- All
- Bidding
- Bidding Screen
- Creating An Account
- General
- Getting Approved To Bid
- Payment/Shipping/Pickup
- Technical Problems
Q. I accidentally placed a bid on an item that I do not want. What do I do?
A. You are responsible for any and all bids that you place on Come To The Auction. Please contact the auctioneer immediately to rectify the situation.
Q. I submitted an identical bid as the floor. Why was my bid not accepted?
A. In the event that the intenet and the floor have the same bid amount, the floor bid prevails over the Internet bid.
Q. Can I bid using a Macintosh?
A. Yes you can if you meet the necessary bidding requirements. The Come To The Auction live bidding software works on a Mac OS X system with the Safari browser. For more details, see the system requirements.
Q. Why is the total amount I owe more than I bid?
A. All winning bidders are required to pay a buyer’s premium (a percentage of your bid price) on top of the final bid price. Applicable taxes, shipping, and fees may also be added. Note that the buyer’s premium and taxes may vary between auctions.
Q. I have won an item. How do i proceed with payment and shipping?
A. Upon completion of the live auction you will be notified via e-mail about the lots you have won.
Q. I click on the bid button, but my bids never seem to be accepted, why?
A. Please keep in mind you are competing against other internet bidders as well as the floor (if there is one). The auctioneer accepts bids on a first come first serve basis. Your Internet connection speed could also be another reason.
Q. I cannot resize the bidding window!
A. The window can be moved, minimized or closed, but not resized. The window size is fixed and designed to efficiently display the information on the bidding window.
Q. The item that is currently up for bid does not have a picture or there is a logo instead of a picture, why?
A. Unfortuneatly, not all items in a catalog will have a picture for each lot.
Q. The lot’s image is loading slow!
A. Load times will differ depending on your Internet connection speed and Internet traffic.
Q. I cannot see the entire online bidding window, why?
A. Your screen may be set at a resolution that is too small to view the entire bidding window. The entire bidding screen should be viewable for monitors with screen resolutions set to 800×600 pixels and up. However, it is recommended that a resolution of 1024×768 pixels is used.
Q. Will I get a notification if I am outbid?
A. Outbid notification is only available during absentee bidding. If you have been outbid on an item, you will receive an e-mail notification.
Q. Can I outbid myself?
A. No. If you place one bid and then you place another higher bid the higher bid will simply overwrite your first bid. Note that you can’t lower your bid, if you attempt to place a lower bid than one you’ve already placed the system won’t allow you.
Q. Can I undo a bid I’ve already submitted?
A. No, bids placed are final and binding by the terms and conditions of this site.
Q. How do I check on my bids?
A. You can view your bids by signing into your account and click the appropriate link under Your items.
Q. What is the difference between Live and Absentee Bidding?
A. Absentee Bidding is done prior to the actual auction while Live Bidding occurs during the on-site live auction. Live Bidding requires that you are either at the venue of the auction or participating via the Internet by using the online live bidding software to place your bids.
Q. How do I bid on items that have a quantity?
A. Simply enter the quantity you would like, and place the bid. The bid you place is for each item, so if you place a bid for 50 with a quantity of 2 you will owe 100.
Q. How do I place an absentee bid?
A. First you must have an account with Come To The Auction. Once you have successfully completed the create account process you will then need to Get Approved To Bid in the auction you are interested in. Once you have been approved, navigate to the item(s) you want to bid on and place your bid.
Q. What is Absentee Bidding?
A. Absentee Bidding is the process of placing bids on auction items before the auction starts. This allows people who would not be able to participate in the live auction itself to still place bids.
These Absentee Bids will automatically be used during the live auction and the Come To The Auction software will place the bids for absentee bidders.
Absentee Bids are generally only accepted before the auction starts. Some auctions only accept Absentee Bids and never actually hold a live auction.
Q. I can’t Get Approved To Bid in any auctions, what’s wrong?
A. If you are having difficulty getting approved to bid, please contact technical support and we will walk you through the process.
Q. Why did I not get approved to bid?
A. The auctioneer will approve/deny bidders at their own discretion. If you have been denied access to bidding you may contact the auctioneer via telephone or e-mail to inquire about it.
Q. I already have an account with Come To The Auction. Why do I have to Get Approved To Bid in every auction?
A. Bidders have to get approved to bid for each auction they are interested due to differing requirements for each auction. Also this ensures that bidder information is up to date and valid for the auction in question.
