How to Bid

Bidding with Keno Auctions is easy and safe and exciting! You can contact us by telephone, email or fax to start the process. Here are step-by-step instructions on the four ways to participate at auction and how to register:

Our auctions are free and open to the general public. If you would like to bid, you will be asked to complete a registration form and collect a numbered paddle before the auction begins. If you are a first-time bidder, you will also be required to present government-issued photo identification that includes your address, telephone number and signature in order to create a Keno Auctions account; you also may be asked to provide a bank reference.

After you have completed registration and received a numbered paddle then the real fun begins! To place your bid, simply raise your paddle until the auctioneer acknowledges you. The auctioneer will take increasing bids on each lot, until only one bidder remains; the final bidder purchases the lot when the hammer drops. If you are the successful bidder on a lot, the auctioneer will acknowledge your paddle number and bid amount. Some lots will have a reserve, which is the confidential minimum selling price previously agreed upon with the seller. The reserve cannot be higher than the low estimate. If the bidding fails to reach this price, the lot will remain unsold.

If you prefer to bid by phone, a Keno Auctions representative will call you from the saleroom and bid on your behalf. You will be contacted before your specified lots are to be auctioned, allowing you to bid live, with a phone representative serving as a liaison between you and the auctioneer. Telephone bids may be recorded, and by bidding on the telephone, prospective purchasers agree to the recording of their conversation.

Telephone bids will be accepted on lots with a low estimate starting at $2,000, and arrangements must be made no later than 24 hours prior to the commencement of the sale, and only if capacity allows. If you need to make arrangements to participate in our sale after that time, you can bid online. If provisions must be made to bid in languages other than English these arrangements need to be planned well in advance of the sale. We will use reasonable efforts to contact prospective purchasers to enable them to participate in the bidding by telephone as a free service; however, there will be no liability for any failure or for any errors or omissions in connection with telephone bidding.

In order to bid by phone, select the ‘phone bid’ box on the Bid Form for each lot you wish to bid and Keno Auctions will call you on the day of the sale. In addition, you must provide a Day of Sale telephone number where you will be reachable. We do encourage you to leave more than one number, as we want to be certain to reach you.

If you are unable to participate in an auction in person or by phone an Absentee Bid allows you to place a maximum bid amount on individual lots. All absentee bids must be in keeping with Keno Auctions specified increments; if a bid is placed off-increment, the bid will be rounded down to the nearest on-increment dollar amount. In the event identical bids are submitted, the earliest bid submitted will take precedence.

Absentee bids will be executed against other absentee bids, any applicable reserve, and bids from other auction participants. Keno Auctions publishes an absentee Bid Form where you indicate the item you wish to bid and the maximum bid amount you are willing to offer. The Bid Form is located at the back of each catalog and can also be downloaded here. If you do not have an account with us already, your Absentee Bid Form will contain the information required for registration, and we will contact you to confirm your identity.

To complete the Absentee Bid Form, select the ‘absentee bid’ box on the Bid Form for each lot you wish to bid. Finished forms should be returned to the Bid Department by email (preferred), fax, post or in-person to a Keno Auctions staff member. It is Keno Auctions’ policy that absentee bids are not known by the auctioneer prior to the auction or during the sale.

Written bids are offered as a service for no extra charge, and at the buyer’s risk. Keno Auctions cannot accept liability for failure to place such bids and will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in connection with any written bids. Successful absentee bidders will receive an invoice after the auction.

Confirmation
After your absentee Bid Form has been submitted by email or sent by fax, the Keno Auctions Bid Department will send confirmation your bids have been received. This is your opportunity to review all critical bid information to ensure it is correct; this will also serve as the official Bid Form for your records.

All Keno Auctions are streamed live so you may participate in real time bidding.

Bid or Watch Live
Approximately 30 minutes prior to the beginning of the auction, visit Kenoauctions.com and click on the link on the homepage to bid live online; the link will transfer you to our platform. You can follow along with the auction even if you are not registered to bid, although we encourage you to register so you can easily participate in the sale.

Results

You will be able to view sale results on our website Kenoauctions.com the evening of the sale. If you are the successful bidder you will be sent an invoice that includes all the information you need to make payment and begin the retrieval process.

bidding at auction

Contact Keno Auctions Bid Department

Our Bids Department is available to complete the Bid Form by phone; we will then send the completed form to you for confirmation. The Bids Department can be contacted at 212 734 2381 or leigh@kenoauctions.com. You may also request condition reports or speak with a specialist about each lot in which you have an interest, in order for you to obtain all the information you need to bid knowledgeably.

Bid Form

To register for phone or absentee bidding, you must complete a Bid Form. You can use our secure online Bid Form to submit your billing and bid information; all details will be sent confidentially and directly to our bid department. Additionally, a blank Bid Form is located in the back of your catalog or you may download one here. Complete the form and return it to the Keno Auctions Bid Department by email.