Attending an auction can result in some terrific bargains but also can be quite an entertaining day out too. It has been said that the difference between attending an auction and having a flutter at the ‘bookies’ (betting shop) is that with an auction, if you walk away empty handed you’re not out of pocket. The excitement of bidding is as thrilling as having a bet on the horses!

To ensure that you have a great day out, you should prepare yourself first. I have outlined a few things you might like to bear in mind first before you to attend any auction,

Before travelling any great distance to the auction, make sure you know exactly where the auction is being held and also it would be a good idea to take a copy of the catalogue with you. Contacting the auction by phone well before the auction normally ensures that you get a catalogue well in advance. However, some of the auctioneers don’t produce the catalogue until a couple of days before.

Always have a back up plan. If you don’t have a catalogue and somehow the auctioneers are not selling the sort of stuff that you want, make sure your day isn’t wasted and do some sightseeing instead. It is always a good idea in case the auction is cancelled for whatever reason or you even get the auction dates wrong (it does happen, believe me!). It would be prudent to phone up on the day of the auction to make sure so a contact telephone number is always handy. There are a number of places where you can get hold of Auctioneer listings from the internet and just print them out or even visit the Yellow Pages website.

When you arrive at the auction, make sure you’re early. This will give you time to inspect the items closely and see if there are any defects. If so, are these acceptable, can they be easily fixed or will the item be totally useless.

When bidding for an item, make sure you set yourself an upper limit as to what you are willing to pay and don’t go over it. This is where there’s a similarity between auctions and gambling. If you don’t set yourself a limit and just keep bidding until you ‘win’ then you may find that you have paid too much for the item and would have been better buying it from a local shop. I can’t stress this important factor strongly enough. Set yourself an upper limit as to the maximum you are willing to pay and then stick to it.

When setting this upper limit you will need to allow for what is called a ‘Buyers Premium’ and any VAT. Your catalogue should state this clearly. If not, speak to the auctioneer and find out before the auction.

The other thing to note is that the catalogues can vary. For example, certain items may be withdrawn from the sale at moments notice or other items can be included at the last minute.



Quick House Sale

 

Fighting Internet Auction Fraud

By Ulf Wolf

Cybercrime is up again for 2007. Hardly news, of course; it is no secret that this plague is spreading farther and deeper by the hour.

And here’s another unsurprising piece of news: at the head of the pack, same as last year: Internet Auction Fraud.

The FBI Numbers

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center (NWC3), recently released its 2007 figures on cybercrime complaints received and referred to law enforcement.

Again, the numbers showed that Internet Auction Fraud was by far the most reported offense in 2007, comprising at it did 35.7% of all complaints. In addition, during the same period, the non-delivery of merchandise and/or payment from non-auction internet transactions represented another 24.9%, pegging the combined total of on-line sales related fraud complaints at 60.6% of all Internet fraud.

Internet Auction Fraud

What far too many users fail to realize is that when something is purchased via an Internet auction, it is not bought from the auction house (say eBay, or Yahoo) but from an individual or company. The auction site-acting as a go-between-merely provides a forum where individuals can trade with one another, and it usually adopts-and prominently displays-a firm policy of washing their hands of legal responsibility for any loss suffered from using their service.

Once the bidding has concluded the payment for and delivery of the goods bought and sold is negotiated between the purchaser and seller. If the item is not delivered after it is paid for or is not what was represented on the auction site, the auction house will not refund any money. It is up to the buyer to approach the seller to negotiate a fair and proper settlement.

The statutory warranties that normally cover trade do not cover goods bought at on-line auction. The seller’s only obligation is to give clear title.

Therefore, keep the following in mind when dealing with on-line auctions, or whenever you buy anything online, especially from a private party:

Understand how the auction works, what your obligations are as a buyer, and what the seller’s obligations are before you bid; Find out what actions the auction house will take if a problem occurs, and consider insuring the transaction and shipment; Be aware that if a problem does occur with an auction transaction, it will be more difficult to resolve if the seller is located outside the United States-laws can differ widely country to country; Learn as much as possible about the seller, especially if the only information you have is an e-mail address; Before you make a payment for an auction purchase, you should verify the seller’s identity and contact details in case there is a problem with the delivery of the item; Ask the seller when delivery can be expected and whether the merchandise is covered by warranty if you need to exchange it; Use registered or certified mail to enable tracing; this will eliminate claims that the parcel was sent but must have been “lost in the mail;” Check that the auction account information matches email, phone number and any bank account and location information; Use auction house feedback forums to check out the seller’s history before agreeing to pay any money. Please note however, that sellers sometimes post positive feedback on themselves or organize other people to do so on their behalf.

