Auction Terminology

Entity that has legal possession and ownership of any interests, benefits or right inherent to the real or personal property, also referred to as a “Consignor.”

Specified date, time and place equipment is available for prospective buyer viewing and evaluation, also known as an “Inspection.”

An auction conducted on the premises of the liquidating restaurant or business.

A process that extends bidding on an asset for a fixed time, five minutes for example, if a bid is received in the final minutes of an auction. The auction continues until there are no bids for the fixed amount of time. This process prevents last minute bid “sniping.”

Sellers that do not have enough goods for an industry specific auction add their items to sector sales with assets of multiple vendors. Each seller’s items are referred to as “Consignments.”

The terms and conditions are the rules that will govern the auction, including how the bidding is handled and how the final purchase will be completed. All potential bidders have to agree to the terms and conditions when they register to participate in the auction.

The terms “reserve” and “minimum bid” are interchangeable. The reserve price is the lowest price that the seller wishes to accept for the item. Auctions will often start with bids below the reserve price, but once the bid price exceeds it, the auctioneer will have the authority to declare the equipment officially sold. If the highest bid is less than the reserve, it will be up to the seller whether they wish to accept or reject the bid.

The term “removal” can have two meanings when it comes to auctions. It can refer to a listing being removed from the auction before the auction begins. It can also mean the terms for the removal of the item by the winning bidder.

When a person is outbid, it means that another party has placed an offer higher than theirs.

Online auctions are sales sites in the virtual marketplace that allow bidding, where visitors can buy and sell their goods. They are often a popular choice for selling and purchasing because they have a significant amount of traffic and can offer a wide range of items for sale.

A “no reserve” auction means that there is no minimum bid requirement in place for the items presented during the auction.

Sellers may list their items with a minimum bid attached to them. This means that this will be the lowest offer that the seller will accept. Oftentimes, this amount will not be disclosed, and although bidding will start below it and a seller can accept a bid below it, they also have the right to pull the item if the minimum is not met.

The lot title will appear above the lot description in the catalog or on the online auction page; it consists of a brief description of the item or group of items being sold. This will be how the item is referred to during the auction process.

The lot description will be included in the catalog, and it will provide details about each of the items included in the lot.

In some auctions, a prospective buyer can inspect equipment before the auction. Typically, equipment is available for inspection days prior to auctions' end, or by appointment with the auctioneer in the days leading up to the auction date.

After winning a bid, you are given an invoice for the item you purchased, which will include the price that you bid, along with any fees.

A buyer’s premium is an additional amount added to the final bid to allow the buyer to come up with the final purchase price of an item. The buyer’s premium is represented by a percentage. The percentage can vary, but it will always be announced at the beginning of the auction.

The price for a product will continually go up until prospective buyers stop bidding. The amount that the auctioneer will increase the bids is known as a “bid increment.” If the auction is online, then it will appear in a prompt on the webpage. It is important to note that bid increments can also happen mid-auction based on the bidding levels and the number of bids.

Bid history provides information on all the bids that were made either during or at the conclusion of the auction. Bid history can be important when estimating the price of similar items in future auctions.

Auction marketing is the process by which prospective bidders are notified of upcoming auctions. Auction marketing is important to the success of an auction, because an auction thrives on competitive bidding. This means that not only will marketing have to be compelling enough to draw in bidders, but it will also have to be distributed properly, so you attract a pool of buyers likely to be interested in what is being offered. Success and failure in this area can have a lot to do with the auction’s outcome.

The auctioneer is the individual responsible for running and overseeing an auction. An auctioneer should be licensed, and the most recommended ones have received accreditation and hold membership in the National Auctioneers Association.

Conducting due diligence involves thoroughly investigating equipment before you bid on it. It includes researching the estimated value, estimating repair costs, inspecting the equipment (if possible) and researching the model and electrical information.

The bid increment is the amount that the bid increases during the auction. For example, if the current bid is $10 and the bid increment is $5, the next acceptable bid amount would be $15.

To offer an amount in an attempt to buy something, while competing with others at an auction. At YourEquipmentGuys.com, bidding is done online. The bidder who meets the seller’s minimum price and is the highest bidder typically wins the auction.

Almost all equipment for sale at auction is offered “as is,” meaning that the equipment is sold with all existing faults and imperfections. “As-is” is a term used to describe an item that is being sold in its present condition. This means that the buyer is purchasing the product as-is, and no returns are typically accepted in this situation.