Explanation: A Live Online Auction is a combination of a Live and Internet Auction. You can bid live and onsite at the Auction or you can bid live from your computer at home or work. An online clerk will relay your bids to the Auctioneer and you will bid against floor bidders who are at the auction and other online bidders. Typically you can bid via computer two ways. You can leave prebids (Like an Absentee Bid. Described below) or you can bid live over the computer. The Auction will be set to live approx. 30 minutes prior to the start of the auction. Once you have logged in and the bidding begins you will be able to follow along as the items are sold. The screen will automatically update to the next lot as the item progresses. Once an item comes up that you are interested in you will be able to follow the bidding in real time. The lot will reflect what the current prebid amount is on the particular item. For example if a pre bid was left on your item and the current starting bid is $50 the Auctioneer will ask for the next bid increment. If he asks for $60 the online clerk will update the asked bid and your screen would show that the requested bid is $60. If you are willing to pay $60 you would click bid. The clerk would relay your bid to the Auctioneer. He will then ask for $70. The online clerk will update the asked bid to notify other online bidders the current asking amount. Your computer will show that you have the high bid until another bidder bids. If a person on the floor bids $70. The online clerk will update the asked bid amount and your computer will show that you are no longer the high bidder. It will ask if you would like to bid again at $80. This process will continue until there is no further competitive bidding. If you clicked $80 and no one else bids than you would win the item for $80 plus taxes & buyer premium.

These auctions are generally reserved for Firearm, Sportsman & Decoy Auctions and will be conducted on Proxibid.

Explanation: An online only auction is an auction that is held online only and there is no live in person bidding available. Bidding can be done on most current computers with an internet connection.The Online Only Auction will feature a Start Date/Time & will be open up until the start time of the Auction. Typically the auction will open a few weeks before the Live Start Date & Time. For our example the Auction will open for Bids on Monday June the 2nd at 12 PM EST. The live online auction will start on Wednesday June 16, 2014 at 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. This will be a cataloged auction with each item having a lot #. You are interested in Lot #10 a Roseville Pottery vase. At anytime between June 2nd and June 16th you could register, log in and place a bid on lot #10. You will have the option of putting in a starting and maximum bid. Other bidders can bid on the same item at any time. If you put a Starting bid of $10 on the item someone can come along and leave a bid of $12.50 and knock you out. If you put a starting bid of $10 and a maximum of $50 the computer would bid for you up to your maximum bid. If competitive bidding occurs the computer would keep bidding for you until it reached $50. At that point you would be out. You can still log back in and re-bid a higher amount. This process of bidding occurs up until the time your lot is scheduled to close. Most auctions will feature a staggered ending and feature a soft closing. For the staggered ending a lot will end every 2-5 minutes depending on the Auction settings. For our example let’s use 2 minutes. Lot #1 would start closing at 3:00 PM on the 16th. Lot #2 will close at 3:02 PM. Lot 3 will close at 3:04 PM and so on. Lot 10 would be scheduled to close at 3:20 PM. If you log in at say 2:50 PM you will notice a link to enter the live auction. Lots will start closing at the prescribed times. To watch your lot you would wait until the closing time. The screen will automatically update. Lots that are closing will drop off the screen and the next 5-6 upcoming lots will scroll across the screen. Once your lot becomes visible the computer will show you if you are in the high bidder position or not. If not you can bid at that time and increase your bid. Your lot will keep progressing to the left of the screen as items close. If someone outbids you in the last 3 minutes before your lot closes the computer will automatically extend the bidding time on that lot only by 3 minutes. This protects you and provides you time to place additional bids. You would have to be online and paying attention to see this. This process will continue as long as there is competitive bidding. If you are the high bidder and the bidding ends for example at $75 and no one else bids you win the item for $75 plus taxes and buyer premium.

These auctions are generally our weekly Offsite/Onsite Auctions conducted at the Sellers Property/Our Auction Facility.

