A Bidder's Guideline to Auctions

This is a compilation of helpful tricks that could improve your bidding power.



How not to overbid.



Overbidding is a common problem among people participating at auctions. In sealed and silent bidding, it is easy to overbid since nobody else knows exactly how high or low the bids are. To ensure that someone wins the bids, he should give it his highest estimated value. On the other hand, the behavior of the crowd and the excitement encouraged by the auctioneer over the properties or items are enough to make people bid excessively. The easiest way to counter this is to do your research.



How to establish your price limit.



Realistic price limits could be made through critically listening to people's advice, from searching the same items online and through researching some information regarding the property or the item being auctioned. With enough information, you could come up with an estimated value of the merchandise. You don't have to be an auction guru to know how much an item is worth though.



It all boils down to research. Knowing something about the item could help you decide on how much you should be willing to bid on it. Doing your homework, getting hold of the actual auction catalogue or inspecting the items during their viewing period could help a lot not only on deciding which item to get but also the price limit you give to each item.



Maximize your time.



Some auctions will give you sufficient time to inspect the item, some provide the catalogues. Whichever method is being used in the auction you are interested in, you should try to maximize your time by coming in the auction site early. By doing so you might get a chance to talk to the auction organizers and inquire about the items. This also gives you the advantage of getting a comfortable seat.



Attend some auctions beforehand.



People who are serious about auctions try to find as much information about them as they can. One good way is to witness live auctions personally. There is so much going on, the hype, the excitement and the wars that normally happen. All these could give you reliable information once you decide to participate yourself. Initially, you should not place any bid- no matter how small the amount. Your intention is to get the feel of the auction process, nothing else.



Observe the crowd.



Bidders have different personalities- each of which work for their buying styles. Work out the differences and similarities among bidders and develop a style of your own. Take note of the style of the more successful ones.