Last updated: 3/2/24
This Privacy Policy describes how Pearl City Antiques (the "Site", "we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, and discloses your personal information when you visit, use our services, or make a purchase from pearlcityantiques.com (the "Site") or otherwise communicate with us (collectively, the "Services"). For purposes of this Privacy Policy, "you" and "your" means you as the user of the Services, whether you are a customer, website visitor, or another individual whose information we have collected pursuant to this Privacy Policy.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By using and accessing any of the Services, you agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy, please do not use or access any of the Services.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, including to reflect changes to our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will post the revised Privacy Policy on the Site, update the "Last updated" date and take any other steps required by applicable law.
How We Collect and Use Your Personal Information
To provide the Services, we collect and have collected over the past 12 months personal information about you from a variety of sources, as set out below. The information that we collect and use varies depending on how you interact with us.
In addition to the specific uses set out below, we may use information we collect about you to communicate with you, provide the Services, comply with any applicable legal obligations, enforce any applicable terms of service, and to protect or defend the Services, our rights, and the rights of our users or others.
What Personal Information We Collect
The types of personal information we obtain about you depends on how you interact with our Site and use our Services. When we use the term "personal information", we are referring to information that identifies, relates to, describes or can be associated with you. The following sections describe the categories and specific types of personal information we collect.
Information We Collect Directly from You
Information that you directly submit to us through our Services may include:
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Basic contact details including your name, address, phone number, email.
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Order information including your name, billing address, shipping address, payment confirmation, email address, phone number.
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Account information including your username, password, security questions.
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Shopping information including the items you view, put in your cart or add to your wishlist.
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Customer support information including the information you choose to include in communications with us, for example, when sending a message through the Services.
Some features of the Services may require you to directly provide us with certain information about yourself. You may elect not to provide this information, but doing so may prevent you from using or accessing these features.
Information We Collect through Cookies
We also automatically collect certain information about your interaction with the Services ("Usage Data"). To do this, we may use cookies, pixels and similar technologies ("Cookies"). Usage Data may include information about how you access and use our Site and your account, including device information, browser information, information about your network connection, your IP address and other information regarding your interaction with the Services.
Information We Obtain from Third Parties
Finally, we may obtain information about you from third parties, including from vendors and service providers who may collect information on our behalf, such as:
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Companies who support our Site and Services, such as Shopify.
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Our payment processors, who collect payment information (e.g., bank account, credit or debit card information, billing address) to process your payment in order to fulfill your orders and provide you with products or services you have requested, in order to perform our contract with you.
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When you visit our Site, open or click on emails we send you, or interact with our Services or advertisements, we, or third parties we work with, may automatically collect certain information using online tracking technologies such as pixels, web beacons, software developer kits, third-party libraries, and cookies.
Any information we obtain from third parties will be treated in accordance with this Privacy Policy. We are not responsible or liable for the accuracy of the information provided to us by third parties and are not responsible for any third party's policies or practices. For more information, see the section below, Third Party Websites and Links.
How We Use Your Personal Information
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Providing Products and Services. We use your personal information to provide you with the Services in order to perform our contract with you, including to process your payments, fulfill your orders, to send notifications to you related to you account, purchases, returns, exchanges or other transactions, to create, maintain and otherwise manage your account, to arrange for shipping, facilitate any returns and exchanges and to enable you to post reviews.
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Marketing and Advertising. We use your personal information for marketing and promotional purposes, such as to send marketing, advertising and promotional communications by email, text message or postal mail, and to show you advertisements for products or services. This may include using your personal information to better tailor the Services and advertising on our Site and other websites.
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Security and Fraud Prevention. We use your personal information to detect, investigate or take action regarding possible fraudulent, illegal or malicious activity. If you choose to use the Services and register an account, you are responsible for keeping your account credentials safe. We highly recommend that you do not share your username, password, or other access details with anyone else. If you believe your account has been compromised, please contact us immediately.
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Communicating with you. We use your personal information to provide you with customer support and improve our Services. This is in our legitimate interests in order to be responsive to you, to provide effective services to you, and to maintain our business relationship with you.
