Absentee Bid/Proxy Bid: A bid on an item that a bidder leaves without being physically present. LiveAuctioneers allows a bidder to leave a bid on any item listed online by clicking “Bid Now” and entering a bid amount. All bids are kept confidential from the auctioneer and other bidders. At the time of the live auction, the bidding system will attempt to execute your bid at the lowest cost possible.

Appraisal: The act or process of estimating value. 

“As Is:” Also known as “as is, where is” and “in its present condition.” Typically, this is a sign that no return privileges will be granted.

Auction: A method of selling property in a public forum through open and competitive bidding. Also referred to as: public auction, auction sale or sale.

Bid: A prospective buyer’s indication or offer of a price he/she will pay to purchase property at auction. Bids are usually in standardized increments established by the auctioneer.

Bid History: A historical list of all the bids made on a particular auction during or after the auction.

Bid Increments: The standardized amount an item increases in price after each new bid. The auction service sets the increment, which rises according to the present high bid value of an item.

Buyer’s Premium: An additional service charge, for which the buyer is responsible, may be added to the price of sold items. If so, this will be indicated on the item page.

Competing bid: During a sale, the auctioneer may be accepting competing bids for an item from various sources; these including bids from an in-house audience, telephone bids, book bids, absentee bids or other bidding platforms.

Commission: The fee charged to the seller by the auctioneer for providing services–usually a percentage of the gross selling price of the property established by contract prior to the auction.

Consignee: The auctioneer or auction house operator to whom goods are entrusted by another (consignor) for sale at auction.

Consignor: The person or authorized agent or entity that consigns goods to an auctioneer. The consignor is usually the seller.

Escrow: Money held in trust by a third party until the seller makes delivery of merchandise to the buyer.

Hammer Price: Price established by the last bidder and acknowledged by the auctioneer before dropping the hammer or gavel to indicate a sale is completed.

Lien: An adverse claim or charge against an item when that item is being used as collateral for a debt.

Lot: An item or set of items for sale in an auction, lots are normally denoted by a “lot” number.

Online/Virtual Auction: An auction that is for online bidders only and is not conducted in front of a traditional live audience. These auction types may have reserve items in which the auctioneers bid in order to protect the reserve.

Outbid: To submit a maximum bid that is higher than another buyer’s maximum bid. 

Preview: Specified date and time a property is available for prospective buyer viewing and audits in advance of the sale. Also known as open house or inspection.

Reserve or Reserve Price: The minimum price that a seller is willing to accept for an item to be sold at auction. This amount is never formally disclosed.

Starting Price: The likely starting bid for a given auction, set by the seller at the time of listing