house your increment, if you wish to bid. This method requires that you have a good connection, and sharp ears, but it does work well. Even if I drop out of the bidding I usually stay on till the bidding ends to find out what the item sold for just as I would have had I physically attended the auction.

For both these methods you will have to be sure you know when you can go to pick up and pay for the items if you are the high bidder, and how long you have to pick them up. Some auction houses will, after holding an item a week or so, start charging storage fees or move the items to another location to make room for their next auction.

Also even if you plan on using a left or phone bidding method, be sure to attend the preview so you know exactly what you're bidding on. My rule of thumb is if I haven't previewed it; I won't bid on it.

Tomorrow, more on a night at the auction....