Absentee bid

An absentee bid lets you take part in a sale without attending it. Before the sale, you tell the house the lot and the maximum amount you are prepared to pay at the hammer; a member of staff bids for you during the session.

The house executes the bid in your best interest: if nobody competes with you, you get the lot just above the last competing bid, or at the reserve, not at your maximum. Where amounts are identical, most houses give priority to the bid received first. A deposit may be requested.

Why it is useful:

• It imposes discipline. The amount is set calmly, without the excitement of the room or the live online stream.
• It stays confidential. Other bidders cannot see it.
• It avoids technical mishaps with a phone line or a live connection.

The main trap: the bid is expressed as a hammer price, excluding the buyer's premium and taxes. For an all-in budget, you therefore have to divide by the premium coefficient. With a 32.4% premium including VAT, a budget of €10,000 corresponds to a bid of about €7,550.

Example: you are after a watch estimated at €6,000 to 8,000, whose market value is around €9,000 all-in at dealers. A bid of €6,800 at the hammer puts you, premium included, at about €9,000, i.e. at market level, not above it.

Read the condition report before setting the amount: a defect discovered after the sale does not allow you to undo it.