Sales by auction : how it works ?

STEP 1 - CREATE YOUR USER ACCOUNT 

Registration 

Click on the "Registration" tab at the top of the page. 

Fill in the information requested and confirm your registration. 

A message will confirm your registration request and your file will then be pending validation. A similar message will also be sent to the email address you specified.  

Remarks: 

  • We recommend registering with an email address that you often use. We will send you important messages to this address, such as requests to confirm your identity, notifications when a bid higher than one of your bids is received, when you win a lot, etc.
  • Your account will be validated during our office opening hours: Monday to Friday 09:30 - 13:00, and 14:00 - 18:00. Any registration made outside of these times will be validated when our office is next open.

Validation 

Our team will validate your registration file after verification. We will send you an email confirming the creation of your account.  

Remarks: 

  • Additional information may be requested (identity or banking documents). If you do not respond within one week, your registration will be declined. 
  • Your account will be validated during our office opening times: Monday to Friday 09:30 - 13:00, and 14:00 - 18:00. Any account registered outside of these times will be validated when our office is next open. 

Login 

Click on the "Login" tab at the top of the page. 

Enter your email address and password.  

A user authentication message will appear. You can now go to step 2.   

STEP 2 - YOUR BIDS 

Registering your bids

You can bid on the lots that you have chosen from different pages: 

  • On an auction sale page showing all lots: Below each lot, you can click on the "Bid" button
  • On the specific page of a lot: On the right-hand side of the page, click on the "Bid" button.
  • On the page “my followed lots”, where you will find your selection of lots and bid on them more easily.

After clicking "Bid", chose your bid amount by selecting the amount of your choice in the relevant field. (The amount suggested takes into account bid increments).

The bid increment is the amount between two bids. It is pre-defined depending on the current bid and increases by thresholds. The bid increments are set as followed:

Between 0 and 500 €, increments of 20 €

Between  500 and 1 000 €, increments of 50 €

Between 1 000 and 2 000 €, increments of 100 €

Between 2 000 and 5 000 €, increments of 200 €

Between 5 000 and 10 000 €, increments of 250 €

Between 10 000 and 20 000€, increments of 500€

Above 20 000€, increments of 1 000€

 

Exception for the online sale of Vin & Spiritueux (Wine & Spirits) :

Between 0 and 200 €, increments of 10 €.

Between 200 and 500 €, increments of 20 €

Above 500€, usual increments as listed above.  

 

Click on the "Bid" tab again, and a confirmation message will appear showing a summary of your bid. If the information is correct, click "Confirm".

Remarks: 

  • Your bids are without fees and without VAT. The winners of the lot must pay auction fees on top of the bidding amount. Those fees are mentioned in the sales conditions and in each lot page. The amount of all taxes included is displayed below your bid.
  • Your bid must always be equal to or greater than the minimum price set on the lot page.
  • Once the bid summary message has been confirmed, it is NOT POSSIBLE for the bidder to withdraw their bid.

Set your maximum bid

Our maximum bid service will automatically increase your bid in accordance with the bidding steps in place (see "Place your bids") so that you are always the bidder with the highest bid. The automatic bidding function will place bids for the lowest possible amount until your maximum amount is reached. This way, you no longer have to constantly check the auctions and place bids. This is a very practical option if you are unable to follow the last few hours of an auction. You will only lose the bid if someone overbids your maximum automatic bid. Once your max bid has been reached, we will inform you and will not place any more bids on your name, unless you decide to set up a new automatic bid. Please note that if you place an automatic bid that is higher than the reserve price, your first bid will automatically be the reserve price.

 

STEP 3 - END OF THE AUCTION 

The last few minutes 

You can submit your bids as soon as the online sale is open for bidding and during the whole period the sale is on, until the last minutes.

During the last few minutes before the sale closes, you will not receive information email. It is therefore recommended to follow the sale especially during the last minutes or to set a maximum amount. If you cannot follow the sale on your screen at that moment, the IT system will bid on your behalf.

The lots are numbered in an order that follows a timing set for each lot. This timing is mentioned on the lot page. Warning: Any bid submitted in the last 60 seconds will restart the auction timer; this is to allow the initial bidder to be able to respond if they so wish. 

During those last seconds it is recommended to set a maximum amount to avoid having the timer ending before the validation of your last bid.

