Our question today is … can auctioneers “make” bidders bid? Can I as an auctioneer gesture to a bidder and say, “I have you at $2,000?” I would offer that auctioneers can’t require (make) any bidder bid anything …
Auctioneers invite offers, and bidders make offers. If I’m selling new $100 bills, can I just keep suggesting $125, $150, $200, $205, $210, $215, $220, $230, $240 … up to $300? Remember, these are $100 bills, worth $100.
Here’s another related question: If I’m only willing to pay $100 for this $100 bill, and I stop bidding at $100, can the auctioneer say “Sold!” to me for $300? Not if I didn’t bid $300. To answer our question today again, auctioneers can’t make bidders bid anything.
Can auctioneers take bids out of thin air? Oh, yes, they can and do. So, maybe the auctioneer has me at $100 and then pretends to have bids of $125, $150, $200, $205, $210, $215, $220, $230, $240 … and then says he has me at $300?
So I happily bid $300 for this $100 bill since there was another bidder (not really) at $290? If this worked this way, why doesn’t the auctioneer say he has $2,900 and then sell it to me for $3,000? Why not $29,000 and then sell it to me for $30,000?
We note again the well-known theory of substitution. The theory goes if I can buy $100 bills elsewhere, I’m not going to pay more than $100 for this bill. Why would I pay $300, $3,000, or $30,000 for this bill if I can buy these otherwise for $100? I won’t.
We’ve written twice otherwise about this gibberish:
Apparently little-known bid calling basics: https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2023/01/26/apparently-little-known-bid-calling-basics/
Auctioneer increment nonsense: https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2023/02/10/auction-increment-nonsense/
We regularly discuss this “making someone bid” with high bidder retraction … where auctioneers mistakenly believe they can make the “just previous” bidder the high bidder again (revive their bid) without affirmative consent.
Especially if you’re somewhat new to the auction business, know using these bid-calling ineptitudes might result in you as the auctioneer buying much of what you are putting up for auction.
Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, CAS, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years. His company’s auctions are located at Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, Brandly Real Estate & Auction, and formerly at Goodwill Columbus Car Auction. He serves as Distinguished Faculty at Hondros College, Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School, and an Instructor at the National Auction Association’s Designation Academy and Western College of Auctioneering. He has served as faculty at the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University and is approved by The Supreme Court of Ohio for attorney education.
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