Frequently Asked Questions

We hold our auctions on the 1st Saturday of every month at our facility. We also host a variety of other auctions throughout the month. Please visit our Auctions page for further information.

At Auction Empire we hold a variety of different types of auctions including: Warehouse Auctions (General Merchandise & Vehicles), Real Estate Auctions, Online Only Auctions, Offsite Auctions, and occasionally we do Charity Auctions.

We offer a large variety of different types of items such as home furnishings and décor, electronics and computers, home theaters, jewelry, art, collectibles, tools, firearms, and appliances. We will also be selling a wide variety of vehicles, boats, heavy equipment, and real estate!

Yes. For our general warehouse auctions you may come in and preview the items from 10:00am to 4:00pm on the Thursday before the auction and from 8:00am to 7:00pm on the Friday before the auction. We will also be open for preview the day of the auction from 7:00am up until the actual auction starts. For all other auctions, make sure to check out our Auctions page for preview dates & times.

Yes, Auction Empire is open to the general public. For safety reasons, children under the age of 13 are not permitted on the warehouse floor; however, with adult supervision they are welcomed in other parts of our facility.

The process is very simple. If the auctioneer is asking for $100 and you’re willing to bid that amount, simple raise your hand or bidder card and acknowledge the auctioneer. Then make sure he acknowledges your bid. There will also be ringmen or “bid spotters” also working the auction, and you can signal your bid to one of them who will relay the bid to the auctioneer. If you wanted to bid less than $100 you could also speak up and announce that you bid $95, for example. Your bid may be taken, but keep in mind the auctioneer is not required to take the lesser bid.

Make sure to try and attend on the scheduled preview day(s) or get to the auction early enough so you can thoroughly inspect the items you wish to bid on. For a first time auction goer, spend a little time spectating, and watch how high people are willing to bid on certain types of items. A major benefit of auctions is that you can see what other people are willing to pay for an item.

Items may not be removed from the Auction Empire facility until they have been paid for in full, and have had someone from the Auction Empire staff sign off on your invoice acknowledging that you have received your items and that they have been paid for.

No, there are no guarantees. All items are sold “as-is” and “where-is” unless specifically stated otherwise. We offer live previews before each of our auctions in order to give you the opportunity to inspect the product and make your decision on whether you would like to place a bid or not.

All sales are final. If you are the successful winning bidder and the auctioneer indicates that the item has been “sold”, then you are contractually required to pay for each item that you have purchased, in full. By registering you are agreeing to the terms and conditions on your bid card.

The “Buyers Premium” is the fee charged by an auction company to the winning bidder. The buyer’s premium is usually a percentage of the overall gross amount of the selling price and will be listed when you register for the auction.

Auctions are the best way to sell items for their true market value. The excitement of the auction experience often helps bring even higher prices for the items sold. Auctions are also predictable because the seller can determine the day his merchandise will sell as opposed to placing an ad in the paper and hoping the telephone rings. Also, all sales are “As Is,” so returns are not a problem.

No, never. We will take on an entire business/estate, a collection or individual items. No matter what the size of the consignment is, you will always receive the same courteous service and attention to detail.

Whenever you’re ready to sell. With today’s busy society, any time is a good time. There are always buyers in the market.

There is no answer to this question. Sale price depends on the merchandise (car, truck, equipment, jewelry, etc…). Such things as condition, appeal and uniqueness all play a part. Also, the prices bid depend upon how badly two people at an auction want an item.

To “consign” literally means to “deliver” or “entrust.” By consigning your property to Auction Empire, you are simply setting the stage for that property to be sold at auction on your behalf.

Live online bidding allows a consumer to attend a live auction simply by using a computer with an Internet connection and Web browser. Bidders can participate in any live auction with the same advantages they would have if they were attending the live auction.

Traditionally, proxy bids are bids placed by a bidder who is not physically at the auction. These bids are sealed and legally binding bids placed in the care of third parties or the auction company. This facilitates the auction process by allowing a greater variety in bidders while also allowing bidders to “bid in proxy,” or bid without being physically present.

You can access the auction company contact information by clicking on the button on the auction listing.

From Proxibid’s home page, click the button located in the navigation bar at the top of the screen. You will be presented with the option to create a bidder or auctioneer account. Click the large button to create your account.

A credit card is not required to create an account, but some auction companies may require that you enter your credit card to register for their auction.

