Bidding

Placing a bid before the auction begins is typically referred to as an absentee bid. This allows you to get in on the action ahead of the live bidding that takes place when the auction kicks off. You can place an absentee bid on a lot in a live sale, up until the time that lot is opened for live bidding. If you are the highest absentee bidder, our system will place your bids automatically, one increment higher than the last in-room bid, until we have reached your maximum bid.

How to leave an absentee bid:

1. When you find a lot you’d like to bid on, enter the maximum amount you are willing to pay for that lot and submit with the Leave Bid button.
2. If you are not logged in, you will be taken to a page where you may either log in or create a new account. If you are already logged in, you will be taken directly to the next step.
3. If you have already been approved to bid in this auction, you will just need to review and confirm your bid. If you have not yet been approved you’ll be taken to a page where you are asked to enter registration info, agree to the terms and conditions, and review your bid.
4. When you submit the bid you are also registering for the auction.

The displayed price accompanying lot details represents the lot’s Starting Bid or Current Bid depending on how many bids are placed on an item.

If a lot has no absentee bids yet placed on it (0 bids) then the display price is equal to the starting bid for the item, decided by the auction house seller. Your first bid should be equal to or greater than the starting bid amount.

If there are one or more bids placed on a lot, the price displayed alongside a lot represents the currently leading bid, or highest accepted bid, according to the increments in place for that auction. Note, the displayed “Current Bid” is the amount you should be bidding above and not a reflection on the highest bid left on that lot.

Placing a bid before the auction begins, typically referred to as an ‘absentee bid’, allows you to get in on the action ahead of live bidding that takes place once the auction kicks off.

Our SecureBid technology places bids on your behalf without ever revealing the maximum amount you’re willing to pay. SecureBid will place bids on your behalf at the opening price and will only continue placing higher bids if there is competitive bidding. We try to win the item for you at the lowest possible price.

Once a live auction begins, Invaluable bidders gain access to an exclusive online bidding console that simulates all of the aspects of being at the auction house in person. If you have registered and been approved to bid by the auction house, you can place live bids by following the steps below:

1. Sign into your Invaluable account using your email address and password.
2. Click Auctions > Upcoming Auctions.
3. Locate the auction you would like to bid in, and click the Happening Now button to open the bidder console.
4. When the teal Bid Now button displays the price you would like to bid, just click the button to place your bid.

Timed auctions are internet-only auctions that run for a set duration of time and are available for absentee bidding only. These auctions allow you to place bids until the scheduled end time for a particular item. Whoever has the highest bid when the time runs out wins the item.

Timed auctions allow auctioneers to set reserves for their items, as they aren’t there to monitor the bidding live. A reserve is the minimum price that an auctioneer will sell their item for. Depending on bids placed, a “reserve not met” or “reserve met” message will display next to the bid box for any lots with reserves. If the reserve price has not been met by the time the auction ends, the item will not be sold.

Another unique feature in our timed auctions is extended bidding. Invaluable does not allow sniping. If a bid is placed within the last 5 minutes of a lot’s scheduled end time, we extend the sale by 5 minutes from the last bid. This way other bidders have a chance to place a bid. Extended bidding continues until 2 hours after the last lot’s scheduled end time.

We encourage you to thoroughly review items before bidding and to request any additional information from the auction house prior to the auction, so that you will feel confident in completing the transaction if you are the winning bidder.

You may want to request a detailed condition report, more photos, or additional details that are not in the item description. Note that all images and descriptions are provided by each auction house, so it is best to contact them directly with any questions you have.

We at Invaluable take all feedback very seriously, and we expect all of our partner sellers to represent items honestly and accurately. If you have concerns about any items on Invaluable that you feel have not been satisfactorily addressed by the seller, please contact our Customer Care team.

Some auction houses set a limit on the amount a bidder can bid for the duration of a sale. You may request to increase this limit prior to the auction. Please follow the steps below to contact the auction house:

1. Sign into your Invaluable account using your email address and password
2. Click on the user icon in the upper right.
3. Click Auctions.
4. Click Request Limit Increase to the right of the sale
5. Write your message to the auction house and click Send.

In response to the fifth anti-money laundering directive (AMLD5), if you are located in Europe and/or bidding with an auction house located in Europe you will need to verify your identity if you intend to bid €7,500 or more. You may begin the ID verification process here.

