Understanding Bidding at Michael Stephen Auctions

Important Bidding Rules to Know

Bids will generally be accepted in the order they are received and the highest bid placed will win each lot provided that the lot reserve price has been met. We reserve the right to refuse or accept any bid or any bid in any order. 

Each lot has a starting bid, which is the lowest possible bid you can place on a lot. You may bid at or above the starting bid. Please note that the starting bid may not mean that you have met the reserve price (the minimum price at which the item will be sold). 

Once you have placed an online bid or absentee bid you will see the status of your bid(s) in your customer portal. You cannot withdraw or reduce your bid once it is placed. However, an absentee bid placed through your customer portal can be reduced or cancelled up to 2 hours prior to the start of an auction. 

For an online or absentee bid you can either put in a bid at the starting bid price indicated or you can put in a maximum bid. If the starting bid on a lot is indicated at $800 it would mean that the first bid has to be equal to or greater than $800. The starting bid will always be lower than the reserve price (the minimum that the seller will accept for the item). If the seller had established a reserve price of $900, the item will not be sold until the bidding gets up to at least $900.  For example, if there were no other bids on this lot and you put in a maximum bid of $1,200 you would win the item for a price of $900 (assuming no other bidders). To further the above example, let’s say that another bidder does not get involved until the price is at $900 and bids $950.  With you having a maximum bid in at $1,200 your bid would now automatically go to the next increment, or $1,000. If the other bidder drops out you would own it for $1,000.

There are several advantages of inputing or leaving a maximum bid.  Some of these are as follows: 

You have a greater chance of acquiring something without going over your budget and at the same time you have the opportunity to acquire something at the lowest price possible since your maximum bid is never revealed to potential bidders. 

It lessens the chance of you losing out on acquiring an item if you are not sitting at your computer and revising your bid as the price changes. A maximum bid will take precedence over other bidders in the event of a tie, unless the other bid is an absentee bid. 

You can always increase your maximum bid if you feel that you have put in too low a bid and you don’t want someone else to acquire the item, or your circumstances change.