Absentee Bidding

Not everyone can make it to the auction rooms on auction day. Placing an “absentee bid” allows the bidder to not miss out on those special items.

What is an absentee bid?

An absentee bid (or book bid) is when customers ask the auction house to bid on their behalf up to a certain amount.

For example, if you wanted to bid on a piece of furniture and you didn’t want to pay more than $100, the auctioneer would bid up to $100 for you but not beyond that amount. The auctioneer will not automatically start the biding at your top amount but will start lower and work up to your amount. If no one else is bidding then you will get the amount for less than you bid.

There is a buyer’s premium added (17.25% including GST) to the final amount. (A $100 bid will cost $117.25).

How to place an absentee bid.

You can place an absentee bid on this website or at Hayward’s Auction House.

When you are searching the auctions on this website there is an option to place an amount in the “book-bid” box under each photo. You can do this on multiple items. You’ll then be required to register by entering your details and submit your bids.

If you are able to make it into the auction rooms, there are registrations forms by the office. Once you have been registered you will be assigned a booking number which you can use to fill out a bidding form.

Please note that by doing either of these you are entering into a contract with Hayward’s Auction House to purchase the items.

After the auction

You can contact us on the afternoon of the auction by calling (03)4772559 or email us to find out if any of your bids were successful. For people out of town we can courier smaller items to you (for a fee). However for larger items the buyer will need to arrange transportation.

If you have any questions, talk to one of the Hayward's team by emailing info@haywards.co.nz.