23 answers
Questions
Grouped by when you are likely to be asking them. If the answer you need is a rule rather than a fact, it is probably on how bidding works in more detail.
Registering and bidding
Does it cost anything to register or to bid?
No. Registration is free and there is no fee to place a bid. The house is paid by the seller's commission and the buyer's premium, both of which are disclosed.
How long does approval take?
Same day for most bidders — a card on file and a verified phone number. Corporate accounts with a resale certificate take longer because we have to check the certificate before the first invoice.
Can I retract a bid?
No. A bid is a binding offer to buy at that price under these terms. Read the description and the removal deadline before you bid, not after.
What is the difference between a bid and a maximum bid?
On this floor there is no difference — every bid is a maximum. You enter the most you will pay, the system bids the minimum it needs on your behalf, and it stops at your number. You only pay your maximum if somebody pushes you there.
Why did the price jump the moment I bid?
Somebody already held a maximum above yours. Your bid was answered automatically by their proxy and the price moved to one increment above your number. Nothing has malfunctioned — their maximum is simply bigger than yours.
Prices, premiums and tax
What is the buyer's premium here?
10% on vehicles and heavy equipment, 13% on restaurant and estate lots, 15% on electronics and storage units. It is on every lot page before you bid, and it is charged on the hammer price.
Is sales tax charged on the premium too?
Yes. Illinois sales tax of 10.25% is assessed on hammer plus premium, not on the hammer alone. This surprises people, so every lot page carries a calculator that shows the real total.
I have a resale certificate. What do I do with it?
Send us a valid Form CRT-61 before the invoice is issued. Once it is on file, tax comes off automatically. We cannot retrospectively remove tax from an invoice that has already been raised.
Are there other fees?
A $79 per-lot documentation and loadout fee, and storage if you miss the removal deadline. That is the complete list — there is no "internet fee", no "gate fee" and no card surcharge.
How do I pay?
Card up to $5,000, ACH or wire above that. Invoices are due within 48 hours of the hammer, and nothing leaves a yard until the payment clears.
Condition, inspection and returns
Can I inspect before bidding?
Yes, and you should. Every yard runs an inspection window in the two business days before a close. Bring your own light and take your own photographs. Storage units are the exception: nobody enters those before the sale, including us.
Will you start a vehicle for me?
During the published inspection window, yes, on anything the listing says starts. Outside it, no — we would spend the whole week jump-starting things for people who are not going to bid.
What does "as-is, where-is" actually mean?
No warranty of any kind, no returns, no adjustments after the hammer, and you collect it from where it sits. In exchange we describe faults honestly and photograph the damage rather than hiding it.
The lot was not as described. What now?
Tell us within 24 hours of collection, with photographs. If we got a material fact wrong — the wrong model, a stated hour meter that is not the one on the machine — we will make it right. "It is more worn than I hoped" is not a material fact; that is what inspection is for.
What do the condition grades mean?
They are stated in full on every lot page. "Runs and drives" means somebody on our staff drove it. "Starts and moves" means it moved under its own power but was not road tested. "For parts" means it did not start, or has a known major fault.
Closing, reserves and results
Why did a lot close later than the time it showed?
Soft close. A bid inside the final two minutes pushes the hammer out to two minutes from that bid, with no cap on extensions. A contested lot regularly finishes five or ten minutes late.
What happens to a lot that does not meet reserve?
It passes. Nobody buys it, and it is usually relisted the following week — often with the reserve lowered. Passed lots stay on our results page because a results page that omits the failures is marketing, not a record.
Will you tell me what the reserve is?
No. That is the seller's confidential number. What we will always tell you is whether it has been met, which is the part that affects your decision.
Do you publish everything that sells?
Yes, including hammer price, bid count and how many times a lot extended. Every closed lot page stays up after the sale with its full bid history.
Collection and removal
Do you ship?
No. We do not pack, crate or ship. Arrange your own freight and we will load it from the dock, but the carrier is your contract and we will not sign for transit damage.
How long do I have to collect?
Seven days for vehicles, equipment and IT. Five days for restaurant and estate lots. Seventy-two hours for storage units. It runs from the invoice, not from when you paid it.
What if I am late?
$18 per lot per day for palletised lots, $45 per day for anything taking a bay or a yard space. At 21 days the lot is deemed abandoned and resold, and you remain liable for any shortfall.
Can I get a lot moved to a different yard?
No. Lots are collected from the yard they are in. That is stated on every lot page before you bid.
Not answered here?
Phone during yard hours gets you a person who is standing in the building the lot is in.