While auctions can be intimidating for some, they can be a great source for purchasing quality goods and merchandise at a fraction of the original value and cost. If you're planning to attend one, familiarize yourself with these basics and before you know it, you'll be able to bid like a pro:
Preparation and Registration
1. You'll receive a catalog that lists items available at the auction. It'll include photographs, brief descriptions and estimated presale values.
2. Take note the lot numbers of items that interest you.
3. Inspect the items you're interested in before the auction. Presale viewings generally occur 2-3 days prior to the auction and are open to the public. Prospective buyers are encouraged to touch as well as view items.
4. Obtain a registration form/bidder card prior to the auction date. Registration usually requires at least one form of identification and a refundable cash deposit.
5. Carefully read and understand the Terms and Conditions of Sale provided by the auctioneer. You will be asked to agree to the terms with your signature before you receive your bidder card.
Time to bid....
1. Hold on to your bidder card for the duration of the auction, it will serve as your receipt, and when you see an item of interest, you will expose it to the view of the auctioneer during the bidding process.
2. Open the bidding by raising your registration card to bid on a particular item when the auctioneer calls for an initial bid. If this is $1,000, you have just bid $1,000.
3. Listen to hear whether someone raises your bid. Bidding moves in standard increments, usually 10 percent of the initial price. If so, that bidder has raised the bid to $1,100.
4. Raise your bidder card again to bid $1,200.
5. Raise the bid by an increment different from the standard raise (called a "jump") by simply raising your bidder card and calling out your bid.
6. The auctioneer will ask for final bids as the bidding winds down.
7. Listen closely to how the auctioneer closes bidding and acknowledges the sale. He calls out the buyer's number and adds a description, such as: "Sold to number 35, the man in the third row in the red shirt and plaid trousers." This eliminates confusion about who bought an item.
Sounds like FUN, right?? Get some practice and score some great items at unbelievable prices while doing so. Join AMC Liquidators and auctioneer Paul May this Saturday, February 27 at 1:00pm as we kick off our new monthly auctions!
AMC Liquidators and Furniture Outlet
3705 W. Commercial Blvd.
954-735-2244
www.amcliquidators.com