And here is the most important advice of all:

If you have any doubts about the integrity of an on-line auction seller-and even if you’re not: use an escrow agent. An escrow agent or company is an independent third party which holds payment in trust until the buyer receives and accepts the item from the seller. While this service does incur a fee, it protects the buyer because the third party will hold the money until the goods have been received in good condition, inspected, and accepted; and only then released to the seller.

Internet Escrow

The principle and process of Internet escrow is the same as with buying and selling real estate-where, of course, the escrow company is deemed indispensible due to the amounts involved.

The buyer or seller opens an account with the online escrow company; The prospective buyer of an item sends payment by wire transfer, check or credit card to the escrow company; The escrow company verifies that the funds indeed do exist, or that the buyer is who he represents himself to be and is in possession of the credit card used; Once this checks out, the escrow company asks the seller to ship the merchandise; Merchandise is shipped, and seller submits tracking information; Once the shipping site shows the merchandise as delivered the escrow company double checks to ensure the buyer has the goods in hand; The buyer now has an agreed-upon amount of time to either accept the goods or return it to the seller; Once accepted by the buyer, the escrow company releases the funds to the seller, less any processing fees and commissions.

Straightforward enough. If, that is, you are dealing with a legitimate online escrow company.

Fighting the Fighter

But the world, as we know, likes to throw us curves; and in this instance in the curve comes in the guise of escrow fraud.

Handling, as it does, substantial amounts of money, the escrow company is often itself a target of fraud-where look-alike phishing sites try to con you into using them rather than the bona fide site; and the escrow company concept itself is also flagrantly abused by criminals who set up fraudulent escrow sites where money will only travel one-way: you guessed it, away from you.

In fact, the problem of fake on-line escrow sites is so substantial that some reputable and legitimate escrow sites have simply thrown in the towel.

Buyer Guardian, for example, recently shut its doors due to Internet fraud stealing their business, and posted the following note on their site: “We are sad to report that after careful and lengthy consideration we have made the decision to cease operations at BuyerGuardian.com. This is a very difficult decision, and one that is made primarily due to the rapid growth of online escrow fraud.”

Many of these apparently bona fide escrow companies, established for the sole purpose of enriching the criminal, are set up off-shore-predominantly in Russia or China-where lax cyber crime laws (and sometimes questionable cooperation with U.S. Authorities) makes it more difficult to shut the sites down and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Enter: Escrow.com

Actually, Escrow.com entered this fray nearly ten years ago during the dot-com boom and has over the years shown itself to be the online escrow company to turn to for secure and fraud-less auction and other online sales/purchase transactions-with the credentials and staying power to prove it.

Licensed by the state of California-as well as by the States of Idaho and Arizona, who require separate licenses-Escrow.com is the only on-line escrow company credentialed to serve every state of the Union, and who indeed does so 24/7.

While Escrow.com will handle transactions of any size, it may not make financial sense to turn to them for low cost items since their transaction fee is $25, and their commission is $63 per $1,000 value of the transaction if payment is by credit card and $32.50 per $1,000 for wire transfers.

But, if you value your sleep, Escrow.com would be indispensible for any transaction of $250 on up.

Peace of Mind

Michigan-based telecomclassifiedads.com, which buys and sells expensive telecommunication switching equipment concurs, would not, according to Mickey Fivenson, complete any online transactions without Escrow.com.

“I use Escrow.com for all my equipment transactions, and without them I would not be in business. It’s as simple as that.

“I deal with buyers and sellers on a daily basis who do not know each other and who live in different parts of the world. Escrow.com is the only way I can complete a transaction between them.

“As a result, after five years of doing business through Escrow.com I have never had anything but satisfied customers.”

Dave Kurko of RPM Auto Wholesale in Pleasant Hill, CA could not agree more:

“Escrow.com provides a safety net for both seller and buyer, delivering certainty in an uncertain world.

“Most people understand the concept of escrow, particularly if they have bought and sold real estate in a jurisdiction that uses an escrow company rather than an attorney to settle a real estate transaction; in fact, we have modeled our transaction on the real estate transaction. Escrow.com has made this approach not only possible but also very effective.

“They are also very customer centric, and thanks to their tech support we have been able to integrate opening an escrow account with them into our own web-hosted application, allowing our CRM software to talk directly to their database over a secure link.

“Really, they’re the only game in town. We’ve searched other companies, and nobody else measures up.”

Escrow.com-The Detective

While Escrow.com is gaining increasing recognition as the Internet escrow company to turn to for peace of e-commerce mind, their staff, on a daily basis, also hunt and diligently work to shut down fraudulent impostors, which are encountered daily.

And they spring up like mushrooms, these impostors: there are days that Escrow.com staff discovers as many as ten new such sites.

A couple of clever fraud specimens can be found (if they are still up at time of print) at safe-wayonline.com and escrow-holdings.net, both of which have been confirmed as unlawful. You certainly cannot fault these criminals for lack of professional design.

