What is a Buyers Fee or Buyers Commission?

Auction houses charge their buyers for several reasons. The most common one is to help cover the costs of running the auction house and its future auctions. There are many costs that go into an auction that most people do not consider.

Here are a few of those costs:

  • Building Rental
  • Heating and Air Conditioning
  • Auction Software
  • Website Hosting
  • Advertising and Marketing
  • Staff Wages
  • Auction House Set-up
  • Online Catalogs
  • General Upkeep of Electronic Equipment
  • Electronic Payment Fees

When buying through an auction keep in mind that the buyer’s premium is used to enhance the customer experience. The buyer’s premium is charged so buyers are comfortable during the time of auctions and so the auction can operate efficiently. The extra charge is always put to good use. Buyer’s premiums are common these days and are continuing to grow, about 80% of all auctions now charge some amount of buyer’s premium.

A 15% Buyers Fee will be charged for all winning auctions. The amount will appear in your cart prior to checkout.

Auction Terms and Conditions

Bidding

1. By placing a bid you accept the terms of sale

2. Any lot may be withdrawn at any time

3. Lots are sold at one advance over the second highest bid

4. All lots are sold for the hammer price plus a 15% buyer’s commission.

5. Grading is our opinion, please see photos before bidding. Grades are not guaranteed in any way.

Payment

1. Payment is due upon receipt of notification of winning bid and will be shipped upon payment

2. Shipping will be by USPS or UPS at cost.

3. Successful bidders agree to pay for their purchases. No credit is extended without prior agreement and overdue accounts will be charged 2% per month interest after 30 days.

4. Virginia residents and in-person bidders must pay 5.3% state sales tax

Returns

1. Any lot described in error can be returned for a full refund if we are notified in writing via mail or email within 15 days of the auction.

Can a Bidder Beat Another Bidder With the Same Amount?

When Proxy Bidding is in effect, it can appear as if one bidder has beat another bidder with the same bid amount. This is normal and occurs when a bidder has a proxy bid in effect and a second bidder comes along and makes their bid at the exact same amount the current proxy bid is at. Since the proxy bid was placed earlier, that is the bid that will succeed. For the second bidder to succeed in placing a bid, they must bid higher than the proxy bid that is in effect.

What is a Reserve Price?

A reserve price is the lowest price at which the seller is willing to sell the item. The amount of the reserve price is not disclosed to bidders, but they will see that the auction has a reserve price and whether or not the reserve has been met. If a bidder does not meet that price, the seller is not obligated to sell the item.

Do All Lots Close At The Exact End Date and Time? Do You Allow Sniping?

Generally yes, most lots will close at the completion time that the auction is set to end. However, to prevent sniping, the auction end time will extend 3 minutes when someone places bid 30 seconds before auction end.

Each subsequent bid will extend the auction by another 3 minutes from the time it is placed.

So, if someone places a bid at 11:28. The auction would then close at 11:33. If somebody places another bid at 11:32, it will now close at 11:35. This way everybody gets a chance to bid as much as they wish.

Because the software must determine how long to extend the auction based on the number of bids received after 11:28, it cannot accept proxy bids. Every bid placed during this time is a
normal bid, and will be immediately reflected in the bid.

What Is The Difference Between A Proxy Bid And A Normal Bid?

A normal bid is one where you wish to raise the current bid to your maximum bid immediately. So, if you placed a normal bid of $15, the bid would immediately become $15, regardless of what the next lowest bid is. The software is configured to only do proxy bids, when your bid is more than $2 higher than the next lowest bid.

A proxy bid is one where your bid is significantly higher than the current bid, but you do not wish to pay more than one advance over the underbid. In this example if you placed a $15 proxy bid and the current bid is $5, it will advance the bid by only $1, taking it to $6, until someone bids more. The software acts as your agent, bidding only as necessary.

I Placed A Bid of $2 And The Bid Jumped to $2 Immediately, Instead Of Remaining At $1, Why?

The auction software evaluates the difference between the bid you enter and the next lowest bid to determine whether or not the bid you have entered is a normal, or proxy bid.

It will treat any bid that is more than one increment higher, i.e. more than $1 more than the next lowest bid, as a proxy bid, and will not raise it to this level unless another bidder places a bid that reduces this difference to under $1.

Because $2 is just $1 more than the minimum of $1, it will treat it as a normal bid and raise the bid immediately to $2.

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