When not to bid

Most auction advice tells you how to win. This one is about the lots to leave alone, which over a year is worth more.

Every bid is binding here, so the decision to skip is the cheapest one you will ever make.

When you cannot answer what it is

Read the grade, then the condition card, then the inspection depth. If after thirty seconds you still cannot say what you would be receiving, that is the answer.

The card tells you what was tested, how far, and what the inspector found. If the depth reads "judged from packaging" and you need the item to work on arrival, the risk is yours and you should price it that way or pass. The thirty-second method.

When the logistics do not work

Bulky wins are where good buys turn expensive. Before you bid on a sofa, a patio set or a compressor, decide how it leaves the building.

Collection in Etobicoke is free, but it needs a vehicle that fits the item and a booked slot within the collection window. Shipping is priced for your actual packed order after packing, so a bulky lot cannot be costed at bid time. If neither route is comfortable, skip it.

When the total surprises you

Your bid carries a 15% buyer premium, handling of $1.50 per lot or $10 for a pallet lot, and tax for your delivery method. The formula is published and the calculator works out any bid.

If a lot only makes sense at the hammer price and stops making sense at the total, it was never a deal. Run the number first.

When you bid because you are losing

The clearest signal to stop is emotional rather than financial. If you have raised your own ceiling twice in five minutes, you are no longer buying the item, you are trying to win.

A soft close means there is no last-second theft to defend against, so the pressure you feel is coming from you rather than from the mechanism. A weekly catalogue means the category comes round again.

When the grade is wrong for you

A lower grade is a different deal, not a worse one, but it has to be the deal you actually want.

• Grade C and D are final sale. Priced for it, described for it, and correct for repairers, parts buyers and project builders. Wrong for a gift.
• A missing accessory matters or it does not. A generic cable is a nuisance; a proprietary charger can be most of the value.
• New / Overstock, Grade A and Grade B items carry a claim window for major functional defects of twenty-four (24) hours from pickup or confirmed delivery, seven (7) days for accounts verified as resellers, and fourteen (14) days only under a signed reseller addendum. Grade C and Grade D items are final sale as to condition. Regardless of grade, an item that is the wrong item or materially misdescribed is always reviewable. If you need that protection, bid on New / Overstock, Grade A or Grade B.

When you have not read the terms

Auction terms are versioned per sale, so the ones that govern your lot are the ones published with that auction. Payment is due within 48 hours of close, and the collection deadline is real. The pickup and shipping page carries it in full, including what a missed deadline costs.

None of that is hidden, and all of it is easier to read before you bid than after you win.

The one-line version

Bid when you can say what it is, what it will cost you in total, and how it gets home. When any of the three is a shrug, let it go.

How we grade · What a lot costs · Pickup and shipping