Cookies
Like many websites, we use Cookies on our Site. For specific information about the Cookies that we use related to powering our store with Shopify, see https://www.shopify.com/legal/cookies. We use Cookies to power and improve our Site and our Services (including to remember your actions and preferences), to run analytics and better understand user interaction with the Services (in our legitimate interests to administer, improve and optimize the Services). We may also permit third parties and services providers to use Cookies on our Site to better tailor the services, products and advertising on our Site and other websites.
Most browsers automatically accept Cookies by default, but you can choose to set your browser to remove or reject Cookies through your browser controls. Please keep in mind that removing or blocking Cookies can negatively impact your user experience and may cause some of the Services, including certain features and general functionality, to work incorrectly or no longer be available. Additionally, blocking Cookies may not completely prevent how we share information with third parties such as our advertising partners.
How We Disclose Personal Information
In certain circumstances, we may disclose your personal information to third parties for legitimate purposes subject to this Privacy Policy. Such circumstances may include:
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With vendors or other third parties who perform services on our behalf (e.g., IT management, payment processing, data analytics, customer support, cloud storage, fulfillment and shipping).
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With business and marketing partners, including Shopify, to provide services and advertise to you. Our business and marketing partners will use your information in accordance with their own privacy notices.
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When you direct, request us or otherwise consent to our disclosure of certain information to third parties, such as to ship you products or through your use of social media widgets or login integrations, with your consent.
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With our affiliates or otherwise within our corporate group, in our legitimate interests to run a successful business.
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In connection with a business transaction such as a merger or bankruptcy, to comply with any applicable legal obligations (including to respond to subpoenas, search warrants and similar requests), to enforce any applicable terms of service, and to protect or defend the Services, our rights, and the rights of our users or others.
We have, in the past 12 months disclosed the following categories of personal information and sensitive personal information (denoted by *) about users for the purposes set out above in "How we Collect and Use your Personal Information" and "How we Disclose Personal Information":
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Categories of Recipients |
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Identifiers such as basic contact details and certain order and account information
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Commercial information such as order information, shopping information and customer support information
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Internet or other similar network activity, such as Usage Data
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Vendors and third parties who perform services on our behalf (such as Internet service providers, payment processors, fulfillment partners, customer support partners and data analytics providers)
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Business and marketing partners
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Affiliates
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We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for the purposes of inferring characteristics about you.
User Generated Content
The Services may enable you to post product reviews and other user-generated content. If you choose to submit user generated content to any public area of the Services, this content will be public and accessible by anyone.
We do not control who will have access to the information that you choose to make available to others, and cannot ensure that parties who have access to such information will respect your privacy or keep it secure. We are not responsible for the privacy or security of any information that you make publicly available, or for the accuracy, use or misuse of any information that you disclose or receive from third parties.
Third Party Websites and Links
Our Site may provide links to websites or other online platforms operated by third parties. If you follow links to sites not affiliated or controlled by us, you should review their privacy and security policies and other terms and conditions. We do not guarantee and are not responsible for the privacy or security of such sites, including the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of information found on these sites. Information you provide on public or semi-public venues, including information you share on third-party social networking platforms may also be viewable by other users of the Services and/or users of those third-party platforms without limitation as to its use by us or by a third party. Our inclusion of such links does not, by itself, imply any endorsement of the content on such platforms or of their owners or operators, except as disclosed on the Services.
Children’s Data
The Services are not intended to be used by children, and we do not knowingly collect any personal information about children. If you are the parent or guardian of a child who has provided us with their personal information, you may contact us using the contact details set out below to request that it be deleted.
As of the Effective Date of this Privacy Policy, we do not have actual knowledge that we “share” or “sell” (as those terms are defined in applicable law) personal information of individuals under 16 years of age.
Security and Retention of Your Information
Please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and we cannot guarantee “perfect security.” In addition, any information you send to us may not be secure while in transit. We recommend that you do not use unsecure channels to communicate sensitive or confidential information to us.
How long we retain your personal information depends on different factors, such as whether we need the information to maintain your account, to provide the Services, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes or enforce other applicable contracts and policies.
Your Rights and Choices
Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the rights listed below in relation to your personal information. However, these rights are not absolute, may apply only in certain circumstances and, in certain cases, we may decline your request as permitted by law.
