How to Bid at Auctions
An auction is a public sale,
where buyers and sellers trade at prices agreed on by a process of
bidding, where the winning buyer is the one with the highest bid.
Often the items being sold are unique without an already established price.
An auction can be held online or at a predetermined place and time.
There are two main players: the sellers and the bidders.
The seller establishes the starting price and the bidders offer amounts that should be more than the starting price.
The highest bidder will get the product.
For some, it is an exciting way of shopping for unique items and collectibles.
There are two kinds of auctions that you can choose from.
These are online and traditional auctions.
With traditional auctions the auctioneer controls the proceeding.
For online auction, the web server acts as the auctioneer,
storing the bids and sending confirmation via e-mail to the highest bidder.
There are advantages for the buyer in using online auctions:
A buyer can research the product and compare prices and quality before placing a bid.
Since online auctions serve a wider world-wide audience
the products being offered are almost unlimited.
Here are some tips for buyers in online auction:
1. Research – Before placing a bid,
it is wise to check out the reputation of the seller,
the product and the price especially for collectible items.
Check the seller’s location. Trading with people from other countries
maybe a lot more complicated and expensive due to shipping and handling costs, and customs duty may also apply.
2. Payment – Does the seller accept credit cards.
Be more careful with sellers who only accept money orders or cheques.
Using a credit card can be safer and more convenient for the buyer because
if something goes wrong you can rais a claim with the credit card company.
3. Budget – After doing the research,
decide on your maximum bid considering the quality of the product.
Remember to take into account any postage and packing charges.
4. Privacy – Private auction can be done online where
confidential information such as the bidder’s e-maid address, products bought, etc. are not shown.
This works well with individuals who would rather keep their transaction private.
5. Convenience –
If you do not have the time to stay online till the end of the auction,
you can use Proxy bidding.
The system will do your bidding for you even when you are offline.
For example: if you are willing to pay $50.00 for an item that is currently priced at $15
you can ask the system to bid for you until the price reaches $50.
At the end of the auction, an e-mail will be sent to you informing you if you have won or lost the bidding.
A tradition auction is normally held at auction rooms.
You can normally examine the products before the auction.
During the auction you can see and hear the other bidders and the auctioneer.
For the first time bidder, the fast-talking auctioneer and anxious bidders can be overwhelming.
Here are some tips for trading at traditional auctions:
1. Price – start modestly.
Placing a high bid early is not recommended.
If no-one else is interested in your item the final price may be a lot less than you would have been prepared to pay!
2. Product – A wise bidder decides which items
he is interested in before going to the auction and does not get tempted to bid on items
just because of the excitement of getting a bargain.
3. Limit – After choosing your items, set your price limit and sticks to it.
Avoid getting into a bidding contest, better to loose that to over pay.
Poster Allure Xxx: Poster Auctions International, Inc
Published: 2003-02 Hardcover
List Price: £25.84
Town and Country Auctions
Published: December 20, 1990 Paperback
List Price: £4.99
 Auctions: Theory and Practice (Toulouse Lectures in Economics S.)
Published: May 04, 2004 Hardcover
List Price: £48.95
Amazon Price: £48.95 Prices subject to change.
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