William Smith Auctions

Bidding in person, the traditional method of bidding at auction, is the most exciting, effective, and successful way to participate. When you arrive at our gallery, please register for a bidder number with our staff. You will need to present a photo ID and contact information.

Once the sale begins, the auctioneer will announce each lot and open the bidding in the gallery. To bid, simply raise your bidder number for the auctioneer to recognize your bid. The bidding progresses in sequentially higher increments. Once the bidding stops, the auctioneer will declare the item sold and ask for the bidder number of the successful bidder on the lot.

Upon request our staff will execute your Absentee bid. Please leave your maximum bid, with the option of leaving your bid (+) plus one bid, in case you happen to be the “off” bid. At Smith’s we do not use your Absentee bid as a starting bid for said lot. Your bid will be conducted competitively, alternating against other bidders until the bidding ends. In the event all other bidders drop out before reaching the full amount of your Absentee bid, your purchase bid will be at the next bid increment. Please take into account all other buyers premium and applicable fees when deciding on your maximum bid. Proof of identification and a credit card is required to register. If we receive two bids of equal value, preference is given to the bid that arrives first. All bids are confidential. The Absentee Bid Form must be filled out and can be found here.

Clients unable to attend the sale may still participate live at the auction by bidding on the phone with a Smith’s staff member. Unlike an absentee bid, this allows you to place your own bids on a specific lot in real time. You will receive a call from us before your lot comes to the block, and be able to bid Live. Our staff will keep you apprised of the increments and relay the auctioneers asking bid to you, they will need to hear an Immediate ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’ in return from you, in order to effectively participate in the bidding.

All phone bids are conducted as a courtesy and Smith’s does not accept responsibility for missed lots, dropped calls, inadvertent mistakes or errors. It is ALWAYS best to bid Live and In Person at the auction.

Phone bids are accepted until 3pm the day before an auction. It is always best to submit phone bids as early as possible before a sale, as we only have a limited number of phones and staff to execute these bids. Once we have reached our limit we are unable to accept any more phone bids, and at that time you may leave Absentee Bids. The Phone Bid Form must be filled out and can be found here. You may also call our office at 603-675-2549 to leave your bid(s). Please note: a valid credit card will be required to reserve a phone line. This will only be used to pay for your purchase(s) if instructed, or if payment is not received within 30 days of the auction.

All of our on site, in-person auctions allow for preview times, either the day before or the morning of an auction. Previews are a period of time when the public is invited to views the items up for sale prior to the auction. We strongly encourage buyers to take advantage of this oppportunity to come and personally examine items they are interested in. During preview hours our staff is always on hand to answer any questions you might have about the history, value, and condition of items and their sales estimates. When possible we hare happy to accommodate a preview by appointment.

If you are unable to personally attend a preview, please email or call us about items you are interested in. We are happy to provide a condition report by email, or answer your questions about estimate and condition by phone, or Face Time.

Hammer Price

The hammer price at auction is the price the auctioneer announces as the sold price, or when the “hammer falls.” For instance, “Sold! For $1,000 to buyer number 18” would imply a hammer price of $1,000.

Once we declare that an item is sold, we cannot reopen the bidding. It is the bidder’s responsibility to get our attention prior to our saying “sold.” We reserve the right to reject any bids deemed inappropriate or to withdraw any item(s) for lack of appropriate bids. If an item is withdrawn from the auction it will be offered again only at the auctioneer’s discretion.

Buyer’s Premium

The buyer’s premium is a charge in addition to the hammer price of an auction item, or lot. The winning bidder is required to pay both the hammer price plus the buyers premium, which is percentage determined by the auction gallery (see above).

Payment & Payment Methods

Invoices will be emailed directly after the auction concludes. Payment is expected promptly and within FIVE business days of receipt of the invoice. Credit card, PayPal, cash and check are acceptable forms of payment. Established customers may pay with credit card, cash, or check. New clients must pay with cash or approved bank check.

Without prior approval, credit cards are not accepted for purchases of Gold, Jewelry, and Precious Metals.

Wire transfer is available for a fee of $25 International, $10 Domestic.

Payment can be mailed to:
Wm. A. Smith Auctioneers & Appraisers
PO Box 49
Plainfield NH 03781
Or by contacting our office at 603-675-2549

If purchases are made by Phone, Absentee/Left Bid, our office will contact you to arrange payment, pick up and/or delivery. All items must be paid in full prior to being removed from the premises or being shipped.

Caveat Emptor

All items are sold as is, where is, with all faults. There are no warranties of any kind, express or implied, so it is very important that buyers inform themselves about the condition of the item before they bid. All items are available for your examination prior to bidding. Your bidding will signify that you have examined the items as fully as you desire, or that you have chosen not to examine them. Written and oral descriptions are our opinions and should in no way be construed as a guarantee of any kind as to age, condition, materials or any other feature of items being sold. Our goal is to provide prospective bidders with accurate and detailed information to the best of our knowledge. If you require absolute certainty in all areas of authenticity, and the results of your evaluation leave uncertainty in your mind, we recommend you not bid on the item in question. We do not give refunds. All sales are final.

We do not provide in-house shipping, but we are happy to help coordinate with our local UPS Pack & Ship. They can be reached at 603-298-7890, if you need to inquire about an estimate. Please contact our office at 603-675-2549 directly after the sale if you would like us to release your purchases to UPS for shipping. Purchases may only be shipped to the address associated with your account, and photo ID may be required prior to shipping. In addition to UPS, we offer Wayland Pack & Ship, offering domestic and international shipping, oversized or small, via Fedex, UPS and DHL. Contact Mike for quotes at WaylandPackandShip@comcast.net or call 508-358-0845.

Shipping is the responsibility of the buyer. On request we can make recommendations for third party shippers and pad wrap trucking services. Please contact our office at 603-675-2549, for recommendations or to schedule pick up of your delivery service with our office.

All property must be picked up within FIVE business days of the close of the auction or will need to be moved into on-site storage for a fee.

Smith’s Storage is available for a fee. If you are unable to pick up your purchases within FIVE days of the close of the auction, Please contact Smith’s Storage at storage@wsmithauction.com to arrange on-site storage.

In-House bidders are the most assured of having their bids recognized; in-house absentee bids and in- house phone bidding are the second-best options. Internet bidding has the smallest success rate and the biggest margin for error, as this is the option we have the least control over.

If it is imperative for one to attempt to successfully purchase a lot, then attending the auction, or bidding directly through our gallery via phone or absentee bidding, is strongly advised.

There may be delays beyond our control receiving and processing internet bids, which creates potential for error and missed bids. Additionally, third party bidding platforms are operated manually during live auctions, creating the potential for both technological and human error.

If online bidding is your only option, leaving an online backup absentee bid prior to the start of the auction is the most secure way to bid online. Online absentee bid amounts are unknown to the auction house and are implemented via the online platform software as needed to compete against other online absentee bids, until the live auction begins.

Once the live auction begins, online absentee bids, and live online bids, are then implemented manually until either the left bid amount is surpassed, or all other bidding ends and the lot is won. For online absentee bids this can be at your maximum bid amount or below it. As noted above, online absentee bids, and online live bids, do create a risk that the bidder will be unsuccessful even if they believe their bid is the highest or the winning bid, due to the potential of failure of the various digital platforms to properly or timely interface, and/or the speed at which operators must act to try to make sure an online absentee bid, or live online bid, is brought to the attention of the auctioneer.

Breech of Contract