Once you have found an auction you are interested in on our site, you will need to login or register your details with us in order to view the auctioneer's contact details and link through to their website.

You will need to register your details with the auctioneer or bidding platform before joining an auction and placing bids. This process will vary for different auctioneers but will usually involve submitting your credit card details or some other form of ID. Make sure you complete the registration process in good time before bidding commences.

Each auctioneer will have their own terms and conditions for bidding which you should read carefully and they have additional terms and conditions for each auction. Pay particular attention to additional charges applied on top of the hammer price eg Buyer's Premium and VAT.

Once you have been approved for bidding by the auctioneer, you are ready to join the auction, where you will confirm your details and agree to the terms and conditions.

In some cases you may have to make a deposit prior to bidding, which is deducted from the outstanding balance at the end of the auction or refunded if you do not make a successful bid.

Auctioneers do this to verify that bidders are genuine prior joining an auction. By matching your card and address details they can verify your identity and help protect themselves from fraud.

When the card payment provider performs a security check on your card, you may notice a small (less than £1) pending transaction on your account when you check it online. This transaction is temporary and will disappear shortly after your card details have been verified.

Auctioneers will often require bidders to be verified before they are allowed to bid in their auction. If so, on joining an auction your bidding status will be marked as pending, unverified or something along those lines.

Upon approval by the auctioneer, you will receive an email or text message from the auctioneer, or there will be a message on the screen stating you are approved to bid. As this is often a manual process it can take time, so if you’re concerned that you haven’t been approved in time for the bidding, you should contact the auctioneer directly.

On the auctioneers bidding platform, simply navigate to the lot you are interested in and enter the amount you would like to bid.

An online auction takes place purely online, with no live bids being taken by an auctioneer. At a webcast (or live/online) auction, the auctioneer will take bids from bidders attending the auction room in person, as well as bids submitted online.

During the bidding process, you can submit single bids and wait to see if you are outbid before deciding whether to place another bid.

Alternatively, you can usually submit a maximum amount you are prepared to bid and the online bidding system will auto-submit bids up to that amount in increments as set by the auctioneer, in order to meet the reserve or remain the highest bidder. The system will not bid above the maximum bid set and will only ever bid one increment higher than the current highest bid.

Lots can be bid on up to the bidding deadline, however, at an online only auction, this deadline can be extended until no bids have been received for a set period of time (typically 2 to 10 minutes). This is common practice in online auctions, designed to prevent bidders placing bids in the last few seconds of the auction(sniping). The bidder who places the highest bid wins the lot, as long as the reserve price has been met.

Auctioneers will set the bidding increments for their auction, depending on the predicted selling price of the goods. Bids can only be placed if they are at least one increment above the current highest bid. The next minimum bid will be shown on the screen. If the bid you’ve placed does not meet the next minimum bid, you will see a message so that you can decide if you want to place another bid.

At auction goods are sold as seen, usually without warranty and there is no right of return unless the goods are materially different to the catalogue description. This applies to both live and online auctions.

We would strongly advise you view and inspect goods prior to bidding. You can also contact the auctioneer if you have any specific questions prior to bidding. It is your responsibility to satisfy yourself with the condition of the goods and bid accordingly.