Proxibid is a free service for all bidders.

Winning bidders make their payments directly to the auction companies with which they have placed their bids. Some auction companies may require a deposit to register for their auction or they may charge a buyer’s premium on any purchased items. These charges are assessed by the auctioneer and not Proxibid. Any deposits or buyers premium will always be reflected in the Terms and Conditions of the auction

YES!

We encourage you to watch a few auctions prior to bidding. You may watch any live auction by clicking on the button and then selecting the button located on the auction company listing.

Since any auction can be entered in “View Only” mode , share the excitement with friends via Twitter or Facebook sharing directly from the auction page.

Make sure you have completed the following steps to be able to bid on Proxibid:

1. You must have a valid Bidder account – click <Create Bidder Account> from the homepage.
2. You must successfully register for the auction – click <Register for Auction> from the homepage.
3. You must have the minimum technical requirements to use the Bid Live! Application.

To regain access to your account click on the or link in the upper right-hand corner of the Proxibid Web site.

No, creating a new account does not require a credit card. However, some auction companies may require you to have a credit card on file to register for a particular auction, or to verify your identification. Please see “Registering for an Auction” for more information.

Registering for each auction is a quick process.

1. Login to your Proxibid bidder account
2. Find the auction in which you want to bid and click the button
3. You must read and agree to all Proxibid terms and conditions
4. Read and agree to the Auction Company’s terms and conditions. Registration, payment, credit card and shipping information are just a few of the items that will be specified here.
5. To determine if you are successfully registered for an auction, login to My Proxibid and look at “Auction Tracking”.

Proxibid’s Terms and Conditions govern your use of the Proxibid Web site and can be found by clicking on the Terms and Conditions link at the bottom of each page of the Proxibid Web site.

http://www.proxibid.com/asp/UnifiedUserAgreement.asp

Please remember that in addition to the Proxibid Terms and Conditions, each auction company has their own Terms and Conditions of Sale. The auction company’s Terms and Conditions of Sale can be found by clicking on thebutton located within each auction company’s event listing.

Before the start of any auction you may access the catalog on Proxibid’s Web site. Images, video and descriptions can be found inside the catalog.

To access the catalog you click on or , find the auction you are interested in and click on .

When the bidder clicks on the button, a message is sent to the Software Agent sitting at a computer terminal at the auction. The Agent alerts the auctioneer when a bid has been received by shouting out the bid amount or by raising a paddle.

It is possible that many simultaneous bids will occur at a given asking price and the auctioneer will choose to recognize only one of those bids. If another bid is recognized prior to the Internet bid, the system will show that an “On Site” bidder was recognized first at that particular asking price.

As with any live auction situation, bids may be disregarded by the auctioneer due to human error, technical difficulties, on-site conditions, or any combination of these conditions. Proxibid recommends that bidders bid early and often to ensure the auctioneer is aware of your interest and that your bids are received onsite early enough to be represented.

Recommended connections are broadband cable or DSL hardwired to your computer. Wireless, satellite, and 56k modem connections are NOT recommended and the speeds may not permit you to enter the auction. Any delay in signal or noticeable lag during an auction results from these parameters not being met. As always, the purpose of Proxibid is to represent online bidders to the fullest extent.

If you wish to obtain more information contact the auctioneer directly by clicking the or buttons located on either the homepage or catalog.

Any information entered into www.proxibid.com is secured using a VeriSign SSL Certificate. This certificate encrypts any data entered making it inaccessible by outside parties. For more information about VeriSign and site encryption please visit www.verisign.com.

Requirements to bid in an auction:

1. Valid Proxibid Bidder Account Registration
2. Approval by the Auction Company for the auction that you are bidding in

Technical Requirements

PC Users:

Minimum Requirements

• Windows XP, Vista or newer
• Pentium III 500 MHz or faster
• 512 MB RAM
• 150 MB free disk space
• Broadband
• Java 2 (Runtime Environment 5.0 or greater)

Recommended Requirements

• Windows 7
• Pentium IV 1GHz or faster
• 1GB RAM
• 500 MB free disk space
• Broadband
• Java 2 (Runtime Environment 6 or greater)

Mac Users

Minimum Requirements

• OS X 10.3 and newer
• Power PC G4 500 MHz or faster
• 512 MB RAM
• 150 MB free disk space
• Broadband
• Java 2 (Runtime Environment 5.0 or greater)

Recommended Requirements

• OS X 10.3 and newer
• Power PC G4 500 MHz or faster
• 1GB RAM
• 500 MB free disk space
• Broadband
• Java 2 (Runtime Environment 6 or greater)

Internet Browsers
The last 2 versions of the following browsers are supported:
Internet Explorer | Firefox | Chrome | Safari

New versions of the above browsers will be supported within 3 months of their official release date.