Explanation: An online Absentee Bid Auction is an auction that is held live at either our facility or onsite at a home or business. This type of auction will be cataloged and each item will have a lot #. The auction will have a starting date + a stop date and time that bid’s must be received by. Typically bids will be due anywhere from a few hours prior and up to 1 day before the start of the live auction. Through the online bidding platform you can leave bids on lot numbers that you are interested in. For example if Lot #25 is a 1 Carat Diamond ring. You are willing to pay up to $1,000 for it. You would log in and on the bidding screen you could place a starting bid of $25 and a maximum bid of $1,000. If several other people place bids on the same item before the bids are due for example lets say the absentee bidding got to $800. That bid will be downloaded from the internet and uploaded into our Auction Software. When lot #25 is sold the computer will show that we have an $800 Absentee bid. The Auctioneer would open the bidding with that $800 and ask the next bid. If someone bids $850 the Computer shows us that you are willing to bid again and you would be put in for $900. The Auctioneer would ask for the next bid of $950. If no one else bids you would win the bid for $900 on the Lot + Taxes and Buyer premium. If the bidding didn’t stop and the ring ended at $1,200 the computer would have stopped bidding for you at your $1,000 bid due to your maximum bid being exceeded.

These auctions are generally used in conjunction with a Firearm, Sportsman & Decoy Auctions and offer bidding via HiBid. We can’t run two Live/Simulcast Auctions on two different bidding platforms as the same time. This allows a person who is Registered with HiBid to place bids in a Live Auction. The bids are downloaded prior to the start of the Live Auction. These bids are executed by the Auctioneer during the live Auction.

At A&M Auctions we utilize 2 online bidding platforms at this time.  They are HiBid and Proxibid. The type of Auction and the nature of the items being sold will determine which auction platform we are using. On average 9/10 Auctions that we conduct will be on HiBid.com.

#1: HiBid is part of our Auction software that we use to conduct our Auctions, and it is called Auction Flex. We use this platform for most of our Online Only Auctions.

#2: Proxibid. We utilize Proxibid for our Specialty Auctions including Decoys/Wildfowl Art & Firearms/Military Items. (Currently 4-6 times a year)

Just like with a live auction, we must verify that you have funds available to make a purchase. Your credit card information is kept secure with either HiBid or Proxibid. We have access to process payments against the card on file. We don’t maintain the card information locally and we do not share this information with anyone. When you register a $1 Authorization will be processed to verify that the card is valid. The $1 never leaves your account and will disappear after a few days. In the event that you are a winning bidder, we will charge purchased items on the credit card on file in Personal Property Auctions.

It is very important that the card you register with has available funds for your purchases. We do billing the following day after the auction and charge to the Credit Card that you placed on file. If the Credit Card declines we will contact you immediately to secure another method of payment. Payments should be completed by the Auction pickup date.

You have the ability to place more than one credit card on file with either HiBid or Proxibid. We only have access to the card that you specify when you register for an auction.

Visit https://allenmarshallauctions.hibid.com/auctions/

On the Main screen you will see the A&M Auctioneers Logo on the upper left. Just to the left you will see either “Login/New Bidder” if you are not currently logged in or your name/username. If you see your name you are currently logged in and already have an account. If you don’t see your name you will likely need to Login if you have already created on account. If you are new to HiBid and need to create an account Click the “Don’t have a HiBid Account? REGISTER HERE button.

As part of the registration process you will chose a Username & Password. Please maintain this information a secure location. The Auction Co. does not have the ability to change your Username or Password.

Once you have completed the registration process to use the HiBid website you will still need to register for the particular auction. Each auction has slightly different terms. You must acknowledge those terms in order to register. Once the registration is complete you can start leaving bids.

On HiBid, each Auction will have a Gray bar with “Auction Details”, “Register to Bid” and “View Catalog. To Register click the “Register to Bid” button in the center. You will have to verify the credit card that you want to register with, check the box at the bottom acknowledging the “Terms and Conditions” of the auction. In order to view items in the Auction click the “View Catalog” button. That will take you to the individual items. Each item will feature a short text description and photograph, Countdown clock, current bid price and a “Bid” Button. Once you are ready to bid you will click the “Bid” Button. A Confirmation window will open and ask you to confirm the bid. You can either confirm the next bid price or at this point you can tell the computer a maximum price that you are willing to bid. The computer will then increase your bid with competitive bidding up to your maximum bid. Within the HiBid system if an item you are bidding on is highlighted in Green you are winning the bid. If that color changes to Red you have been outbid.

