Do auctioneers perceive themselves as ethical?
We have taught classes on auctioneers and ethics for over 10 years. During those classes, we ask the question if …
Category Archives: Auction Law
Bid calling and the mailbox rule
In a series of recent simulcast auctions, I served as one of two auctioneers (bid callers) with over 600 online …
Crazy auction terms and conditions?
I suppose I’m possibly a connoisseur of less-than-common (unusual, odd, possibly even crazy) auction terms and conditions. Of note, I …
Auctions and contract symmetry
It was bound to happen I suppose. We receive a call from an attorney about once a week and a …
Auctioneers and the first right of refusal
First right of refusal or “Right of first refusal” clauses are sometimes used in the auction business — and especially …
Auction theft or an auction unpaid?
“His check bounced …! What can or should I as an auctioneer do?” To answer that, we need to know …
Are competitive pre-auction bids pre-auction?
The more and more online bidding platforms are used for simulcast auctions — and in the case of pre-live auction …
Possible risk with assigning risk
We recently posted that as an auctioneer — assigning risk could [can] actually increase your risk. Here’s our prior reference: …
I’d rather buy from Amazon than at auction; is it any wonder?
Essentially, any person on earth can buy from Amazon.com (or countless other online retailers.) Let’s see, what’s involved in such …
Puffing or representing while bid calling
Kurt Bachman is a skilled attorney and auctioneer. We don’t always agree, but his recent article regarding “Does your chant …
Legal precedent in auction cases …
As I’ve recently quoted otherwise on this platform, “In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a legal …
Going, going, gone … at auction
Sotheby’s recently sold a framed image of a girl reaching out for a red, heart-shaped balloon for $1.4 million. Then …
“As-is” with absolutely no inspection opportunity
Today we explore an idea … let’s say we auctioneers start selling property “as-is” (caveat emptor) with absolutely no preview …
Make an auction offer irrevocable … accept it.
We hear it all the time: At auction … “How can we bind the bidder without binding the seller?” or …
The highest price … or the highest offer?
Dr. Yin Yao was the foremost collector of ink and wash paintings of the Song Dynasty. One such example came …
Asking/requiring a bidder to leave the auction
A bidder is jawing, talking about other auctions to distract bidders or is otherwise causing a commotion at your auction? …
Auction events are often not perfect …
We have been in the auction business 37 years. We’ve run an auction house conducting weekly auctions for 19 years. …
Using a POA to circumvent auction licensing
It’s usually that so-called “out-of-town” (out of state) auctioneer who doesn’t have an auctioneer’s license in that state, conducting an …
Auctioneers and standard form contracts
Many auctioneers get supplies (bid cards, settlement sheets, signs, for example) from various companies including N.A.S.H (National Auction Supply House), …
Can counterfeits, replicas, knockoffs … sell at auction?
Almost everything in the world sells at auction; auctioneers sell almost everything — that is almost … Today, we look …
