An auction is a public sale where goods are sold to the person that bids the highest.

Nowadays, with technology and people’s lives being so busy, more and more people are moving to online bidding, but is this good move? It’s important to understand how real auctions and online auctions work, because there are pros and cons to both.

Real auction

In a real auction, potential buyers get the chance to examine items up close. They can then bid in person.

Pros:
• You can get an idea of how much items may go for
• You can make educated purchasing decisions in person
• It’s fun, exciting and sociable – a good day out
• You can network and make new friends
• You get to walk away with your item(s) on the same day
• You can view the lots beforehand so that you know what you are getting

Cons:
• You have to attend in person or use a representative
• You may get caught up in the bid frenzy and go over budget
• There may be travelling costs etc.

Online auction

In an online auction, items are listed virtually and buyers can click to read more details and browse photographs.

Pros:
• It’s still fun and exciting, but may get addictive
• Convenient, easy, quick
• You log on, bid and pay for your purchases on one website
• You can bid from anywhere

Cons:
• You won’t actually get to see the items before bidding and photographs can be misleading
• It’s not always easy to get more information on lots
• It may increase the number of buyers from out of the area
• There’s a chance that the Internet, website or your card won’t work properly and you could miss out
• You have to wait to receive your purchase

Auctions at Tony Lester

Here at Tony Lester, we conduct real live auctions but we also accept email, fax and telephone bids.

Once you’ve sent your bid, it’s done and dusted and all down to luck on the day. You can stop thinking about it and leave it in the hands of ‘fate’. We confirm receipt of all email bids.

However you decide to bid, we would always recommend viewing any items you are interested in before the auction, where possible.

Currently, we hold five public auctions per year. Upcoming auction information is listed here, the next one held on Sunday 3rd September. Watch our video to learn all you need to know about attending a Tony Lester auction.

Whether bidding in person or online, the principal is the same, so it really comes down to what you feel more comfortable with and what’s most convenient.

To summarise, attending a live auction will always be more enjoyable, informative and beneficial as you can see first-hand what is happening. However, people will continue to send bids prior to the auction if they are unable to attend.

We’d love to see you at the next real auction.