Please carefully review that the information you have entered for accuracy before submitting bids. Once you submit the bid, the bid cannot be canceled and is binding.

Click here for a step by step process for registering on HiBid.

Visit https://www.proxibid.com/asp/AuctionsByCompany.asp?ahid=3511

Any current auctions that we have on Proxibid will be listed here (NOTE: We utilize Proxibid 4-6 times a year on average so there can be times that no current auctions are listed). You can view our older Archived Auctions.

To Sign In or Sign Up there are buttons in the Upper right hand corner of the screen. When you sign up you are creating an account to use on Proxibid.com. This account will allow you to register for Auctions no only by A&M Auctions but any other Auction Co. that utilizes Proxibid. Please write down you Username and Password and secure it in a safe place. We do not have any access into Proxibids system to assist you with lost passwords. You would need to contact Proxibid.

There will be a button to register for a particular auction. Click that button. If your account has been approved and you are in good standing you will normally get immediately approved.

Once you are logged in Your name will appear in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Click the My Proxibid under your name to view current auctions that you are registered for. You can also view your current lots that you have placed bids on.

No, you are not charged any fees to register/participate in an Online Auction. When you register to use the Auction Platform you will have to provide credit card to place on file. If you win an item there will be State Sales Tax (Varies by State) and a Buyer Premium added to the purchase price.

To maintain an account in good standing, please ensure that you pay for and pickup your purchases on the scheduled Date & Time at the posted pickup site.

Yes. Once you have registered with Hibid or Proxibid’s bidding platform your account it will remain active with them. Please remember to write down and secure your Username & Password in a safe place. You can use your HiBid/Proxibid account with any other auctioneer that utilizes those platforms. You will need to register for each individual auction as they all will have slightly different terms. As part of the registration process you will have to check a box on the screen and accept the terms and conditions for that particular auction. You are thereby agreeing to abide by those terms and conditions.

It is imperative that you follow those terms and conditions to maintain an approved account. Each auction will have a specified preview date, auction date/time and a pickup date. The times posted are the only times that we will be onsite for you to access the property. Please ensure that you will be available on the Pick Up date to attend and retrieve your items. If you can’t attend the pickup you are responsible for designating someone who can pick your items up for you.

When viewing the online auction, you will see your name at the top of the page when logged in. Hover over your name and a drop down menu will appear. Click on the Current Bids on HiBid and you can see the status of your current bids. On Proxibid click the My Proxibid under your name to view your current bids.

Most of our online only auctions are set to “soft close.” This means that if someone bids in the last 1 minute before the items closes the bidding will be extended by “1” minute. This allows you additional time to place another competing bid, just as you would at an auction in person.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You would have to be viewing the auction item as it’s closing to notice this and to be able to bid again.

If the bidding is extended it is very important to closely watch that lot until it ends.

Occasionally a new bidder will bid at the last minute in an attempt to sneak in and win the bid. When a new bidder places that bid the HiBid computer system will normally place their bid into a pending status. The Auction Company gets a notification that a “Pending Bid” has been received and I can then approve that bid. It normally takes me 20-30 seconds to approve a bid.

When I approve that bid the HiBid system will normally NOT provide an extra minute for you to respond so it is very important for you to pay close attention to the screen and be ready to bid.

One way to avoid this is to place a higher maximum bid and not just the next asked bid. This can provide your bid a little cushion if someone places a bid for the next asked increment. In this case they would get a notification that they are outbid.

Most of our online auctions are set to “soft close.” This means that you will be given an additional amount or predetermined time to place another competing bid, just as you would at an auction in person. Normally this time frame will be from 1-2 minutes. If a bid is placed within the specified amount of minutes (Normally 1 Minute) before the auction closing time of that item, the closing time of the auction will automatically extend by that specified time to accept bids from when the last bid was placed. This allows all participants to have an equal and fair chance of competitive bidding, just as they would at an auction taking place in person.