The good news is that as these sites are tracked down, authorities are alerted and the sites are soon off the air.

eBay Weighs In

To quote the biggest auction site of them all, eBay:

Pay safely – beware of fake escrow services when you consider using them to pay for your eBay item.

For eBay transactions, you should use eBay’s only approved Escrow Company: Escrow.com.

To avoid being deceived by fraudulent email from a fake escrow service, you should visit the escrow service’s Web site to verify information you received via email.

Make sure you type the entire Web address (for example, www.escrow.com) into your Web browser. Don’t let your Web browser auto-complete the Web address for you. It could mistakenly auto-complete a fraudulent Web address.

Learn more about escrow: http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/payment-escrow.html

Escrow.com-The Household Name

More importantly, however, as Escrow.com gains further and further recognition on its way to become a household name, it gets harder and harder for impostors to defraud the public for the excellent reason that they are not Escrow.com-the only name you know you can trust.

Here’s to peace of mind and a good night’s sleep.

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho-based Ulf Wolf writes about cybercrime for Words & Images (ulf@words-images.com)

 



Quick House Sale

i want to sell my house by auction and i want to know how much the auction house will charge for advertising the house and how much they will charge when it is sold . . . any help would be greatly appreciated

Real Estate Professionals

An auction means a public sale of properties or objects that are sold to the highest bidder. There are a whole lot of things that can be put to auction. There are auctions that are held under various categories such as antiques and art, automotive that include vintage cars, motorcycles, accessories, etc. The other popular items include clothing and accessories of film stars and sports stars, scripts of movies, sports goods. The jewellery auctions selling intricately designed precious jewels and gem jewellery are extremely popular.

There are auction houses where you can go and bid for the things of your liking. The auction houses have a calendar holding the sale on a particular theme. You need to submit details such as name, address, telephone number and banking or credit information as is specified by the salesroom where you are going to bid. For more details visit to www.auction-professional.com. A unique number, known as the Client Number, is going to be allotted to you. A paddle is a plastic card bearing a number that is registered at the auction. The paddle is raised to bid and the auctioneer calls out the paddle number of the successful bidder at the time of selling each lot. When the gavel falls the auctioneer announces the hammer price. The hammer price is the final bid price, which does not include a buyer’s premium. For more details logon to www.auction-words.com. The buyer’s premium is the money that is paid separately by the buyer to the auction house. It is a percentage of the final bid price.

Sotheby’s and Christies are two very famous auction houses. Samuel Baker founded Sotheby’s in the year 1744. However, today this premier auction house has branches on the Manhattan’s York Avenue and New Bond Street, London. The New York office was opened in the year 1955. In the year 1964 Sotheby’s acquired the Parke-Bernet, which was the largest art auction house of America. This acquisition helped Sotheby’s gain a sizable presence across America. James Christie founded Christies in the 18th century. A man having very charming demeanor, James Christie’s clientele included the British royalty as well. The auctions of Christies include some 80 categories. Their sales rooms in America are at the Rockefeller Center, New York and North Camden Drive, Los Angeles.

Auctions these days are not just limited to the auction houses. There are lots of websites that are into the business of auctioning. You can list the products you want to auction and invite bidders. You can specify the time when the bid closes as well as other terms and conditions. You need to specify that shipping and the other supply costs are to be borne by the buyer.

Click on the item of your choice and get set bidding.



Repossession

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, it is necessary to sell a horse through auction. While this can be a quick fix, often the sale price you receive at an auction is well below your horse’s actual value. Even worse, sometimes this low price is from a kill buyer, who will turn around and deliver your precious horse to a slaughter house.

Fortunately, there are many things that you can do to maximize the price you receive, and minimize the risk of having your horse bought by a kill buyer.

First of all, buyers at auctions are looking to get a deal. This means that your horse needs to look as though it has potential. Sending an underweight, poorly groomed horse is a quick way to condemn your animal.

Make sure that your horse is well fed and in good flesh. This might mean increasing his grain for a while before the sale. You can supplement him with flax seed or sunflower oil to give him a shinier coat. A well fleshed horse will attract far more attention than an animal who looks like he will cost a lot to bring back into good condition.

Buyers also like to know a horse’s history. Take the time to write a brief note about your horse. Tell the buyer what he has done in the past, what his personality is like, whether he has any unusual quirks. While most buyers are not looking for cutesy stuff, it never hurts to pull on the heart strings. You don’t need to go into detail about why you are selling him, but sometimes it can help. Be sure to include any information about when his last trim was, what vaccinations he has had, and when he was last wormed.

Don’t forget to include his papers. If your horse is registered, or if you have the registration information on his parents, produce it for the buyer. A photocopy of any papers on the stall, combined with the actual papers for the auctioneer makes a huge difference, especially if you are selling a mare.

