What makes our online auctions different from other auction houses is that we offer an inspection/preview day for some of our auctions, with the exception of abandoned property and some bankruptcy auctions. Essentially, we’re a hybrid of old-school live auctions and the new way of hosting online auctions.
Preview days are an opportunity to inspect any item you are interested in bidding on. We do our best to go over every lot and provide as much information as possible. We also try to include as many photos of the items. However, there’s nothing like being able to see the items in person. Because we are not experts in everything that we list (we usually have hundreds of items available in each auction), there’s a possibility that we may miss a detail and end up not including it in the description. That is why it’s important to attend a preview day if you are able to.
Preview days usually take place the day before the auction closes. The times are listed on the auction catalog.
Of course, if you cannot attend the preview day but have a question about a particular item, you are always free to give us a call or send us an email.
If you’ve never attended one of our preview days, here are a few things we recommend bringing with you:
Smartphone or tablet – We no longer provide paper catalogs of all the lots available, so a smartphone or tablet will come in handy for reference as you inspect items. Knowing the lot number helps so that we can help you locate any of the lots you are interested in.
People also use their smartphones to take their own pictures of items or take pictures of lot number tags.
Paper and pen – If you want to jot down any notes or lot numbers.
Second set of eyes – This mostly applies if you’re looking at bidding on a car or vehicle. Bring someone who has knowledge of vehicles and can give you an “expert” opinion. Again, we try to provide as much information as possible about an item, but sometimes vehicles are given to us without much background on previous owners or vehicle history.
We always love to meet and interact with our customers. If anything, preview days are a chance to meet other auction lovers. We have a great community of sellers and buyers who enjoy treasure and bargain hunting just as much as you do!