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Right to Access / Know. You may have a right to request access to personal information that we hold about you, including details relating to the ways in which we use and share your information.
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Right to Delete. You may have a right to request that we delete personal information we maintain about you.
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Right to Correct. You may have a right to request that we correct inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.
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Right of Portability. You may have a right to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to request that we transfer it to a third party, in certain circumstances and with certain exceptions.
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Restriction of Processing: You may have the right to ask us to stop or restrict our processing of personal information.
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Withdrawal of Consent: Where we rely on consent to process your personal information, you may have the right to withdraw this consent.
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Appeal: You may have a right to appeal our decision if we decline to process your request. You can do so by replying directly to our denial.
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Managing Communication Preferences: We may send you promotional emails, and you may opt out of receiving these at any time by using the unsubscribe option displayed in our emails to you. If you opt out, we may still send you non-promotional emails, such as those about your account or orders that you have made.
You may exercise any of these rights where indicated on our Site or by contacting us using the contact details provided below.
We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights. We may need to collect information from you to verify your identity, such as your email address or account information, before providing a substantive response to the request. In accordance with applicable laws, You may designate an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf to exercise your rights. Before accepting such a request from an agent, we will require that the agent provide proof you have authorized them to act on your behalf, and we may need you to verify your identity directly with us. We will respond to your request in a timely manner as required under applicable law.
Complaints
If you have complaints about how we process your personal information, please contact us using the contact details provided below. If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint, depending on where you live you may have the right to appeal our decision by contacting us using the contact details set out below, or lodge your complaint with your local data protection authority.
International Users
Please note that we may transfer, store and process your personal information outside the country you live in, including the United States. Your personal information is also processed by staff and third party service providers and partners in these countries.
If we transfer your personal information out of Europe, we will rely on recognized transfer mechanisms like the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, or any equivalent contracts issued by the relevant competent authority of the UK, as relevant, unless the data transfer is to a country that has been determined to provide an adequate level of protection.
Contact
Should you have any questions about our privacy practices or this Privacy Policy, or if you would like to exercise any of the rights available to you, please call or email us at jessimessier@msn.com or contact us at 284 Hillside Rd, Westfield MA 01085, United States.
BIDDERS:
WHAT IS MY “DASHBOARD”?Your dashboard is a place that organizes and presents you account information in one, easy-to-access location. You can access all your account information directly from the dashboard including: items won, consignments, items following, items bid upon, billing info, etc. You can also update your credit card information from your dashboard ( see “How do I change my credit card on file?”) below.
HOW DO I ACCESS MY DASHBOARD?
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1) Visit ClearingHouseEstateSales.Com and sign in with your email and password. Once you are successfully logged in, you will note that the banner at the top of the page will read “WELCOME! [YOUR NAME].
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2) On that banner you can also access your BIDS, INVOICES, ACCOUNT, and CONSIGNMENTS
WHY DO YOU REQUIRE A CREDIT CARD ON FILE IN ORDER FOR ME TO BID?CHES only accepts bids by people whose credit cards are valid, registered and vetted by our credit card processing platform in order to protect the integrity of our auction. We require a valid credit card for all bidders (Amex, Discover, Visa, or Mastercard). Additionally, to ensure efficient processing, the primary credit card on file for all bidders is charged once the auction closes. The charge will include the hammer price, buyers’ premium, and pertinent sales tax.
Please note: All credit card information is encrypted to the highest levels of safety possible and will not be used or distributed for any other purposes.
HOW DO I CHANGE MY CREDIT CARD ON FILE?
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1) Log into your dashboard
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2) Click on ACC;
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3) Choose MANAGE PAYMENT OPTIONS
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4) + ADD CREDIT / DEBIT CARD button;
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5) Enter your details as prompted and then click ADD.
Once the card is added you can choose to make it your primary (or default) card for any future auction’s auto debit.
If you received notification that you were a winning bidder but your credit card was declined, simply update your credit card on file. You will then notice that your auction winnings will appear in your shopping cart. Simply check-out and you’re all set.
WHAT IS AN OPENING BID?An opening bid is the price at which bidding begins. While most of the items in our auctions start at $1, we do occasionally have starting bids of higher value. All lots are subject to reserves.