Confirmation of lots won 

When the timer is over, the lot is sold

To verify that you have won the lots you were interested in, wait until the auction timer expires. If you won the lot, a message says “vous êtes le meilleur enchérisseur” (you are the highest bidder). 

Then click on "My lots won" in your user account. The lots you have won are shown with the prices excluding taxes and including all taxes .

A confirmation email will also be sent to you which contains important informations regarding payment, pick-up and delivery options for the lots.

Payment 

Payment cannot be made immediately after you win a lot. In accordance with the law, our office must prepare an official report for the auction, which can only be done the day after the auction. Our accounting team will then issue an invoice that will be sent to you, which will state the amount excluding and including all taxes.  

Payment options:

  • Online payment: https://www.aguttes.com/paiement-en-ligne  (for amounts below the maximum limit of €10,000).
  • Payment by bank transferof the exact amount stated on the invoice; bank charges shall not be borne by our office. 
    Banque de Neuflize, 3 avenue Hoche, Paris 75008 
    Account holder: Claude AGUTTES SAS 
    Bank Code 30788 – Sort Code  00900 
    Account no. 02058690002 – Control key (RIB) 23 
    IBAN FR76 3078 8009 0002 0586 9000 223 – 
    BIC NSMBFRPPXXX 

Warning: online payment and payment by bank transfer are not immediate. A paid invoice confirming that your payment has been received in our accounts will be sent to you within 24 to 48h, allowing you to pick up you lot.

  • Payment by cheque(However, the lot will be delivered after 20 days. Therefore, we suggest that you use one of the previous payment methods). 

USEFUL INFO 

Browsing lots 

Use the search tool at the top right of the home page to search for the lots you are interested in. 

Simply click on the text field and enter your search key words. 

All matching results will be displayed. You can filter these results using parameters like: auction type, item category, price, etc.  

Auction Ccalendar 

The calendar allows you to view all the online auctions organized by the auction house. 

Click on the "Our auctions" tab in the menu at the top of the page. Select "All our auctions". 

A page will load showing the three most recent sales in each category: Current, future and past auctions. You can view all lots included in each auction by clicking the tabs at the bottom of the list. 

List of lots an ongoing auction  

Click on the auction you are interested in to see all lots included in the sale. The order of the lots correspond to the ending time set for each of them. The ending time can be extended by 1 minutes every time someone submits a bid within the last 60 seconds.

Lot page 

The lot page allows you to view all information available for a lot. 

If you click on a lot from the auction page, it will display the main picture and other images, a precise description, the estimates, the minimum price or current bid. You can also view the general conditions of sale, which include information on payment and delivery methods. 

If the information displayed are not sufficient, you can ask for more information from the main contact person of the sale: pictures and condition reports or even ask to see the lot in person by appointment (please note that this last option may not always be possible). You can also read the general sales conditions of the sale which include payment and delivery options.  

YOUR USER ACCOUNT 

Follow your lots 

By logging in with your email address and password, in addition to your ability to bid, you can also access the different features of your user account. 

You can select one or more lots you are interested in, which will make them easier to find later on. You can create your own list of items and follow only those that are of interest to you. 

From an auction page showing all lots included, you can click on the "Follow this lot" button. This will then show that you are now following this lot.  

To retrieve all of your followed lots, click on "My account" at the top of the website page and then "My followed lots".  This allows you to follow the progress of these lots only. 

Follow your purchases lots 

If you win a lot, it is automatically added to a list that can be viewed from your user account. 

To retrieve all the lots you have won, click on "My account" at the top of the home page and then "My winning bids". This allows you to follow the progress of these lots only.  

This list is only available once the bidding time has ended. 

Create alerts 

You can create custom alerts to be notified if a lot that meets your criteria is added to an auction on the site. 

To create an alert, click on "My account" at the top of the site and then "Create an alert". 

Enter the terms you are interested in (e.g., ring, gold, burgundy, lamp, etc.). The system will send a message to your email address as soon as an item with this term is added to the site. 

You can delete or modify this alert at any time by clicking on it. 

Change your data 

You can modify the data you saved during your registration on the website, such as your email address, password, contact details, etc. 

To modify your data, click on "My account" at the top of the website and then "Modify my data". 

Select the data you want to modify and then confirm your changes.