How Online Auctions Work: A First-Time Bidder’s Guide

Online auctions are one of the best ways to find antiques, estate pieces and collectibles that never make it to a store shelf. But if you've never bid online before, the rules can feel unfamiliar. This guide walks through exactly how an auction works at AuctionSupreme, a 100% Canadian owned and operated auction house, from creating an account to picking up what you've won.

1. Create and verify your account

Anyone can browse catalogues without an account. To bid, you'll need to register, and to keep auctions fair for everyone, every bidder has to:

• Be 18 or older and a resident of Canada
• Verify their email address using the link we send at sign-up
• Add a valid Canadian credit or debit card

Your card is not charged when you add it or when you bid — only if you win. Card details are handled by Helcim, a PCI-compliant payment processor, so your full card number is never stored on our servers.

2. Browse catalogues and items

Items are grouped into catalogues — usually a single estate, collection or theme. Each catalogue has an opening date and a closing date, and the individual items inside it often close a few minutes apart rather than all at once, so you can follow the ones you care about without them all ending in the same second.

On each item page you'll find photos, a description, condition notes, dimensions and the current bid. Take your time here. All items are sold as-is, so the photos and condition notes are your inspection. If something isn't clear, ask us before you bid.

3. Placing a bid

When you bid, the site shows you the next valid amount. Bid increments grow with the price: small steps on low-value items, larger steps on expensive ones. Before your bid is placed, you'll see a breakdown of what you'd pay in total if you win, so there are no surprises.

Every bid is binding. Once placed, a bid can't be retracted, so only bid what you're genuinely prepared to pay.

4. Proxy bidding: set your maximum and walk away

You don't have to sit at your screen. With proxy (automatic) bidding, you enter the most you're willing to pay, and the system bids for you, only as much as needed to keep you in the lead, up to your maximum.

• Your maximum stays private. Other bidders never see it.
• If someone else's maximum is higher, you'll be outbid and notified, and can decide whether to go higher.
• If two people set the same maximum, the one placed first wins.

Proxy bidding is the easiest way to avoid overpaying in the heat of the moment. Decide what the piece is worth to you *before* the final minutes.

5. Soft-close: why the clock sometimes extends

Many online auctions are won by "snipers" who bid in the final second. We don't allow that to decide the outcome. With soft-close, any bid placed in the closing minutes of an item automatically adds time to the clock. The extension repeats as long as bids keep coming, so the auction only ends once everyone has had a fair chance to respond. The updated closing time is shown live on the item page.

6. Reserve prices

Some items carry a confidential reserve, the minimum the seller will accept. You'll see when an item has a reserve and whether it's been met. If bidding doesn't reach the reserve by the close, the item simply isn't sold, and nobody is charged.

7. What you'll pay if you win

Your total is made up of three parts:

• The hammer price: your winning bid
• Buyer's premium: 15% of the hammer price
• HST: 13%, applied to the hammer price plus the buyer's premium

For example, a winning bid of $100 comes to $100 + $15 premium + $14.95 HST = $129.95. All amounts are in Canadian dollars. The current figures are always set out in our Terms & Conditions.

8. Payment and pickup

Your card on file is charged automatically after the auction closes, and your invoice appears in your dashboard. If a payment fails, we'll let you know and give you a window to update your card.

Items are collected from the pickup address in your invoice during the scheduled pickup times. A few things to plan for:

• Bring packing materials and help. Staff can't assist with packing or moving.
• Shipping is arranged by you. If you can't come in person, book a third-party courier or shipping company to collect during the pickup window.
• Don't miss pickup. Items not collected in time are forfeited, and the sale is still final.

Ready to bid?

That's really all there is to it: verify your account, set a proxy maximum on the pieces you love, and let the auction run. Browse the current catalogues to see what's open now.