Absolute Auctions & Realty constantly upgrades our systems so that we can provide our bidders with the most flexible bidding choices possible. As a result, you are able to bid:

	In person as a "floor" bidder
	By absentee bid
	By phone bid
	Via our in-house Internet system (AARBIDS)
	Live via eBay (at selected auctions)

If you’re looking for an entertaining night out, or if you’re the kind of person who likes to be right in the middle of the action, then floor bidding is for you. All you need to do is come to the Absolute Auction Center and register either during Preview or on the day of the auction. Registration is free, a catalog is a $1 donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and tasty food and beverages can be purchased inexpensively at our catering corner.

Absentee bidding is a great option for anyone who can attend Preview but not the auction itself, or for bidders who attend the auction but need to leave before some of their lots of interest are auctioned. Absentee bids are accepted throughout the auction as long as they are submitted at least an hour before the lot is expected to sell (we typically auction 80-90 lots per hour). Absentee bidding is also a good solution to the challenge of bidding in more than one ring at a time during the auction. You can either pick up an absentee bid form from the registration office or download a PDF and fax it in to us. We DO NOT accept absentee bid requests by email; a signed form must be faxed or submitted in person. All absentee bid forms must include the bidder’s complete personal information, including a credit card number.

If you are strongly interested in a lot and are not able to attend the auction, you may choose to submit a phone bid request. As a phone bidder, you will be called a few lots prior to the lot you plan to bid on, and when your lot comes up, a staff member will assist you in bidding competitively for the lot. Before deciding to phone bid, please note that the minimum starting bid per lot is $200. Bidders not willing to start the bidding at $200 are advised to submit absentee bids or bid live online instead. Phone bid forms must be submitted by 8pm on the Friday Preview before the auction. You can either pick up a phone bid form from the registration office or download a PDF and fax it in to us. We DO NOT accept phone bid requests by email; a signed form must be faxed or submitted in person. Once all phone bid requests are received, the Absolute Auctions Team will determine whether we have enough staff and phone lines to accommodate every request. Phone bids are accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis. If we will not be able to execute your phone bid, we will call you to notify you so that you still have the option to leave absentee bids or bid online (if the Internet registration cutoff time has not passed). All phone bid forms must include the bidder’s complete personal information, including a credit card number and the phone number at which you should be reached during the auction.

Absolute Auctions & Realty owns and utilizes our own in-house Internet bidding system called AARBIDS. AARBIDS offers you the ability to bid live remotely from the comfort of your own home—or, for that matter, from anywhere in the world. Bids are received in real time so that you are competing for lots as if you were in the room yourself. For this convenience, your purchases will include a slightly higher buyer’s premium of 15% (as opposed to 13.5%) to help offset the cost of running the Internet system. If you won’t be able to bid live, you may leave absentee bids through the AARBIDS system instead. AARBIDS registration is free of charge but must be completed no later than 3pm on auction day. Click here to download a PDF of complete instructions on becoming an AARBIDS Member (a one-time signup) and registering for an auction (to be done each auction). It’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s convenient!

AARBIDS also has a “dynamic-ending” Internet bidding feature that is very similar to the eBay-style auction. Like eBay, the auction has a start time and an end time, and bidders are able to sign in and leave bids on items of interest at any time during the auction. Where AARBIDS differs is when a bid is placed just before the auction is scheduled to close. To ensure all other active bidders have a chance to counterbid the last-minute bid, the ending time of the auction will automatically be extended by a predetermined number of minutes. This will continue to occur until that number of minutes has passed without further bidding. At that time, the auction will officially close.

In addition to using AARBIDS at every auction, Absolute Auctions also uses eBay Live whenever we offer merchandise that will have broad appeal to eBay bidders. Registration for this service is done directly through the eBay system, and anyone who is already an eBay member simply needs to sign in and complete a brief secondary auction registration for our particular live event. To help defray the cost of the service, the buyer’s premium for lots purchased on eBay is 20%. Catalogs for items to be offered via eBay Live become available 10 days prior to our auction. Bidders can either place static bids, as most eBay auctions are conducted, or they can participate during the auction through the eBay Live system in much the same way that our own AARBIDS system runs.

You may be wondering which Internet bidding system is better for you. From the bidder’s perspective, there are few differences between them, so it is really a matter of personal preference. Both offer live real-time bidding, the opportunity to leave absentee bids and the convenience of participating from anywhere in the world. The primary difference is the buyer’s premium, which is 15% for AARBIDS and 20% for eBay Live. However, bidders who are already comfortable with the eBay format may prefer to continue using their established screen name and feedback rating; these bidders would then choose to bid through eBay Live rather than switch AARBIDS. On the other hand, we have also seen a number of eBay bidders become AARBIDS members, and those who have are satisfied with the service. In the end, the choice is yours—either way, we will be happy to serve your online bidding needs.