Buying at auction can be the best or worst way to acquire items of interest, depending on your knowledge. I have been attending estate auctions for several years now and have certainly made my share of mistakes. I have however, over the years, become seasoned at bidding and buying for both re-sale and personal collection, and have set my own guidelines to keep me from becoming the auctioneer's best friend.

1. When you hear of an auction, do some research on the auctioneer. Find out about added costs such as buyer's premiums which will be added on to your winning bid price, plus any applicable taxes.
2. Go to the auction as soon as the viewing starts and inspect any item you are interested in thoroughly.
3. Acquire a catalogue if there is one, and highlight your items of interest and note what you are willing to bid.
4. Keep an eye on your items of interest at all times if possible. Items can get damaged or pieces stolen out of boxlots between the time you have inspected the item and the time in which it is sold. The auctioneer doesn't care if you paid $200 for the Babe Ruth Rookie card in a box of baseball cards only to discover the only valuable card has been stolen between the time you inspected the box and the time you won and aquired it leaving you paying $200 plus buyer's premium, plus tax, for a boxlot of fire starters.
5. Wait until the auctioneer has spoken the lowest possible price before you start bidding. Nothing is any worse than jumping a bid at $50 when you could have gotten the item for $10.
6. Pay attention to the auctioneer. If he is selling 6 chairs and holds one chair up and says the winning bid TIMES SIX, this means you will be paying 6 times what the winning bid is. I once attended an auction where a lady thought she had won 6 beautiful antique pressback dining room chairs for $145, when in fact the winning bid would have been $870. Luckily for her the auctioneer re-auctioned them, and a happy lady took them all home for $125 each or $750.
7. If possible, take possession of your item as soon as you have won the bid and make sure it's in a safe place. Once your bid number has been recorded with the winning bid, you are responsible for payment whether the item has gotten damaged or stolen.
8. If at all possible, stay until the end of the auction. We have gotten some wonderful buys due to perseverance, and the fact that we had nothing better to do on a stormy Saturday afternoon. The crowds are usually small at the end of the auction and people may have overspent their budgets so whatever is left over can sometimes sell for ridiculously low bids.
9. Wrap items carefully to transport them back home. Nothing will make you any angrier than hitting a bump in the driveway and hearing your Limoges teapot smashing onto the floor of the backseat.
10. Go home, unwrap, and enjoy your auction finds, and make mental notes from your experience to prepare for the next auction.

Learn more about this author, Peg Ronnoco.
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