Auction houses are places where valuable objects or property are sold to the highest bidder. In art auctions, various types of exclusive artworks are sold. These are public events in which anyone can participate.

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At an art auction, one can find various items such as antiques, NFTs, rare items, but paintings are the most common. Notably, one cannot hold an art auction without identifying an object's history and provenance. Each auction house has a team of experts who set prices for auction items.

 

In order to acquire the item, one must bid higher than the previous bidder, and the price increases with each bid until no one else is willing to bid higher than the current price. Billions of dollars are earned through art auctions, which is thanks to a smooth running of all auction departments. Auction houses need to be careful when it comes to art auctions.

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There are four auction types:

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                           the UK, the Dutch, Highest Price sealed auction, Biprice sealed auction.

 

The UK Auction is the most common type of auction. This is a public auction in which participants compete against each other by outbidding other buyers to ensure they get the item. The host says the price of the item, and an auction begins, with participants calling bids, and continuing until no one is willing to bid more than the final bid. The item will be awarded to the highest bidder and the final bidder. This type of auction is common when selling wine, art, tobacco, or any type of antique product.

 

The Dutch Auction is the opposite of an English auction. The auctioneer starts the auction with a high price, and the bids are lowered until one of the participants as bidders is willing to accept the price for the item. This type of auction is mainly used for flowers, fish, tobacco and investment securities.

 

Highest Price Sealed Auction is essentially a blind auction, where bidders submit bids without the attention of competitors. Only one bid can be submitted for an auction and cannot be changed. This method is used primarily in foreign exchange, refinancing credit, government contract tenders, mining leases, and military procurement.

 

Biprice Sealed Auction is much like a first-price sealed-bid auction, the only difference is that the highest bidder gets the product for the price the second highest bidder bid. This type of bidding method is used in online advertising.

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How does an art auction work?

 

The auction must follow certain procedures to proceed successfully, the following are the steps that must be followed.

 

A short preview of the auction: At the start of the auction, potential buyers are given a brief preview where they can see which products will be sold at the auction and what condition they will be in. The preview time can be the day before the auction or a few hours before the auction starts.

 

Buyer is registered: After the preview, potential buyers must register with the auctioneer. The registration process involves the buyer's details such as phone number, address and identification. Bidders then receive a numbered card by which they can be identified.

 

Auction starts: As soon as the bell rings, it means the auction starts. The host or auctioneer talks to the bidders about the item and describes it to the bidders, then starts the auction with the lowest price. Then bidders start bidding, and the price keeps going up, with bidders bidding more than the last price.

 

When the auction ends: When there are no more bids, the whole process stops, and when the hammer falls, the last bidder takes the item for himself after paying.

 

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