I have held consistently that “missed bids” at auction do not exist and never have.
That contention encompasses that it is the responsibility of the bidder to make his bid known, rather than the responsibility of the auctioneer to necessarily receive the bid.
Here’s our most notable treatise prior on so-called missed bids: https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2016/08/11/what-is-a-missed-bid/
Maybe not much different than the responsibility of the kicker to kick the football between the goal posts, rather than the goal posts’ responsibility to ensure the ball soars somewhere between.
In a class I taught recently in North Carolina for the Auctioneers Association of North Carolina I told a room full of auctioneers that we are too hard on ourselves; almost anytime a bidder makes a bid we don’t note, we tend to think we missed the bid.
Actually, it’s not that we missed it, and rather that the bidder didn’t deliver the bid. This assertion extends from basic contract law. At an auction, the auctioneer invites offers on behalf of his seller client. As such, the bidder makes the offer as the offeror and the auctioneer receives (or not) that bid as the offeree.
An offeror has the responsibility to communicate or otherwise deliver their offer. An auctioneer only has the responsibility to act reasonable as the offeree and properly accept bids which are delivered and otherwise not unreasonably ignore or intentionally disregard any bids.
In our football analogy, if the bidder (kicker) delivers his bid (football) to the auctioneer (through the goal posts) then the bid is received and accepted so long as it is higher than the current bid, and [in a with reserve auction] meets with any minimum increase required.
Bidders saying that you the auctioneer missed their bid? Rather, their bid was misplaced — as in not delivered to you — and therefore not accepted.
Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years. His company’s auctions are located at: Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, RES Auction Services and Goodwill Columbus Car Auction. He serves as Distinguished Faculty at Hondros College of Business, Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School and Faculty at the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University.
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