By placing your maximum bid, the system will automatically place bid increments for you, in pre-determined (see auction terms) amounts. This will increase your bid if your original bid is out bid by another bidder. This speeds up the auction process, and assists you with your bidding. If another bidder bids higher than your maximum bid, the system will stop increasing your bids, and you will have to increase your maximum bid amount in order to continue competitive bidding.

Example: An item has a current bid of $10. At that price the bidding increment is $1.00. The computer will show you the next bid is $11.00. You can place the bid at $11 or you can back out the $11.00 and tell the computer that you are willing to pay $25. The computer will show that you are the High Bidder and will then automatically increase your bid if another bidder bids on the item and their bid is under your maximum bid. This can provide a little cushion for your bid. You can re-bid at any time on that item as long as their is time left on the countdown clock.

No, bids cannot be cancelled once they have been placed. By placing a bid you are entering into a binding contract. There are no refunds or bid cancellations. The registered bidder is personally responsible, legally and financially, for all auction items bid upon, whether representing one’s self or acting as an agent. An online bid accepted at public auction is a legal and binding contract to purchase. Any bidder who fails to consummate a purchase will be banned from bidding at all future seller auction events and may be pursued for civil and/or criminal violations.

A bid history lists the Bidder Name (Usually Obscured), # of bids placed by that person, the Highest bid placed by that person and the time that the bid was placed. This allows you to see how many bidders are bidding and how many times they have bid for each lot.

A reserve price is the minimum dollar amount that an item will sell for. Most of our auction items “WILL NOT” have a reserve bids attached to the items. Occasionally an item may require a reserve. For instance it we are selling a Motor vehicle that has a lien attached the vehicle will likely have a reserve. This is to ensure that we can convey marketable title and know that the lien can/will be satisfied by the consignor. If an item has a reserve it will be notated in the bidding platform. It will show “Reserve not meet” until the reserve price has been achieved.

Bidding now is easier than ever. You can place bids on a Desktop, Laptop, Tablet, Smartphone & a variety of other devices. Please contact our office if you still can’t figure it out and we will be happy to assist you through the bidding process.

We recommend that you Register to use the HiBid.com service as soon as you know that you want to place a bid on an item.

You will be required to register for each individual Auction that you want to participate in. HiBid.com features auctions by hundreds of Auctioneers across the U.S. Each auction will have slightly different terms and you must agree to those terms before you can bid.

Please remember your USERNAME & PASSWORD. Maintain them in a secure place as you are responsible for bids place from your account.

Once you have a specific item that you want to place a bid on go ahead and register for that particular auction. We recommend that you do this at least 24 hours prior to the closing of the auction.

If you are a new bidder your account will need to be verified by the Auction House. If you then immediately place a Bid your bid will be placed into a “Pending Status” until the Auctioneer approves the new account.

Please do not wait until the item is about to close to attempt to register and place a bid.

We have this happen from time to time and it is possible that you may loose out on a lot if this happens.

The easiest way to avoid this is to register early and place a bid well before the item it set to close.

On HiBid when you register a new account you start with a “0” feedback score. A&M Auctioneers and Appraisers must approve all new accounts that have “0” /no Positive feedback point. We normally check the system 4-5 times a day. This process can take up to 12 Hours if the bid was placed at night time. If the bid was placed on the weekend it may take up until the next business day. If you have not heard from a member of our team within this time frame, please give our office a call and we will be happy to look into your account.

Once you start placing and winning bids you will start to accrue Positive Feedback. At that point your account will be automatically approved for a predetermined amount for each Auction that you are registering for.

Yes! We offer a Preview day/time for nearly every personal property auction that we conduct. The date and time will be posted in the Advertisements, on the website and in the bidding platform. The date and time posted is the only time that we will be onsite for Preview. We encourage bidders to preview items when possible as all items are sold “AS IS WHERE IS” and All Sales are Final. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to determine condition, age genuineness, authenticity, value or any other determinative factor prior to placing a bid on an item. Bidder shall be the sole judge of value.