WHAT IS EXTENDED BIDDING AND WHY IS IT NECESSARY?Much like bidding during a live auction, the auctioneer generally won’t hammer at the first bid. Auctioneers will give other bidders an opportunity to increase their bids until there is no further action / interest in the piece. We feature “extended bidding”in our online auction format because it best mimics live bidding (albeit in a timed format). The CHES system resets the countdown clock to five (5) minutes on any lots that receive bids under the five minute mark.
Why do we use extended bidding you may ask? In order to create the fairest simulated “real-life” auction scenario possible and to prevent “bid sniping.”
WHY WAS I OUTBID BY AN AMOUNT LESS THAN THE NEXT MINIMUM INCREMENT? Sometimes our bidders wonder how they were outbid by an amount lower than the minimum bid increment ( see bid increments in our Terms & Conditions). All bidders may place their max bids at any time. As a result, you may be outbid by what seems to be an incorrect increment. Let us try to give you an example:
Let’s say you place your maximum bid of $100 on lot #2 but another buyer wins the lot for $101, even though the next increment is $5, not $1. Here is how the scenario might occur...
It’s 4pm on closing day and lot #2 is currently at $15. At 5:10pm you place a maximum bid of $100. There are a few bidders at play and so by the time 5:45pm comes around, the current bid is at $78 with you as the highest bidder. At 7:05pm 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 maximum bid.
SOMETIMES I’M IMMEDIATELY OUTBID. WHY? Because all maximum bids are “masked” (hidden from other bidders), you do not know what other bidders maximum bid may be or when they placed it. Sometimes you will be outbid as soon as you bid. This only occurs when another bidder had a higher bid than yours already already in the system. Your bid set in motion the CHES automatic bidding system which raised the other buyer’s bid before 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 next 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 the item), not your maximum 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.
I THINK I WON AN ITEM BUT I NEVER GOT AN EMAIL WITH PICKUP INSTRUCTIONS. HOW DO I KNOW AND WHERE DO I FIND MY PICKUP INSTRUCTIONS?All pickup information can be accessed by logging into your dashboard.
I DON’T SEEM TO BE GETTING THE EMAILS WITH PICKUP INSTRUCTIONS UPON WINNING AN ITEM? If you are not receiving emails with your pickup info, please notify us by emailing:
Info@ClearingHouseEstateSales.com . Please make sure you also check your email’s spam folder, mark info@clearinghouseestatesales.com as a trusted or “safe” sender and that you have submitted the correct email address on your account.
All items sold As Is with no warranty real or implied. No returns, no refunds.
We collect Massachusetts Sales Tax and levy an 18% buyers premium on sold items.
Any customer that hasnt picked up their purchased items within the advertised pickup times will forfeit their payment and the item will be re-sold at a later date.
1. USE OF SITEYou may use the Site only in accordance with and subject to these Terms of Use. Once you complete and submit your registration you have opted-in to receive email communication from us and in order to remain a member of this Site, you must agree to receive email from us.
You must also authorize Pearl City Antiques to charge the credit or debit card you have entered on this site for the hammer price of an item which you were the high bidder plus the buyer's premium and all applicable sales tax. Your card will be charged within 24 hours of auction end. Failure to keep valid credit card information on file will result in your use of the site being terminated.
To initiate your ability to bid with Pearl City Antiques, an itinital $1.00 pre-authorization transaction will appear on your statement. This pending transaction will not settle and will drop off after 5 -7 business days (American Express & Discover may take longer).
You certify that you are an authorized user of this credit card and that you will not dispute the purchase payments with your credit card company provided the transactions correspond to the terms indicated in this authorization outline.
2. MEMBERSHIP ELIGIBILITYThe Site is available to members who are 18 years and older and who have not been suspended or removed by Pearl City Antiques for any reason. By becoming a member you represent that you are of legal age. As a member, you agree to provide true accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the Site’s registration forms. In addition, as a member, you agree and acknowledge that you will maintain valid credit card info within your membership profile so long as you maintain an account with Pearl City Antiques.
3. BUYER’S CONTRACT Bids placed on the Pearl City Antiques website are a binding contract and you are responsible for paying all amounts due to Pearl City Antiques including sale price, buyer's premium and all applicable taxes. Please do not bid if you are unable to pay and take possession of the items in the specified time periods for each auction, sale or event. Any items won and not paid for within 24 hours of auction close are eligible for sale to underbidder(s). All sales are final. No returns, credits or exchanges.
