Bidding in a live online auction: Things to know

Bidding in a live online auction is a great way to find modern, antique and vintage collector items that you wouldn’t otherwise find on the high street. Plymouth Auction Rooms, like many other auction houses, are always taking consignments and stitching together all manner of goods to offer at auctions. Whether it’s antique furniture, Rolex watches or sought-after paintings from popular Westcountry artists, we truly have something for everyone. 

If you’re used to attending the saleroom in person but want to try bidding in a live online auction, we’ve compiled this blog post to help you navigate the basics. 

How to bid in a live online auction

Be sure to register to bid ahead of time. If you know an auction is coming up that has items of interest- you don’t want technical difficulties to get in the way of your winning bid! 

Here at Plymouth Auction Rooms, there are two ways to do this. You can register online at the saleroom to watch and hear the auction online. This incurs a charge of an extra 6% including VAT of the final selling price, should you be successful. 

You can also register directly through our website, and incur a reduced charge of 3.6% including VAT of the final selling price. 

An advantage of registering ahead of time is that it enables you to place commission bids before the live auction takes place. This gives you peace of mind if you’re busy at the time of the auction, sets a limit to your spending, as well as getting a jump start in the bidding! 

Save your favourite items

Once you’ve registered, it’s a good idea to save your favourite items. With thousands of furniture, antiques, collectables and art available to browse, it can be easy to get sidetracked. 

Adding items to your favourites couldn’t be easier. Simply click the heart icon in the top right of the item image. This will now be in your favourites folder, where you can keep track of its auction date, estimated value and sold price. 

Enquire about your item

The best way to ensure you’re satisfied with what you bid on is to make sure you thoroughly read the catalogue descriptions carefully. If you do need further information, you can contact us to ask for a more detailed condition report. 

Know your budget

Typically, when bidding online or in person, there are additional fees involved when winning an item. 

In addition to the hammer price, you’ll need to calculate shipping costs if collection isn’t an option. You’ll also have to take into account the buyer’s premium which we mentioned above.  

Get ready to bid in a live online auction 

When the auction is live, simply login to your account, sit back and enjoy the buzz of the sale. You can place live bids as the sale is happening. If you’re successful in winning an item, we email a winner notification to you and will collect payment from your registered card the next day. For amounts over £1,000, we will contact you and request a bank transfer payment. You can read more about our payment and collection processes here. 

Get in touch for more information 

The attraction of buying at auction is the thrill of finding things you might have never seen before, and winning items that don’t come around that often. So if you do happen to be the winning bidder- celebrate your triumph! 

If you have any questions about bidding online, bidding in the saleroom or general auction enquiries, please do get in touch with our team by calling 01752 254740. You can also follow us on Facebook or Instagram.