Many auctions only require your address and phone number, but some may ask you for a credit card, driver’s license number, etc in order for you to be approved for bidding. The auctioneer has full discretion on whether to approve or deny you for bidding in their auctions.
Usually you will be automatically approved on the spot, but sometimes the auctioneer will need to review your information manually before approving you. You will be notified by email once you have been approved.
Q. How do I subscribe or unsubscribe from the newsletter?
A. Sign in to your account. Click the Profile & Settings link from the left hand menu. This will load your profile page. Click the Settings tab above your username. Here you can manage your newsletter subscription. Don’t forget to click Save.
Q. How do I change my personal information on my Come To The Auction account?
A. Sign in to your account. Click the Profile & Settings link from the left hand menu. This will load your profile page where you can edit your information. Don’t forget to click Save.
Q. I didn’t receive a confirmation email after creating an account, what happened?
A. One of a few things could have happened:
- The email we sent you has not been delivered yet.
Please allow up to 10 minutes for our confirmation email to be delivered to your email provider. In the majority of cases your confirmation email will arrive within a minute, but some servers are under heavy load and can take more time than that. - You entered an invalid email address.
If you think you entered an invalid email address, go through our create account process again entering your correct email address. - The confirmation email we sent you ended up in a spam filter.
Check your spam folder to see if our confirmation email ended up there. If it has, then please add us to your whitelist or safe senders list to make sure all correspondence is received in the future.
Q. Can I watch the auction without participating?
A. Yes, anyone can watch the live auction online. Once the live auction has started, click the Live Bidding button or the Live Now button to launch the live bidding software. You will be presented with the ability to watch or sign in.
Q. How do I find more information on a lot?
A. To view a lot’s entire details you must navigate to the lot page. If you require more information about the lot you are interested in, click the Ask a Question button and submit your question to the auctioneer.
Q. How do I find a specific lot?
A. There are two ways to find a specific lot.
- You can use the search page which will search through all upcoming lots from every auctioneer.
- You can browse a specific auctioneer’s auction, and use the search within the auction function or find by lot number function.
Q. Can I leave an Absentee Bid on a Live Bidding Auction?
A. Yes. If you have an account on Come To The Auction and are approved to bid in the auction, navigate to the item you are interested in enter your bid and click the Place Max Bid button.
Note you can place absentee bids on an item up until the item is opened for live bidding.
Q. How do I take part in Live Bidding?
A. There are three steps to be able to bid live:
- Create an account with Come To The Auction.
- Get Approved to Bid in the auction you are interested in.
- Click the Live Bidding or Live Now button to launch the live bidding software.
Q. How do I know the merchandise is not being misrepresented?
A. Reasonable effort is made to ensure the information displayed for each item is correct. If further information is needed regarding an item you can contact the auctioneer directly, and/or preview the items during listed preview times/locations (shown on each auction page respectively). You can also view the auction’s Terms and Conditions (also found on each auction page). There you will find their policies concerning the authenticity of and guarantee for each item sold (if applicable). All bidders requesting to be approved to bid in the auction must agree to the respective Terms and Conditions.
Q. How do I know if an auction allows Online Bidding?
A. The vast majority of auctions on Come To The Auction allow bidding. If when looking at an auction listing or the auction page or the item page within the auction and it says get approved to bid or you’re approved, then the auction allows bidding. If the auction says listings only then you must contact the auctioneer for instructions on how to bid.
Once an auction has started, the live auction phase, you will see the words Live Bidding or Live Now. Click that button to launch the live bidding software. At this point you can bid against the auction floor bidders and other internet bidders live in real time.
Q. How much does it cost to bid?
A. Online bidding (both Absentee and Live Bidding) is free for the bidder. It allows you to bid on lots as if you were bidding at the on-site auction itself without having to pay extra fees for using the online service. However, there will often be costs on top of the winning bid price which will be added by the auctioneer at the time of the purchase (e.g. taxes, shipping/handling, buyer’s premium, etc). Information about additional costs will usually be provided on the auction overview page.
Q. What technology do I need to participate in an Online Live Bidding?
A. You need to be connected to the Internet and your computer system needs to meet these minimum requirements for the Come To The Auction Live Bidding Software to function properly. See here for a detailed description of the requirements.
Q. What is Live Bidding?
A. Online live bidding allows a buyer to participate in an auction sale through the Internet without being physically present at the auction room floor. It provides users with the option of bidding live during the auction and/or placing absentee bids for auction events they are unable to attend.