Information Superhighway

Many auction houses now offer live bidding via the Internet. It may be more convenient for out-of-town buyers, but it is also more expensive.

We looked at several auction houses to compare their buyer’s premium for traditional absentee bidding by mail, phone, or fax with their buyer’s premium for Internet bidding. Auctions that use a service like eBay’s LiveAuctioneers.com charge Internet bidders an additional premium of 5% or 10%. That means that the buyer’s premium for online bidders can be double the premium charged for phone bidders. Auction fees skyrocket to 25% when the online premium and a credit card fee are added to the regular buyer’s premium.

Even more alarming is the fact that some auction houses don’t make it clear in their catalogs, absentee bid forms, or online listings that bidding on the Internet is more costly. For example, LiveAuctioneers.com postings are included in eBay’s regular search results. Buyers who stumble onto a sale this way are clearly told they are placing an absentee bid on a live auction. They are not told that online bidders pay a higher premium.

Want to save money? Look at the auction house’s own website. You can usually find phone-bid instructions and a printable absentee bid form that can be submitted by mail or fax. You don’t save much on a $200 vase, but you do if you’re buying a $3,000 sideboard. And don’t forget that state sales tax and shipping charges add to the final price you have to pay.