The best way to get additional information about an item is to attend the Auction Preview. That way you can view the item in person and most likely answer your questions. If you are from out of the area and can’t attend the Auction Preview we will be glad to look at the item on the Auction Preview day and answer any questions that you have. It is very important that you ask any questions before we go to the Auction Preview. We will be glad to answer what we can. If you ask the question(s) after the Auction Preview we will likely not be back to the home before the Auction Pickup day.

Most of the Auctions are conducted onsite at a persons home or place of business. Some questions we may be easy to answer. It you require detailed information on an item we may not be able to answer that question until we are back at the home for the Auction Preview. We normally keep a form with questions for each auction. We get the answers while at the preview and then reply to those questions.

We will have an Auction Catalog available at each Auction preview. This catalog will list a description of lots included in the Auction and provide terms for the Auction. Any documents/owners manuals that we find are generally placed with the lot in the home or property. Please carefully review these documents prior to bidding. A&M Auctioneers and Appraisers, LLC may attempt to describe the merchandise in advertising, on the internet, over the phone and at the auction but makes no representations.

Yes. To register to bid you must submit a valid credit card. A $1 Authorization will charged on the card. We do charge credit card purchases to this card so it is important that you have funds available on the card that you place on file.

A buyer’s premium is a percentage paid by the buyer to the auction company on top of the winning price. This amount varies by Auction and is listed in the auction terms for each individual Auction. Please carefully note the buyer’s premium before placing your bid.

The Buyer Premium listed for the Auction will be on all items in the Auction unless otherwise noted.

Example: If the buyer Premium is 18% and you purchase an item for $100 there would be an $18 charge for the Buyer Premium. Generally the Buyer Premium us Taxable so State Sales tax when required would be added.

We typically list our recently sold auctions online under the “Recent Sales” portion of our website. Prices are generally not disclosed until after the sale has been finalized.

As a general rule A & M Auctioneers and Appraisers, LLC does not offer in house shipping on General Auction Merchandise! However, shipping is available through One of Three 3rd Party Shippers that we utilize. They include the UPS Pack and Ship Store of Delmar, DE (Smallest of the 3 & is located 9 Miles from our Facility) UPS Pack and Ship Store of Salisbury, MD (Middle sized of the 3 and is located 13 miles from our Facility) & the Parcel Plus Store in Rehoboth Beach, DE (Largest of the 3 and is located 33 miles from our facility). We can arrange delivery, for a fee, to a 3rd Party Shipper for you. We normally go once a week on either Tue/Wed depending on our schedule.

A&M Auctioneers and Appraisers, LLC has no affiliation with the local Pack and Ship stores and has no control over pick-up fees or shipping/freight fees through the 3rd Party Shipper. Your item(s) will be delivered to a Shipper of our choice, with a copy of your paid invoice that contains your contact information. Once the item is boxed and ready to ship the Shipper will attempt to contact you via phone/email. You will pay the 3rd Party Shipper directly for the shipping. A&M Auctioneers and Appraisers is not the shipping company so we can’t provide shipping estimates/quotes for you.

Generally we will pack your items in Plastic Totes with bed pads/bubble wrap to protect fragile items. We drop those totes off at the 3rd Party Shipper. They will then unpack your items and box/ready your items for shipment using their own boxes and wrapping materials.

If you want do not want to use the one of our recommended 3rd Party Shippers please contact the shipper of your choice and have them pick the items up for you at the Auction Pickup Site during the scheduled Date/Time. If we bring your item(s) back from an onsite auction to our Auction Facility there would be a hauling fee.

EXCEPTIONS: A&M Auctions will ship ALL Firearms and High Capacity Mags as required by Federal/State law. We will also ship High end Jewelry including Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Precious Gemstones.  This is mainly due to fraudulent attempts to purchase these items. We will only ship to a Verified Address.

A&M Auctions can’t provide Estimates on most items as we do not ship General Merchandise.

