Commission Bidding

[kcs]

Hi Guys,

I know a lot of you bid at auctions whether it be at the Auction House or via the internet so thought i's pose a question on here....

If I bid £100 for an item, but the estimate is £60, will the auctioneer go straight to the comm bid even if no one else bids??

Also same question if others in the room bid but not to that limit say £70??

Any feedback or views welcome.
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[ashburton-grove]

I'm afraid that this is all based on the HONESTY and POLICYof the auction house.
There are some places where if there are no other bidders and they receive a commission bid above estimate, then they will start the bidding just short of the top amount bid, which is quite unfair.
Other auctions start the bidding at the reserve or the lower estimate, the problem with this is that if there are no other bidders then the lot will only sell at the lowest amount, great for the buyer but not good for the seller.
In my opinion, and how I work, is that you make sure that your commission bid is cheap enough to make you feel you got a bargain, but not so low as to be out before the bidding starts.
The mantra I swear by is: There will always be another one... cheaper!
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"We have a problem with Sol Campbell" Arsene Wenger. 04/02/06

[hydemaine]

Spot on Keith or another Mantra of mine would be if there's one there's two
of them.
Another thing to be aware of in the room is the auctioneers bounce off the wall!

[Kickoff3pm]

From experaince I would say treat all auction rooms as dishonest.

1.Stand where you can see all the other bidders to make sure the house is are not taking bids off the wall
2.Never leave bids of an amount you don't expect to reach.
4.Always know exactly how you have bought and if attending watch it like an hawk once won.
5.Mixed lots make sure you know whats their and the condition, its been known for items of a lesser quaility to be swapped out.
6.Try not to pay via card but if you do always acompany it to any machne they use so you know what they do with it.
7. It's also a good idea to go to the auction house a few times before you bid, notice all the staff and then you can determine if you are bidding against he house or a private buyer.

[Vintage Steve]

Working in the industry, I do obviously have inside knowledge of how auctioneers operate.In my experience, the auctioneer usually starts at least one or two bids below the commission. Is this dishonest ? I personally don't think so. For years programme collectors have taken part in 'blind' auctions o/w know as offers sections.I can catagorically state that if a programme in one of these offers sections had a minimum (reserve) bid of £15 and you bid a £100 because you really want the programme, and there are no other bids, you'd still be required to cough up the £100 for the said programme. It's one of the main reasons why, in principal, ebay is so much fairer to the buyer.