Bidder Guide
So you found our website and are interested in purchasing an item. What next?
Before engaging, we ask you to carefully review the published information regarding the auction in which you are interested. If you have any questions about the auction or any of the items in the auction, you should contact the listed sales representative, or contact us.
Pre-Auction
On many occasions, we offer an inspection time before the auction. The inspection time is typically a day before the sale day and allows you to visit the sale location, inspect the equipment and ask questions of our representatives. If we do not offer an inspection, you may still be able to inspect the equipment by contacting the listed sales representative, or our office.
Items
Items offered at all of our auctions have a lot number sticker affixed to them. What's a lot number? It's just the number assigned to the item or grouped items at time of selling. The lot numbers begin with number one and work through the location in numerical order. We sell in numerical order at an average pace of seventy-five lots per hour. If you are interested in lot three hundred, it will be approximately four hours before we get to the item.
The lot numbers also specify in the upper left-hand corner how many pieces are in a given lot. If there are multiple pieces in a given lot, the lot will be sold “times the money”. For example lot 12 may have five spoons. If the high bid on the spoons is one dollar, it would be multiplied by five to arrive at five dollars total for the lot.
Okay, I have looked at the equipment and am ready to bid. How can I participate?
You can choose how to participate with our auction events based upon the type of auction being conducted at the location you are interested. We conduct two different types of auctions, online bidding only and live auction with online bidding. Each type offers a different opportunity for you to engage in bidding.
Registration
To register for an online bidding account you can click on the person icon in the upper right-hand corner of the website or by visiting the account registration page. We recommend you complete this process a minimum of one hour in advance of the auction. Once you have created an account, you are free to participate in the auctions on our website. By creating an online account, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of the auction, and the terms of service of our website.
Once you have created your bidder account with your name, email address, password, basic contact information and have verified your email address, phone number, and address, you can begin placing bids in the auction.
Event Begins Closing Time
The first item in the auction will enter the ring at the Begins Closing Time for the sale. If that item receives active bidding within 20 seconds while it is closing, the timer will reset for 20 seconds and keep resetting until there are no active bids on the item. Then the bidding for that item will close, deeming that item sold, and the next consecutive item will enter the ring, and the time will begin counting down from 20 seconds. Again, if there are active bids within those 20 seconds, the timer will reset to 20 seconds and keep resetting until there are no active bids on the item. Then the bidding will close and the next consecutive item will enter the ring. This will continue until all items in the auction have gone through the ring.
Please note, multiple auction events can be closing at the same time. If you're watching multiple events, be aware that you may need to have multiple tabs open, or jump between auction events.
Payment
At the conclusion of the auction, we will email you an invoice. The invoice will include a link to make payment through our secure gateway. Once you pay the invoice, we will email you a paid receipt. You will need to present this invoice to remove any of your purchases. You must make payment by noon the day after the auction. Failure to do so may result in the forfeiture of your purchases and their resale to other customers, and suspension of your bidding account.
My business qualifies my purchases for tax exemption, do I need to pay sales tax?
Every auction sale is subject to state and local sales tax unless otherwise noted. If you have a tax exemption certificate from your state, you can submit to info@grafeauction.com.
Security of Purchases
Once the item closes, transfer of ownership occurs and the item becomes the sole responsibility of the buyer, even though the item may not have been paid for yet. We recommend you bring a second person with you to remove your property. After the auction is complete, a third-party removal/rigging company takes over. Even though the removal/rigging company checks receipts and maintains general security, the removal/rigging company is unable to watch every door and all the items at all times. We recommend that you remove your items as soon as possible.
Equipment Removal
You will have several days following the auction to remove your equipment. The actual number of days varies based on the type of auction. For example, you will have two or three days for most restaurant auctions; five to seven days for most supermarket and grocery store auctions; and seven or more days for most industrial auctions. Be sure the check the terms and conditions for each auction to determine the exact number of days available to you. The vast majority of our auctions involve the sale of assets from locations that are landlord owned, and subject to lease restrictions. Because of this, all equipment must be removed in the days provided. Very rarely are extra days available.
Removal of your equipment is your sole responsibility. A Grafe Auction approved third party removal/rigging company remains onsite for the duration of the removal period to ensure equipment buyers remove equipment in a safe, workmanlike fashion. The removal/rigging company is not an employee of Grafe Auction. The removal/rigging company’s contact information will be on your paid receipt. You may hire them to assist you with removing your equipment, preparing your equipment for shipment, or other services. If you would like the removal/rigging company to assist you, it is your responsibility to make contact with them.
Shipment of Purchases
If you would like items shipped to you, it is your responsibility to contact a shipping company to schedule trucking. You will also need to hire the removal/rigging company onsite to prepare your item for shipment. If you are unfamiliar with how to contact a shipping company, please contact us. We work with several national freight brokers who are familiar with our process and able to assist you at competitive rates.
What should I expect to pay?
The price you pay for an item depends on a wide variety of variables, including how many people are interested and bidding on the item, the condition of the item, how readily available or rare similar items are, to name a few. We have experienced items selling for pennies on the dollar of new prices to several times new price. In addition to the purchase price, you can expect to pay a buyer’s premium (this is an added percentage to the sale price paid by you; typically fifteen to eighteen percent), applicable local and state sales taxes, removal fees, if any and shipping fees.
Enjoy the auction!
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.