Shipping has become very expensive in the last several years. As the Auction Co. we have no control over shipping prices charged by UPS, USPS, FEDEX, DHL, or any of the 3rd Party shipping companies (UPS P/S STORES, PARCEL PLUS) that we deliver items to for those that require shipping. 

Not only has the cost of the Actual postage increased. The Cost of Materials and Labor have greatly increased in the past several years.

This is especially true with Fragile items/Large groups (I.E. Sets of China, Stemware) or large quantities of individual items in a lot that require a large amount of Packing materials, labor and extra time to wrap.

Most items sold by the Auction Co. are shipable. Items that are not shipable will normally be notated in the description. That being said, the purchaser must be aware of the high cost of shipping at the time you are placing bids. This is especially important if the shipping destination is on the opposite side of the Country from where the items are sold. We are located on the East coast of the United States approx. 30 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Traditionally with shipping the longer the distance that the item must be transported to the destination the higher the cost.

If you request shipping we will deliver the item to the appropriate shipper. Once the item(s) are delivered to that shipper we have fulfilled our service. Once the items are boxed the shipper will contact you with the price for the shipping. You will pay the shipper directly for the shipping cost. As stated above we have no control over any of the costs associated with having the items shipped to you. You are responsible for paying what the shipper is charging. If you decide not to have the items shipped you will be responsible for picking our items up at the shipper.

IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO HAVE YOUR ITEMS SHIPPED THAT IS YOUR CHOICE. THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS OR CHARGE BACKS IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO HAVE YOUR ITEMS SHIPPED.

We would rather that items be picked up at the Auction Pickup site by you or someone that you designate to pick your items up. If this is not feasible, for a fee, we can haul items back to our facility. You must notify us before the Auction Pickup day & time that you require this service so that we can plan accordingly. Items must be paid for in full for us to haul them back to our facility. We pull a small trailer with us to each Auction Pickup. If you purchase large items we may need to take a 2^nd truck and trailer. If we bring your items back to the Auction Facility you have until the following Wednesday to pick your items up. Failure to do so will result in additional storage fees and eventually the forfeiture of the items if you don’t pick them up in a timely manner.

In HiBid under the auction that you are bidding in under the “Auction Details” view the “Shipping/Pickup” tab for the pricing.

This will depend on where the auction was conducted. Most of the auctions currently done by A&M Auctions will be onsite a Consignors home or place of business. We will have a scheduled pick up date and time for each Auction that we conduct. Generally we are onsite for a period of 3 Hours on either Friday night or Saturday morning. It is imperative that you look at the pickup dates and ensure that you will be able to attend the Auction pickup. We are only at the home on that specified day during those specified hours. If you can’t come during that time you are responsible for designating a person to pick your items up for you.

Once the auction is complete and all the items have closed, we download the bidding results from either HiBid or Proxibid. We integrate those bids into our Auction Software (Auction Flex) at the close of the sale. The system generates an invoice for your items that you won. We email that invoice Approx. 30-60 minutes after the completion of the auction to the email address that you provided during registration. This email will generally come from jeff@amauctions.com. The Email and Invoice will cover the Auction pickup Date & Time, the pickup address, directions and other pertinent information. We generally charge the invoice total to the Credit Card that you placed on file when you registered by 10 AM the following day. Please ensure that you have sufficient funds to cover your purchases on the card that you provide.

Once payment is completed we print the paid invoices with Credit card slips. We do not email a paid in full copy. When you arrive at the Auction Pickup site you will find the Check-in table. Provide your name. We will have you sign your CC Slip and then one of our staff will show you to your items. We will then provide you with your copy of the paid in full invoice. If your items are being shipped the paid in full invoice will come in the box with the items that are being shipped.

Make sure that you are available on the Auction Pickup date. The Pickup Address will be located at the top of the Invoice and in the Email body. Most auctions will have a 2-3 hour pickup window conducted on the Date/Time listed in the email. This is the only time that we will be onsite for Auction Pickup.

