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First timers tips on bidding in Heritage auctions
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38 posts in this topic

Hi,

I have bid on pieces through different auction sites in the past but never on Heritage. I'm currently bidding on a piece that ends proxy bidding today. Any tips on best practices for successful bidding on Heritage? Anything to look out for as a concern? 

thanks in advance

Abe

 

Edited by Abe5M
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7 minutes ago, Abe5M said:

Hi,

I have bid on pieces through different auction sites in the past but never on Heritage. I'm currently bidding on a piece that ends proxy bidding today. Any tips on best practices for successful bidding on Heritage? Anything to look out for as a concern? 

thanks in advance

Abe

 

For the most part, proxy bidding is like a preview...the real action comes in the live auction (whether it is actually live in person, or "live" real-time online).

In the live portion, It's run like a traditional auction. There is an auctioneer who announces the lot, commences bidding, calls fair warning, and then ends bidding. "Sniping" like on ebay is not a possibility.

You often have multiple bidding options for the live auctions: in person at the event, "live online, or phone bidding.

For most auctions, I bid online, but occassionally, if it's something very important to me, I bid via phone bidding. I've attended one in person (which is the most fun!).

Don't forget to factor in the buyer's premium, shipping, and taxes into your math when determining what to bid. Good luck!

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Also, if you haven't already looked, on HA.com go to Bid/Buy -> How to Bid/Buy -> Bidding with Heritage Live !

If your lot doesn't come up early in the bidding, you should hang back and watch the proceedings.

Make sure you hit the "Disable Live Bidding" button.  Then feel free to click on lots and tabs to see what's what.

 

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Personally, I don’t think there are any real bidding strategies that work, although there are some pitfalls which can hurt you.
 

In my view, it is mostly a matter of how many other people like the same piece, and whether the other bidders are collectors or dealers. If mostly dealers, they generally don’t bid above market price (or a significantly lesser percent of it) unless they feel the market is low (which does happen). If you like a piece which isn’t involving a popular character, artist or subject, you will do better.

If I want a piece, I bid high. If I am indifferent, I don’t. I tend not to bid early, and rarely bid during live auctions due to the speed and risk of overpaying for something I don’t care much about. I also don’t bid on many pieces at a single auction to preserve capital for what I really want. I rather put in a proxy and hope for the best.

If none of this sounds brilliant, none of it is. Highest bid wins.

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I won my first and only HA auction last year. I essentially put in my highest bid a few minutes before proxy bidding ended and let it run its course. I won like that. 
 

However, if this is piece you absolutely have to have, you have to be present during the live bidding and keeping bidding until your competitors bow out. 

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Really fix your maximum. Don't get carried away in the moment, as there's often somebody with much deeper pockets who will keep you pushing the price up - you need to know where the line is.

I often fix my maximum, and then ask myself if I'd be happy to pay another 25%. And then refix my maximum accordingly. (And then go ahead and ignore my own advice, but that's my  problem!)

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If it is something I really want I determine my max value but then I bid live.  That way I am sure there is at least another value point in the market around thatr levlel.

I had to go to a dinner once, really wanted a piece, left a proxy bid at a very high price (I was willing to pay that price but was sure it would never ever go that high) and lo guess what magically happened?

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My 3 cents:

1.  prepare to be destroyed on your bid. 

2. dont celebrate a win until the live auction finishes. For a newbie the live auction structure can be confusing. 

3.  If you manage to win, be prepared for a hefty price when you bake in buyers premium, taxes, fees, etc.  

Good luck!

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2 hours ago, alxjhnsn said:

My advice?

Determine your maximum. Enter it in the live bidding. Go away and have a nice dinner.

This is what I do. I wait until live bidding starts and then submit my max bid and that bid will then be entered when the live auction gets to the item in question.

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Important thing to keep in mind for HA is the additional fees on top of your bid. My last winning bid on HA was for around $180, and including buyer's premiums, credit card fees, sales tax, and shipping the total came to almost 40% higher than the bid. If you don't keep that in mind you can end up paying a lot more than you bargained for.

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32 minutes ago, OdinsSecrets said:

Important thing to keep in mind for HA is the additional fees on top of your bid. My last winning bid on HA was for around $180, and including buyer's premiums, credit card fees, sales tax, and shipping the total came to almost 40% higher than the bid. If you don't keep that in mind you can end up paying a lot more than you bargained for.

That is excellent advice. 20% BP, 8.25% Texas Sales Tax, plus $20 S/H can really add up. I pay with an echeck so no CC fees. (Do they still take CCs?)

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1 hour ago, eewwnuk said:

My 3 cents:

1.  prepare to be destroyed on your bid. 

2. dont celebrate a win until the live auction finishes. For a newbie the live auction structure can be confusing. 

3.  If you manage to win, be prepared for a hefty price when you bake in buyers premium, taxes, fees, etc.  

Good luck!

I don’t know if I want to like, laugh, or cry. 

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10 minutes ago, alxjhnsn said:

That is excellent advice. 20% BP, 8.25% Texas Sales Tax, plus $20 S/H can really add up. I pay with an echeck so no CC fees. (Do they still take CCs?)

I missed out on the good ol’ days when the BP was “only” 18% and PayPal was an accepted form of payment. And you know it’s only going to get more expensive from here. 

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okay, I am going to use my own advice and bid on a piece of art now, Maybe 2 or 3 even. And I will do it the way I said earlier...because those are my principles and if you don't like them, well, I have others. (hint as to my bidding)

 

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oops, 20 minutes and then let the bids fly because, well, Art is Art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now you tell me what you know.

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