Local auctioneers and auction houses can offer a lot of fun for bargain shoppers as well as antique dealers. Some auction sales are held weekly while others are conducted on a sporadic basis. Check your local newspaper, a newspaper for antique enthusiasts, or online ad site to get details of local auctioneers and auction houses in your area. Local auctioneers and auction houses conduct everything from farm sales to high end antique sales. It's important to study the ad to see if the items being sold are of interest to you. Art collectors probably don't want a used tractor while a farmer may not be interested in a rare doll collection. Plan to arrive about one hour before the sale begins because that's when local auctioneers and auction houses offer previews of items. This is your chance to see things that will be sold and carefully inspect items you're interested in. Remember, local auctioneers and auction houses sell items as is, which means it's the bidder's responsibility to know about any flaws. After your thorough inspection, decide how much you want to bid. Almost all local auctioneers and auction houses use the bid by number system. All interested bidders must register their personal information in order to get a numbered bid card. The number of the high bidder is recorded after each sale. Whenever people leave the sale, they pay the cashier for all purchases where they were high bidder.
