Buying Live
Bidding at a live auction is a thrilling experience. Show up ready to win with these helpful tips.
Register
Registration is easy & free! Stop at the front office at the entrance of one of our auction facilities. You can register live on auction day or on one of the designated preview days. One of our friendly staff members will give you a catalog with your printed bidder number. You must be 18 years or older to register.
Get familiar with your catalog
Now that you’ve registered, be sure to spend a few minutes getting familiar with your auction catalog. It contains important information like our auction terms & conditions, an entire list of items for sale and the start times and locations for bidding. It also has your unique bidder number so DON’T LOSE IT.
Inspect the items
Head our to the yard and take a good look at the items you want to bid on. Your auction catalog lists each item by lot # and there is a matching sticker on each item to make them easy to find. You should use your catalog to take notes as well.
Be at the right place at the right time
All items are sold in the order they are listed in the catalog and, depending on the auction, multiple items can be sold at the same time in different locations (Ring #1, Ring #2 and sometimes Ring #3). All start times and locations for items are listed on the summary page at the front of the catalog so you don’t miss out.
Pay attention and follow along
Auctions are fast-paced. If you don’t pay attention, you could make a mistake or miss your item altogether. Make sure you’re sitting or standing where you’re able to easily get the attention of one of our ringmen (the folks in red shirts standing next to the item) and listen closely to the auctioneer for the current bid price.
Place your bid
When you’re ready to place a bid, make sure you get the attention of a ringmen and raise your bidder number high. When they see you, they’ll point right at you and give a yell to the auctioneer recognizing your bid. After your bid is recognized, the ringmen will stay with you for as long as you wish to bid.
You've reached your limit
If you reach a point in the auction where you don’t want to bid any higher, just shake your head NO or make some other gesture to the ringmen so they know you’re all done.
SOLD! You won!
Congratulations! You’ll know you’ve won when the auctioneer shouts “SOLD!” and calls our your winning bid amount. Raise your bidder number high so the ringmen and auctioneer can see it. Your bidder number is then written down and a runner takes it to the registration desk for invoicing.
Check out and pay
When you’re all done for the day, head back to the main registration counter where you checked in and our customer service agent will give you a complete invoice for everything you bought today. Please carefully check your invoice for complete accuracy and then pay for your items in full.