Auctions have their own vocabulary — some terms borrowed from law, some from finance, and some that exist only in the auction ring. This directory covers the 50 most common terms you’ll encounter as an auctioneer, consignor, or bidder. Each term links to a full article with definition, practical context, and examples.
A
- Absentee Bid — A bid submitted before a live auction, with the auctioneer authorized to bid up to a confidential maximum on the bidder’s behalf.
- Absolute Auction — A sale with no minimum price — whatever the highest bid is at the close wins.
- Appraiser — A credentialed professional who estimates fair market value before items go to auction.
- As-Is, Where-Is — Sold in current condition at current location, with no warranties or shipping responsibility.
- Auctioneer — The licensed individual who calls bids during a live auction.
B
- Bid Increment — The minimum amount by which each successive bid must exceed the previous one.
- Bid Retraction — The cancellation of a bid by the bidder or the auctioneer.
- Bid Spotter (Ringman) — A floor crew member who watches for bidders the auctioneer might miss.
- Bidder Number (Paddle) — The unique identifier assigned to a registered bidder.
- Buy It Now (BIN) — A fixed-price option to purchase a lot immediately and skip the auction.
- Buyer’s Premium (BP) — A percentage added to the hammer price the winning bidder pays the auction house.
C
- Catalog — The curated list of lots in an auction with photos, descriptions, and estimates.
- Caveat Emptor — Latin for “let the buyer beware” — the doctrine of buyer responsibility.
- Chandelier Bidding — The auctioneer pretending to acknowledge a bid that doesn’t exist, to push toward the reserve.
- Choice — A live-auction method where the high bidder picks which (or how many) of identical grouped lots to take.
- Clerk — The staffer who records every winning bid, bidder number, and hammer price.
- Condition Report — A written assessment of a lot’s physical state, defects, and restoration history.
- Consignor — The person or entity who delivers an item to an auction house to be sold on their behalf.
D
- Dutch Auction — A descending-price format: the auctioneer starts high and lowers until a bidder accepts.
E
- Earnest Money — A good-faith deposit required to participate in certain high-value auctions, especially real estate.
- English Auction — The classic ascending-price format where bidders compete by raising bids.
- Estate Auction — The sale of personal property from a deceased person’s estate.
- Estimate (High/Low) — The auction house’s predicted hammer-price range for a lot.
F
- Floor Bid — A bid placed by a bidder physically present in the auction room.
H
- Hammer Price — The final winning bid amount when the auctioneer drops the gavel, before fees.
- Hybrid Auction — A live in-room auction running with simultaneous online and phone bidding.
L
- Live Auction — An auction conducted in real time by a licensed auctioneer who calls bids verbally.
- Lot — A single unit being sold in an auction — one item, a grouped set, or a bulk container.
M
- Maximum Bid — The highest amount a bidder is willing to pay, entered confidentially in advance.
N
- No-Reserve Auction — An auction with no minimum acceptable price — the lot sells to the highest bidder no matter what.
O
- Online (Timed) Auction — A digital auction where lots open and close on a fixed schedule.
- Opening Bid — The first bid amount the auctioneer accepts for a lot.
P
- Pass / Passed Lot — A lot that didn’t sell at auction.
- Phone Bid — A bid placed by a bidder on the phone with an auction-house staffer.
- Preview — The inspection window before an auction during which bidders can examine lots in person.
- Provenance — The documented history of an item’s ownership and origin.
- Proxy Bid — A pre-set maximum the system uses to bid automatically on the bidder’s behalf.
R
- Reserve Not Met (RNA) — A lot that received bids but didn’t reach the seller’s reserve.
- Reserve Price — The confidential minimum a seller is willing to accept.
S
- Sealed Bid — A format where each bidder submits a single confidential bid by a deadline.
- Seller’s Commission — The percentage of hammer price the auction house keeps as its fee.
- Settlement — The post-auction process of paying out consignors and reconciling buyer payments.
- Shill Bidding — Placing fake bids to inflate price — illegal in most jurisdictions.
- Silent Auction — A sealed-bid event format where bidders write bids on paper sheets or mobile apps.
- Simulcast Auction — A live auction broadcast to remote bidders via the internet.
- Sniping — Placing a winning bid in the final seconds of an online auction.
- Soft Close (Auto-Extend) — An auction-close mechanism that extends close time when late bids arrive.
T
- Times the Money — A vehicle/equipment phrase for selling multiple identical items at the same per-unit price.
V
- Vickrey Auction — A sealed-bid auction where the highest bidder wins but pays the second-highest bid.
W
- Watchlist — A saved list of auction lots a bidder is following without yet bidding on.
Don’t see a term? Auction language varies by region, format, and asset class. If you’ve come across a term not covered here, let us know — we’ll add it to the next update.