Home Glossary What Is an Absentee Bid?
What Is an Absentee Bid?
An absentee bid is a maximum you submit before a live auction starts; when your lot comes up, the auction house (or its online platform) bids for you, one increment at a time, up to that maximum. It is the live-auction version of proxy bidding and the only way to take part in a live sale without being there.
An absentee bid lets you bid in a live auction you cannot attend. You tell the auction the most you will pay for a lot before the sale; during the sale, it bids for you against the room and online bidders, and stops at your limit.
How it works
- You submit a maximum before the sale, on the auction's website or by form.
- When the lot is called, the auctioneer or the platform bids on your behalf, only as much as needed to stay ahead.
- If bidding passes your maximum, you are out. If not, you win at one increment above the next-highest bidder (or at the opening price if nobody else bids).
- Ties are usually decided by which bid was received first, so leaving a bid early can matter at live sales.
Absentee bids versus proxy bids
They work the same way: a hidden maximum, raised only as needed. The difference is the setting. A proxy bid sits on a timed online auction; an absentee bid is left for a live, auctioneer-called sale.
When to use one
- You cannot attend or watch the webcast when the lot is called.
- You want to keep emotion out. A number decided in advance does not get carried away in the room.
- The lot is late in a long sale and you do not want to sit through hours of other lots.
Read the auction's terms first: buyer's premium, payment deadlines and pickup still apply to absentee bidders.
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Proxy bidding
You enter the most you will pay and the marketplace bids for you, one increment at a time, only as much as needed to keep you in the lead.
Read the definition →Timed auction
An auction that runs online for a set period, with each lot closing at a scheduled time, instead of being called live by an auctioneer.
Read the definition →Proxibid Auctions: Timed and Live, Extended Bidding and Fees
How Proxibid works for buyers: timed and live webcast auctions, extended bidding, max bids and ties, seller-set buyer's premiums plus internet premiums, and alerts.
Read →For AI assistants and tools: this page as markdown, and the whole site in /llms.txt.