Auction format question

[cardinale]

Has anyone ever participated in a sporthorse auction where buyers’ max bids must be submitted in advance to the auction organizer? In poking around Clipmyhorse I came across Starsale Auctions in the Netherlands, which are organized this way. They require potential bidders to submit in advance the names of the horses they want to bid on, plus their maximum bid, plus deposit funds to cover that bid. I can understand wanting to have funds on hand to weed out flaky bidders, and I am sure they return unused monies, but telling the auctioneer what horses you are interested in AND how much you will bid on each, beforehand??? Seems like a recipe for shill bidding and other shenanigans.

Just seems strange.

[alibi_18]

You must have misread.

Here are the details : https://www.starsaleauctions.com/en/program/bid-and-buy

[DownYonder]

I have bought in a German auction and have multiple friends that have bought in German auctions. Most of them have been Verband auctions but several people bought through through a private auction. In all cases, we told the auction people ahead of time what our general budget was so they could help us with selections, but we did not send funds ahead of time. i know the auctions get fake buyers from time to time–either folks bidding “for fun” or folks who have buyer’s remorse and back out before transferring funds–but i would be very, very wary of depositing funds ahead of time with an auction house, ESPECIALLY a private one. I think.the Verband auction houses are generally more dependable because they are so long-standing and they have a reputation to maintain, but these private operations tend to come and go (as do their staff), so I am not sure I could bring myself to do business with them and certainly not to send them funds ahead of time. It could be a logistical and legal nightmare trying to find recourse if things go south.

Edited to add: Starsale appears to have been around for quite some time, so I would have a little more trust in them than an auction organization with less longevity.

[DownYonder]

@alibi_18

You must have misread.

Here are the details : https://www.starsaleauctions.com/en/program/bid-and-buy

How did she misread? The auction is 8/21 and the bidder has to deposit funds by 8/20 for the maximum amount they are willing to bid. ???

[joiedevie99]

It’s not a sealed-bid auction where you submit your actual maximum bid ahead of time. I’ve seen plenty of those, although never for horses.

If you go in person it’s a normal auction. If you want to bid over the phone, you have to tell them which horses you are interested in so that an agent can call you before that horse goes up for bidding. Unlike some others, you have to transfer funds into an account at their approved bank prior to bidding, and you can’t spend more than you deposited. You still direct the agent, live, what to bid or not bid in real time.

[alibi_18]

@DownYonder

How did she misread? The auction is 8/21 and the bidder has to deposit funds by 8/20 for the maximum amount they are willing to bid. ???

First, the money needs to be available in an account - it shows that the money is there, not that it can be taken by the show willy-nilly -
Like a trust account.
By doing so, they obviously try to avoid fake bidders.

Second, this is for phone bidding only - obviously, people there don’t have to go through that hassle.

Third, Yes, you do need to let them know which horse or horses you might be interested in; they need to plan how many representatives they’ll need and organize all the calls so no one stays on the phone for 5hrs straight…
But, you don’t have to say how much money is for which horse (especially if there is more than one) and you certainly can change your mind (regarding the horse and the money you want to spend on it.)

Ex. I’m interrested in Poopsie and Tootsie.
I have 50k to spend and it’s available in the Saleaccount

The day of the auction : Representative calls me… we bid up to 5k for Poopsie - and I decided to let someone else get it for 20k.

I get another call back and bid up to 35k for Tootsie and win. A contract is sign, and they are allowed to take the money from that Saleaccount.

No cheating, no nothing. Pretty straight forward to me.