Broadband internet is suggested for the most reliable bidding possible. The system will work on a 56k dial up connection, though a faster connection will allow live audio and video of the auction and ensure that you have the fastest bid.

Certainly, delayed audio and video can be accessed from the bidder application for those auction companies that support this function. Please be aware that Audio/Video will be slightly delayed from the real-time results of the Bid Live! application. While Audio and Video may be delayed by 1-4 seconds due to internet congestion, The Bid Live! application will always reflect real-time auction results.

To enable audio and video: Open the Bid Live! application and click on the on the audio/video player button at the bottom of the application. This will open a new window in which you can adjust the audio volume and view video (if it is available for the auction). If there is no video offered for the auction, there will be a pop-up message indicating this. Also, under some circumstances, there are some Internet connections that do not support Proxibid’s streaming audio and video. If your Internet connection is affected by this, there will also be a pop-up message to indicate the issue.

Proxibid collects contact information for the sole purpose of establishing the authenticity of a bidder. That information is provided to the specific auction companies that the bidder wishes to register with. Proxibid requires the following information for every Bidder using our services:

1. Name Address
2. Name Address
3. Phone number
4. Affirmation that you are over 21 years old
5. Credit card billing address.

Proxibid does not sell, trade or rent any of your information. Other than contact information for auction companies, Proxibid does not provide any of your information to a third party unless you expressly give permission to do so.

A LIVE auction ends at the time that the last item is sold. A specific time frame cannot be determined due to variations in auctioneer speed, bidder activity, and any other interruptions to the auction process.

Remember, Proxibid does allow you to register and participate in multiple auctions at once. Simply register for the second auction and open the application normally; you will now have multiple auctions in which you can participate and/or watch.

The payment card industry has developed comprehensive requirements for enhancing payment account data security and to ensure consistent data security, which helps to protect customer account data on a global scale. These protective measures have been put into place to instill consumer confidence when making online purchases. While PCI-compliance is not a law, merchant processors will soon cease to process payments and may also enforce business-altering consequences for organizations that are not in compliance with these industry standards.

Proxibid’s newest version, Bidder App 5.0, has changed the requirements for screen resolution. This change was designed to give you increased functionality and an easier to use interface.

However, for a small section of our users with a screen resolution set below 1024×768, the application may not display properly. If you start the application and are unable to see the bidder application, or you only see a portion of it, you likely have problems with your resolution. You will need to change the screen resolution on your computer to be 1024×768 or higher.

You can get specific instructions on changing your resolution here:

Windows 7
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Change-your-screen-resolution

Windows Vista
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Change-screen-resolution

Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/display_change_screen_resolution.mspx?mfr=true

Mac
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2490

If you try and join an auction and you hear sounds but do not see any visuals you may have problems with your Java install. Proxibid recommends removing old versions of Java and installing the latest version. See below for step by step instructions or click on the “Java Update.docx” attachment which is located under Related Attachments. This file will walk you through the process with full color pictures.

How do I uninstall older versions of Java on my Windows computer?

• Platform(s): Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 2003
• Java version(s): All Java Versions

Remove older versions of Java in the same way as you would remove any other software from your Windows computer.

Windows 7 and Vista – Uninstall Programs

1. Click Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Programs
4. Click Programs and Features
5. Select the program you want to uninstall by clicking on it, and then click the Uninstall button.

You may need administrator privileges to remove programs.

Windows XP – Uninstall Programs

1. Click Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Click the Add/Remove Programs control panel icon
4. The Add/Remove control panel displays a list of software on your system, including any Java software products that are on your computer. Select any that you want to uninstall by clicking on it, and then click the Remove button.

*Information supplied by http://www.java.com/en/download/uninstall.jsp

The user should always have the latest version of Java installed. All java files must be removed prior to installation of the new one.

Java Association issue – If the open with option displays anything other than Java Web Start, the application will not open correctly.