With HiBid, the first thing you need is a valid email address. At the start of the registration process the first thing you have to do is type in and confirm a valid email address. HiBid’s system checks that the email provided is not currently being used. If your email is accepted a personal information page appears.  You will need to fill in all of the requested information that pertains to you. If you don’t have a business name than leave that line blank. You will enter your Name, Address, Phone #, Valid Credit Card # and any other information requested. You will choose a Username and Password to access your account. You can use your email address as the Username. Please maintain the Username and Password in a secure location. We don’t have access into the HiBid or Proxibid platform to be able to assist you with changing passwords.

You will have to accept the Terms and Conditions of the Auction Sale.

As part of the Security system that HiBid uses, the Billing address that you provide at registration when placing a Credit Card on file is queried against the Bank or Card Provider. This is called an AVS Check. HiBid is asking your provider to verify the billing information is valid and correct. Some providers don’t cooperate with this AVS Check. 1^st Verify that the address you provided the computer matches exactly what you Bank/Provider has for your billing address. You can try another card if one doesn’t work. Most larger providers Visa, MC, Amex Discover & most larger banks work fine. Some smaller local banks do not. If you can’t get in please contact us. Note: If you are having problems when placing a card on file each time you attempt to put that same card in a $1 Authorization will occur. Your card provider may eventually think something fraudulent may be happening.

When you register with HiBid and place a new credit card on file a $1 Authorization is placed on the card. This is not an actual charge and the money never leaves your account. This will disappear from your statement within a few days. This is a security feature to verify that the card that you placed on file is valid and chargeable. This process will happen every few months to make sure that the card you placed on file is still valid.

A tool for the Auction Company that HiBid utilizes is a user feedback score. This is information only accessible by an Auction Co. that utilizes HiBid. Every new bidder starts with a reputation of 0 and, with activity, this score goes up or down to a value between -100 (very bad) and 100 (very good). For A&M Auctions any bidder with a reputation lower than +1 will have their auction bid permission set to pending. We will verify your information if you are a new bidder with a reputation of “0”. Once approved or declined you will receive an email confirmation. We check the pending file several times a day during business hours. If you get a notice that your bid is pending after hours we will check that pending file again on the next business day.

NOTE: For new HiBid Bidders with a “0” user feedback rating. Once your account has been approved you will have a Maximum High Bid limit of $500 +/- per item placed on your account. If you intend on bidding an amount higher than $500 that is fine and we can approve that bid manually but don’t wait until the last minute before an item closes to bid. When you place a bid over that threshold, we get a notification from HiBid and can manually approve it but it takes a minute or two. As you bid, win and pay for items your user feedback will grow and that $500 limit will revert to the Standard Pre-Approved High Bid Amount per item which is determined by auction and is normally between $2000-$5000. This $ value is based upon the highest priced item in each sale.

NEGATIVE FEEDBACK: Please read and follow the terms and conditions of the auctions as posted by the Auction Co. Here are a few problems that can lead to you receiving Negative feedback #1Failure to pick items up during the specified pickup time or a No Show at the pickup. #2 Non-Payment, Declined Credit card for purchases you made, Returned checks or Charge backs. #3 Potential Fraudulent activity. #4 Creating multiple accounts due to poor feedback. These are just a few instances that can lead to negative feedback on your account. Once you receive negative feedback it tends to snow ball. Many auctioneers won’t give you a chance to register/participate and bid when you have negative feedback. Especially if the negative feedback is in reference to Non payment for purchases. Make sure and follow through, pay for and pickup your items and you should be fine.

#1: Buyer is responsible for removing all items from the Property. Please verify before you leave the Auction Pickup site that you have all of your items that you purchased and any remaining packing/moving items that you brought.

#2: Buyer is responsible for bringing any required manpower that is needed to move your items from the home to your vehicle. The Auction staff is onsite to show you where your items are located at the Pickup Site. We are normally very busy at these pickups and may not have time to assist with moving/carrying items.

Yes, you must bring your own materials.

#1: Buyer is Responsible for bringing any tools, boxes, tape, wrapping paper, Bubble wrap, blankets, Straps, wheel cart or dollies needed to remove your items from the property. The items that you purchased will be situated in the home as they were photographed at the time of the cataloging. You will be responsible for any boxing that is required to move/load your items.