Users who have gone through the process will receive an email once the process is complete and will have a verification status badge on the Edit Profile page of their Invaluable account.

To increase the maximum amount of your absentee bid, please follow the steps below:

1. Sign into your Invaluable account using your email address and password.
2. Hover over the user icon/name in the upper right, and click Bids from the drop down menu.
3. Click View Options next to the lot you’d like to increase your bid on, then click Increase Bid.
4. You’ll be taken to the lot page where you can enter a new maximum absentee bid.

Yes, however there are different rules for cancelling bids in Live and Timed sales.

• For Live Auctions: You can cancel an absentee bid placed in a Live sale up until the time that lot is opened for live bidding.
• For Timed Auctions: You can cancel an absentee bid placed in a Timed sale up until two hours prior to the auction’s first lot end time, and a maximum of three bids may be cancelled per session.

To cancel an absentee bid, please follow the steps below:

1. Sign into your Invaluable account using your email address and password.
2. Hover over the user icon/name in the upper right, and click Bids from the drop down menu.
3. Click View Options next to the lot you’d like to cancel your bid on, then click Cancel Bid.
4. A window will pop up asking if you’re sure you want to cancel your bid, and you will need to click Yes to confirm the bid cancellation.

Absentee bids can be cancelled through your Invaluable account. For live auctions, you can cancel an absentee bid up until the time that lot is opened for live bidding. For timed auctions, you can cancel an absentee bid up until 2 hours prior to the auction’s first lot end time.

If you accidentally placed a bid during a live auction, you will need to contact the auction house directly to explain the accidental bid and see if they are able to assist you. If your accidental bid was the winning bid during a live auction, please note that the cancellation of a sale is at the sole discretion of the auction house.

To view a list of the bids you have placed on Invaluable, please follow the steps below:

1. Sign into your Invaluable account using your email address and password.
2. Click on the user icon in the upper right.
3. Click the My Bids link.

At the top of page, you can click the link to switch between viewing your upcoming and past bids

Being the high bidder on an item means that you currently have the highest absentee bid on Invaluable.

• For Live Auctions: Being the highest bidder on a lot in a live sale is not a guarantee that you will win the item, as your bid will be competing with live floor bids. Our system will place bids on your behalf on increment until your maximum bid amount is reached. If your absentee bid was highest, your bid history will show you the time when your bid was presented to the internet clerk during the live auction.
• For Timed Auctions: If you are the highest bidder when a lot in a timed sale closes for bidding, you will be the winning bidder of that item.

If a bid is pending, that means that the auction house as not approved your registration to bid.

Please note that any bids placed while your approval is pending will not get presented to the auctioneer on sale day if you have not been approved by the time the lot comes up for auction. Approval to bid is at the discretion of the auction house, therefore, if you have any questions about your registration please contact the auction house directly.

You can view the bidding history on any lot you placed a bid on in your Invaluable user dashboard. To do so, follow the instructions below:

1. Sign into your Invaluable account using your email address and password.
2. Hover over the user icon/name in the upper right, and click Bids from the drop down menu.
3. Select the toggle next to Past to view past bids instead of current bids.
4. This will show you a list of your past bids. Click the link to View Bid History to see the complete bidding history on a lot.

You can view the bidding history on any lot you placed a bid on in your Invaluable user dashboard. To do so, follow the instructions below:

1. Sign into your Invaluable account using your email address and password.
2. Hover over the user icon/name in the upper right, and click Bids from the drop down menu.
3. Select the toggle next to Past to view past bids instead of current bids.
4. This will show you a list of your past bids. Click the link to View Bid History to see the complete bidding history on a lot.

Absentee push is what happens if there is a maximum absentee bid on the lot at the same amount of a live bid being submitted. Since the absentee bid was placed prior to the live bid, the absentee bid takes priority and is presented to the clerk.

For example, if an absentee bidder has a maximum bid of $100 placed on a lot, our system submits bids on behalf of that bidder until their maximum is reached. When the lot opens for bidding, if the ask price reaches $100 and a live online bidder submits a bid at this amount, our system would notice that there is an absentee bid that should be presented to the clerk at this amount instead.

During a live auction, the auction house has sole discretion to accept bids from a variety of sources (floor, internet, phone) as well as the option to pass a lot during a sale. The house may do this for a number of reasons, such as the bidding not meeting a reserve or the item being removed from the auction.

If you have questions about why a specific lot was passed, please contact the auction house directly to inquire.