4. ITEM DESCRIPTIONSAll items are sold as-is, where-is. While Pearl City Antiques will do its best to list any damage, repairs or restorations, the absence of these descriptions or conditions must not be taken to imply that the lot is in perfect condition. Most of the items Pearl City Antiques sells are antique, vintage or used. You should expect signs of wear consistent with age. Pearl City Antiques offers preview inspections for the sole purpose of allowing the opportunity for personal inspection before placing your bids. Condition reports may be available. All sales are final. No returns, credits or exchanges.
5. BUYER’S PREMIUMA buyer’s premium of 18% will be added to the hammer price in all auctions and will be charged along with the hammer prices and applicable sales tax to the credit or debit card you have on file with Pearl City Antiques within 24 hours of the auction end.
6. SALES TAXAll sales are subject to appropriate sales tax laws. Tax exempt buyers must provide the appropriate state sales tax exemption certificate prior to the end of the sale. Upon receipt of such information by Pearl City Antiques, your future purchases will not be taxed. Tax resale forms can be submitted in your membership profile. Your profile name and address must be the same as your resale certificate.
7. RETENTION OF CREDIT CARD INFORMATIONBy providing your credit card information to Pearl City Antiques, you authorize Pearl City Antiques to charge your credit card for the purchase amount of any successful bid plus the buyer's premium and any applicable taxes.
Your card will be charged within 24 hours of auction end. Failure to keep valid credit card information on file will result in your use of the site being terminated.
To initiate your ability to bid with Pearl City Antiques, an itinital $1.00 pre-authorization transaction will appear on your statement. This pending transaction will not settle and will drop off after 5 -7 business days.
You certify that you are an authorized user of this credit card and that you will not dispute the purchase payments with your credit card company provided the transactions correspond to the terms indicated in this authorization outline.
Pearl City Antiques does not store your credit card information for security purposes.
8. PICK-UPSuccessful buyers must pick up their items at the designated sale location within the assigned time frame as stated in the sale details page.
If after winning an item you determine you are unable to pick up your items during the scheduled removal times and dates, you must contact Pearl City Antiques within 24 hours prior of the pick-up date and we will determine if alternate arrangements can be made. These arrangements will be at the sole discretion of Pearl City Antiques and will be subject to transport, labor and/or storage fees.
9. FORFEITURE OF ITEMSAny items not paid and / or not picked up during the specified pick up time in accordance with the Site’s Terms & Conditions will be forfeited by you. Pearl City Antiques at its sole discretion will reoffer the items or donate them to a charity of Pearl City Antiques choosing. Pearl City Antiques reserves the right to report your account to collections for the combined total of the original invoice amount and any moving or disposal charges. Your membership with Pearl City Antiques will be revoked unless past due invoices and any additional charges are paid in full.
10. PROHIBITED USEYou agree not to sell, license, rent, modify, distribute, copy, reproduce, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, publish, adept, edit or create derivative works from content or materials on the Site. Use of the content and materials for any purpose not expressly permitted in these Terms of Use is prohibited. You may not decompile, reverse engineer, dissassemble, or otherwise reduce the Site to a human-perceivable form, except and only to the extent that such activity is expressly permitted by applicable law, and in that case, only if you notify us in writing in advance . You may not copy, frameset, enclose or otherwise distribute any part of the Site.
A NOTE ABOUT EXTENDED BIDDING ("SOFT CLOSE")Pearl City Antiques online auctions feature extended bidding (a.k.a. "soft close"). Is is the closest way to mimic the actions of an auctioneer (in a live auction) in an online/automated format. During a live auction, the auctioneer gives bidders opportunities to increase their bids before hammering the winning bid (when there is no further interest in the lot). Our online, automated system will automatically extend the closing time of a lot (auction item) whenever a bid is placed within the last five minutes of its scheduled closing to allow other interested bidders an opportunity to increase their bid (if the wish to do so). This may occur multiple times on any given lot depending on bidder interest. Once all interest and bidding in a lot ceases, the clock will run out and the lot will close.
