Why sit in an uncomfortable chair in a room full of people waiting hours for your treasure's turn to be bid on when you can do it in the comfort of your own home?
Just go to Auctionzip.com and find your local auction house, then see if they offer online bidding. These days most do and it is way more convenient than going to the actual auction. There are two ways you can bid online. One way is to offer your highest bid and then wait until the auction is over to see if you won. The other is called Live Bid and it is where you bid as the auction is taking place, giving you a better chance of winning. But some auction houses charge a fee for this type of bidding.
I've been doing a lot of online bidding recently and it's a lot of fun. You just have to make sure you keep track of the items you are bidding on or you could end up spending more than you bargained for. The best way to do this is by keeping a pen and paper with you when you bid and make a list of all of your bids.
One downside to online bidding of course is that pictures can be deceiving. A description of the item's condition is usually included, but you will have to make sure you are willing to commit. So far I haven't been disappointed, and all of my items have been exactly as described. Additionally, there is a set minimum bid for each item and then a range of what the item is expected to sell for. For example, your auction house might set the minimum bid for a piece of furniture at $25. They will then provide you with a range of $40 - $70, which means the final sale price will probably be somewhere in that range. This gives you an idea of how high you should bid, depending on how much you want something. A lot of times I just bid the minimum on a variety of things, hoping to get a steal. Which brings me to my next point.
If you choose NOT to do the Live Bid, be prepared not to win. I bid on anywhere from 5 to 10 things at a time and am lucky if I win one.
My latest score was this very, very old wicker lamp table, which I was delighted to discover goes perfectly in my family room.
Don't you just love the color? It looks like someone painted a turquoise over top of the original lime green.
I spy with my little eye someone playing in the back yard!
One more tip: If you are a dealer or you have a business buying and selling furniture, give them your tax ID # when you go to pay for your items and you will not have to pay tax.
Happy Bidding and have a fabulicious day!
xoxo,
Kim
2 comments:
Kim I love the new table, it looks so pretty in that corner! Pretty vignette too!
I love your adventurous side in bidding on items you have yet to see! You've won fabulous items, I know! Thanks for sharing the site ... will definitely check it out!
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