If your horse is broke to ride, make sure that he is ridden through the auction. Just adding a rider can boost your sale price by $1000 or more. If you are not comfortable riding him, many auctions have catch riders ready to help. If he is not broke to ride, but has some training, make sure that you show off what he does know. Drive him in the ring, or longe him in front of the buyers. A horse with some training has far greater value that something with no handling.

Make sure that your horse is polished as though he were going to a show. Give him a bath if the weather permits. If not, groom him within an inch of his life. Braid his mane if appropriate, and trim his whiskers. Make it look as though he could go out and win first place in the ring. Buyers will pay far more for a nicely turned out horse than for the equivalent horse that is covered in a shaggy coat and has mud all over its legs.

Put a clean, new halter on him. This might seem like a small thing, but a clean halter in excellent repair is one more thing to show that your horse has class. If you can, add a nameplate on the halter. This shows that you are an owner that cares. A horse must have some value if the owner cares enough to give him a halter with a nameplate.

So many horses go through auctions ungroomed, in damaged halters, and with barely a scratch of information on them. Taking the time to properly present your horse will quickly make it one of the top horses at the sale.

Finally, if you want to be sure not to lose your horse to a meat dealer, place a reserve on him. Meat prices range a lot, so choose a price that will keep him safe. It is better to take your horse home, unsold, than to lose him to a slaughter house.

Auctions can be a good place to sell your horse when you don’t have the time to wait out the private market. Look around and learn about the auctions in your area. Avoid the ones that are clearly meat sales, and find ones that offer buyers soundness guarantees. Your horse will have a better chance of finding a good home there, than at a kill sale. All it takes is a little bit of effort, and your horse will find a good home, fetching you a decent price.



Rent Back

So it was a messy divorce, and my ex took all the equity out of our house for his failing business. Long story short, the business went bankrupt, now we owe more on the house than what it is worth, and my ex is still living in the house for free. He has been there for about eight months without paying, now the lender is going to auction off the house, how long does he have to get out once the house is sold???????

Sell House Quick

We have a house in bakersfield, ca and it has been in the market for months and we’re tempted to put it into auction. How does it work? How about we buy houses? Are they reliable? We are not foreclosing the house though.

Sell and Rent Back

The house that we’d like to bid on is selling As-is with no contingencies. There is 30,000 worth of termite and fungus damage, and we do not know what structural damage there might be. What sorts of things should we prepare before going to auction.
Should we already be preapproved?
What sorts of inspections should we arrange prior to the bidding?
The house is in a rural area, are there any other concerns we should be aware of?

Quick Property Sale

I just was wondering about the success people are having with these round robin auctions verses a Realtor.

Rent Back

Prior to the auction, you need to secure a copy or catalogue of the property lots that will be auctioned at any particular auction house. It may be worthwhile to obtain several catalogues from local auction houses so that you can compare property specifics.          For more details go to: www.auction-extreme-package.com If there are any properties that you are interested in, it is important to remember that an offer can be made before the auction. The seller will consider the offer and get back to you if he wants to proceed on that basis. In the event of your offer being accepted, the property will be removed from the auction process and you will be obliged to complete on the purchase.

Once you have the auction catalogues to hand, you should scan them for properties that suit your preference both in terms of price range and the nature of the property. Organize and arrange the properties according to the preferred style and structure of the property. Investigate or scrutinize the description of the property. Check any legal paperwork the auction house may hold for any property you are interested in. If unsure, it may be advisable to seek the guidance of lawyers or experts.

Double check any terms and conditions of the contract governing the schedule of payment. It is extremely important to make sure that you have available funds to purchase any one property in accordance with the terms and conditions of that lot. If you feel that there maybe a need for a mortgage, you will need to arrange this before attending the auction. Otherwise, you will risk losing any deposit you put forward for a property that you are subsequently not able to raise finance for.

On the day of the auction, you need to acquaint yourself with the mechanics of that auction. Usually, there is a need for prior registration if you wish to participate in the bidding. For help visit: www.auction-o-matics.com Be sure to take in any identification documents with you. You will not be allowed to bid without proof of ID. You will also need to take in a cheque book or bankers draft for any deposits that may be required.

Never arrive late. This is very important because you will need time to familiarize with the auction room and the mannerisms of the auctioneer. On arrival, always check the list of properties for any changes or alterations. It is not uncommon for properties to be removed from auction proceedings prior to the auction.

If you are to bid, make your bid clear so as to prevent confusion on the part of the auctioneer. Whenever bidding at auction always have your maximum possible bid in mind and don’t ever deter from this amount. Your maximum bid will take into account any works that you feel need doing to the property and also any profit levels you need to clear. If a property fails to sell at auction due to the reservation price not being met, you should consider making a bid directly after the bidding has stopped.



Quick Property Sale