#2: Items will be located in the home/at the property in the condition that they were photographed in. Example if you purchased a Set of China that was photographed in a kitchen cabinet that is where the China Set will be waiting for you at pickup. If you need to pack and wrap the item(s) you would need to bring your own packing/wrapping materials and boxes or totes to remove the items from the property.

Obviously the Auction Co. is selling items for a consignor and those items need to be paid for so that we can pay the consignor. If your Credit Card declines for the purchase price we will attempt to contact you via Email and over the phone.

If we make contact with you and payment is made you will stay in Good Standing.

If you are not reachable, payment is not made and the items are not picked up there will be ramifications. Your account with our Auction Co. may be temporarily suspended and eventually permanently declined, meaning that you can’t participate in our Online Auctions in the future.

We have the option to post negative feedback on your account so that other Auctioneers who use HiBid or Proxibid know that you have a history of not paying.  This most likely will start to result in other Auctioneers not allowing you to participate in their auctions as well.

We don’t like having to do this but if you are not willing to follow through and pay for purchased items you leave us little choice.

The Auction pickup date and time for each auction are posted for each auction that we conduct. For an onsite Auction at someones home/business we will have one pickup date and time scheduled. All items must be removed from the premises on this date and time. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please ensure that when you register for the auction you check the pickup date and make sure that you can attend.

If you know that you can’t attend the pickup you are responsible for designating someone who can pick your items up for you.

Approx. 1 hour prior to the end of the Auction Pickup we generally start reaching out to bidders that have not yet picked up their items. We will normally text you first. We may also call and email if your # appears to be a landline.

If you do not answer/respond to our attempts to contact you and you fail to pickup your items there will be a $15 minimum fee per lot for a NO SHOW. At this point you have left us no other option that to haul the item(s) back to our facility or dispose of the items. A&M Auctioneers and Appraisers, LLC will make that decision on whether your items are hauled or disposed of. This per item fee will correspond to the Shipping/Pickup under the Auction Details on HiBid. Small item = $15, Midsize Item = $25, Large Item = $50

In most of the Auctions that we conduct, we are contractually bound to have the home/business cleaned out by a certain date and time. We are tasked with cleaning out the home and leaving it broom swept. This means that at the close of the auction pickup time we go through the home and remove any items that are left. Most of these items will be disposed of and taken to the dump.

Most our auction pickups will be 3 hours in duration. Larger Sales at out Auction Facility may have a 6 hour pickup time frame.

The time that you arrive is really up to you.

We are generally busy at the start time as people want to beat everyone else there and get in and out.

Keep in mind that if you purchase small items that were sitting on a shelf, in a bookcase or curio cabinet you may want to arrive early. If the person who bought the bookcase/curio cabinet arrives before you do we may have to remove your items from the piece of furniture.

On the other hand if you purchase a piece of furniture that has other items on it you may wish to pick those furniture items up later in the pickup time. This will allow the people who got the small a chance to pick their items up.

The most important part is please arrive on time and allow yourself time to move your items by the end time of the pickup. We have had several instances lately in which bidders have arrived very late towards the end of the pickup time frame or even after it is over.

If you know that you will require an hour to pack and remove your items from the Auction Site please arrive at least an hour before the end time.

This feature allows the bidder whose bid was surpassed 1 minute of a additional time to respond to a new bid. The time is only extended for 60 Seconds if someone places a bid within the final minute before the lost is scheduled to close. This is to prevent what is called “Snipping” where a person waits until a few seconds before the lot closes and places a bid in hopes that you won’t have time to respond and place another bid.

AUCTIONEERS NOTE: In two circumstances, the additional minute is not provided. If a new bidder with “0” feedback registers and places a bid in the final minute, the Auction Co. has to approve that bid. HiBid’s computer does not provide an extra minute in this instance. Additionally if a Bidder reaches his/her pre-approved bidding threshold and places a bid that exceeds that amount, HiBids computer notifies the Auction Co instantly. I have to manually raise that amount. Once I approve that increase the computer may not add the extra minute. It happens occasionally. Please pay close attention in that final minute and be ready to place a bid.