CONTACT US

Because all maximum bids are "masked" (hidden from other bidders), you do not know what any other bidder's maximum bid may be or when they placed it. Sometimes you will be outbid as soon as you enter your bid. This only occurs when another bidder had a higher maximum bid than yours already "on the board". Your bid set in motion BRG's automatic bidding system which raised the other buyer's bid above yours. The other bidder may have placed their max bid days, hours, or mere moments before you placed yours. 

However, if you place a bid and there are no competing bids against your bid, the system WILL NOT immediately go to your maximum bid. In fact, if you are the only bidder by the time the lot closes, you will win the lot for the lowest possible dollar amount (based on whatever the opening bid was for that item), not your max bid. So if you place a max bid of $25 on a lot with an opening bid of $1 and there are no other bidders vying for that lot, you will win it for $1. NOTE: This only happens when there are no competing bids.

Occasionally our bidders are outbid by an amount lower than the minimum bid increment (see bid increments in our Terms & Conditions). All bidders may place their max bid at anytime.  As a result, you may be outbid by what seems to be an incorrect increment.  The AuctionNinja system will not default to strict increments like a traditional auction if an "odd" maximum bid was left prior to meeting the bid price which would engage the next bid increment. 

For example, let's say you place your maximum bid of $100 on a painting but another buyer wins the lot for $101. As stated in the bidding increments, you know the next bid should have been $105, not $101. The system will accept the $101 bid because that max bid of $101 was placed before the auction got to that next increment level.

Here's how: It's 4 p.m. on closing day and the painting is currently at $15. At 5:10 p.m. you place a maximum bid of $100. There are a few bidders at play and so by the time 5:45 comes around, the current bid is at $78 with you as the highest bidder.  At 7:05 p.m. a new bidder joins in and places his maximum bid of $101. Since this new bidder's bid of $101 is above the minimum increment at the time she placed the bid, it is accepted by the system. Since there were no additional bids placed before the countdown clock ran out, the $101 bidder wins the lot because it is higher than your $100.

Within two hours of the close of the entire auction your credit card on file will be charged for the entire amount due (hammer price + sales tax + buyers premium). The charges are not processed until the entire auction closes. You will also receive a winning bidder email which will list your invoice (what item(s) you won, the hammer price, sales tax, and buyers premium) and all necessary pick-up instructions. Note the pick-up instructions are also always viewable on the auction landing page. Any questions about the auction results and/or pick-up instructions should be directed to the individual vendor/seller (details for the seller may be found on the auction landing page).

You may opt-in to receive email notifications about sales powered by AuctionNinja by clicking "Sign Up" in the menu bar.

The AuctionNinja platform allows you to customize the information you receive about vendor sales. You may do this with the "Build Your Newsletter" option. To access this, simply login to your dashboard. Hover over the "Your Account & Bids" menu tab and select "Build Your Newsletter" in the drop down box. From here you can filter the vendors you see by state and a zip code radius.

You will see all the current licensees/vendors who are located within your parameters. Simply click the heart icon in each vendor's box to either follow or unfollow that specific vendor (gray heart is unfollow, red heart is follow). You will then only receive emails when there are sales provided by those vendors you follow.

Be sure to periodically update your choices, as new licensees/vendors register and you may want to follow their sales too.

A buyer's premium is a percentage-based fee added to the winning hammer price. This helps cover the auctioneer’s expenses and administrative costs and off-sets credit card fees. The larger auction houses in major cities sometimes charge up to a 30% buyer's premium. Bidders may also be charged sales tax (depending on regulations of the individual state where the auction is held) on this additional fee.

Here’s an example ...
If you won an auction lot through “A-Z Auctioneers” with a 15% buyer’s premium and 5% state sales tax (the buyer’s premium is often taxed, but laws vary by state) here’s how it would work out:

You should note that buyer’s premiums vary depending on the individual auctioneer / estate seller using the AuctionNinja platform. Please be sure to read the terms for each individual sale. If you have questions about a buyer’s premium, please contact the auction house / estate seller directly. AuctionNinja does not control what individual sellers charge for their buyer’s premiums.