THRIFT YOUR WAY
Live auctions
An auctioneer sells lot by lot to a room of bidders, often with people bidding online too.
Before you go
- Good for
- Antiques, art, furniture, collections
- When to go
- The preview the day before or that morning
- Paying
- Card or cash, with a buyer’s premium and tax
How it works
- There’s usually a preview before the sale to look things over.
- You register with ID and get a bidder number.
- The auctioneer sells each lot. A buyer’s premium and sales tax are added.
- You pay and take your things home the same day, as is.
How to do well
- Go to the preview and handle what you want: turn it over, open the drawers, look at the back.
- Write down your limit for each lot before bidding starts, with the premium included.
- Watch a few lots first to get a feel for how the room bids.
- Bad weather and holiday weekends mean fewer bidders, and often better prices.
- Sit where the auctioneer can see you, and bid clearly.
What to bring
Where to find them
AuctionZip
A calendar of live and online auctions near you, from thousands of auctioneers.
Go to AuctionZip (opens in a new tab)LiveAuctioneers
Auction houses selling art, antiques and decor. Open “Auctions near me”.
Go to LiveAuctioneers (opens in a new tab)Auction houses near you
Your map app, on the auction houses around you. Small houses often list only on their own sites.
Open your map: auction houses near you (opens in a new tab)
How Thriftcraft helps
Your assistant
Ask about pieces at the preview, while you can still pick them up.
- Open the find and tap ChatGPT, Claude or Muse under Ask about this find. It opens with a question about the find already written.
- Send a detail photo of any mark when it asks. Ask it to save the answer and its sources with the find.
- Saved research keeps its own words and sources. It changes the find’s details only when you approve the change.
More ways Thriftcraft can help
Scan
Snap the lots you like and put their numbers in the notes, so you know what to bid on.
- Open Scan and take a photo of the find.
- Open the find to keep its price and notes together. Keep extra photos of marks and damage with it.
- If a snap is waiting offline, leave Thriftcraft open when you reconnect and check that it uploads before signing out.
The sites here belong to other companies. None of them pays to be listed.