Bidding Help

There are several ways to bid at an auction

Live Bidding
Online Bidding
Phone Bidding
Absentee Bidding

Registration

Registration typically opens 90 minutes prior to the auction start time. Visit the registration desk to register and receive a bidder number. Remember to bring your license or a valid ID and if you are a re-seller, please bring a copy of your Tax ID if you have never bid with us before.

Online Bidding Registration

In order to bid with Boston Harbor Auctions online, you must first register to bid. Our online bidding platform is hosted through a third-party site and the following steps MUST be completed in order to successfully place bids with BHA. If you have not completed all of the required steps, you will not be approved for bidding.

Complete the Bidder Registration form
You will receive an email with a temporary password and a confirmation link within 48 hours. You MUST CLICK the confirmation link and CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD in order to complete registration. These will come in two separate emails, make sure to check your SPAM folders if you have not received anything after registering.
Login at Online Bidding to start bidding.
Questions about this process? You can email at info@bostonharborauctions.com or call us at (617) 451-7447

Bidding

The auction will begin when the auctioneer asks for an opening bid on the first lot. Bidding proceeds according to our pre-determined bid increments which can be found listed below, or at the auctioneer’s discretion. The auctioneer will accept bids from the floor, the telephones, internet and absentee bids.

Each lot in the auction catalog will be presented in order, and the pace of bidding can be as much as 60 lots per hour. The auctioneer will accept your competitive bids along with all others until the final hammer price is reached and the auctioneer announces, “sold!”

Online Bidding

Pre-approved bidders may use our online bidding site to enter bids either prior to the sale or during the sale. During the sale, a console operator communicates the activity on the auction floor directly to the site. When the auctioneer opens a lot and asks for a starting bid, the console operator communicates the asking price to the online bidders. As the bids increase, the console operator notifies the increases by pressing the "Floor Bid" button. If the console operator sees an internet bid come in, they will bid on the online bidder's behalf to the auctioneer and if the auctioneer hears the bid in time, will accept the internet bid and the operator then indicates the bid online. Online bidding is very much like floor bidding in that there are several bidders on an item at once. It is the auctioneers discretion as to where the bid is accepted. If several bidders raise a bid at once, the bid goes to whomever the auctioneer sees or hears first. Online bidders should remember that their information at the time of bidding is anonymous to the console operator and this is true for any left bids prior to the sale. Online bidders should be mindful that there is no way for the console operator or the auctioneer to know how many people are bidding on one lot through the internet and it is the fate of the interwebs as to whose bid gets in first. For more information on the process, please see Terms & Conditions of Online Bidding. Advice: if you really want an item and plan to bid on it through the internet we suggest leaving a bid ahead of time. Frustration occurs often when bidders attempt to bid in real time and when there is too much online competition coupled with floor competition it is not unusual for any online bidder to be squeezed out simply due to the pace and the uncertainty of the interwebs and/or any internet connection involved.

Phone & Absentee Bids

All absentee bids are kept in strict confidence

If you are unable to attend the auction, and if, after reading our Conditions of Sale a member of our staff will act as your agent and bid for you, and will attempt to obtain the lot or lots for you for the lowest possible amount.

An interested bidder should notify the auction house in as timely a manner as possible as there is an entry process for all bids.
Absentee bidders can leave a bid at anytime provided the lot has not been to the block yet.
Absentee bids, or left bids or order bids, will be disclosed to the auctioneer who will bid on your behalf during the sale according to the bid increments if possible. The bidder's bids and personal information are anonymous to all other bidders.
Phone bidders should prepare ahead of auction day which lots they wish to bid on by knowing their lot number and should be prepared to disclose their primary phone number for the time of bidding along with a secondary phone number, if possible, to use as a back up.
Phone bidders will be phoned 5 lots ahead of the lot(s) they wish to bid on so that the staff member bidding for you can prepare for the bidding to bid on your behalf.
On the day of the auction, if you have indicated the highest amount you are willing to pay, you should not be disappointed if you lose an item. Many times you will actually buy the item for less than your bid.
BHA shall not be held responsible for errors or failure to execute bids. BHA offers this service as a convenience to its clients and will not be held responsible for errors or failure to execute bids.

Advice to Bidders

Carefully read the Conditions of Sale.
Pre-sale estimates are provided by the auctioneers for the convenience of our customers. They are not meant to be taken as a guide to the value of an item, but as a guide to its expected selling price. Estimates are prepared well in advance of a sale and are subject to revision.
Carefully examine any item that you might consider bidding on for any variation from the catalog description. If you are unfamiliar with auction procedure or terminology or would like clarification of a catalog description, please ask for assistance from our staff members.
A buyer’s premium will be added to the hammer price of all property sold, to be paid as part of the purchase price. The buyer’s premium will be shown in the conditions of sale of every auction.
The auctioneer reserves the right to refuse to issue, or to revoke, bidding credentials, or to reject any bid, if deemed necessary and proper in its sole discretion, for the conduct of the auction process, and to insure fairness to consignors and other bidders.
If you have questions, ask!

Suggested Opening Bid

An estimate of a lot is placed with regard to what price the lot will likely fetch. In an ascending open auction it is considered important to get at least a 50-percent increase in the bids from start to finish. To accomplish this, the auctioneer must start the auction by announcing a suggested opening bid that is low enough to be immediately accepted by one of the bidders. Once there is an opening bid, there will quickly be several other, higher bids submitted. Experienced auctioneers will often select a suggested opening bid that is about 45 percent of the (lowest) estimate. Thus there is a certain margin of safety to ensure that there will indeed be a lively auction with many bids submitted. Several observations indicate that the lower the suggested opening bid, the higher the final winning bid. This is due to the increase in the number of bidders attracted by the low suggested opening bid. When 50 bidders compete, the winning bid will be about twice as high as when only two bidders compete. The suggested opening bid should not be regarded as the reserve or selling price.

Bidding Increments

BHA predetermines the bid increments with the auctioneer prior to sale. Generally the auctioneer adheres to these increments with each lot on the block. On any given lot and not so regularly, bid increments can change, however, especially if another bidder offers a bid at a fraction of the asking price. It is up to the auctioneer to accept their bid.

$0-$100 = $10
$101-$500 = $25
$501-$1,000 = $50
$1,050-$3,000 = $100
$3,100-$5,000 = $250
$5,250-$10,000 = $500
$10,500-$50,000 = $1,000
$51000-$100,000 = $5,000
$105,000-$150,000 = $10,000
$160,000-up = Auctioneer’s Discretion