Five Essential Rules for Buying at Auction

Auctions are a game, and if you want to win you have to know the rules.

Museums, dealers and sophisticated collectors all buy art and antiques at auctions, and their level of expertise is high. If you are inexperienced in buying through this format, you need to learn as much as you can before you place a single bid.

That way, when you're sitting in Sotheby's BID or Christie's showroom or any local auction house, you'll be armed and ready.

Rule 1: Do Your Homework

Before buying at an auction, do your research. There are several ways to get information about any items that you're interested in:

• Get the auction catalog. It usually contains a description of all the items up for sale, the names of the artist or maker, the title of the artwork, its dimensions and medium, a photograph, and an estimate of what the auction house believes it will sell for.
• Go to the preview. Auction houses typically put items on public display. In large auction houses, promotional advertisements that announce the auction will list available viewing times, which may include several preauction sessions. Make sure you thoroughly inspect what you're going to bid on. Bring a few basic tools to aid you: a tape measure, small flashlight and magnifying glass, perhaps even a reference guide and digital camera. Jot down the lot number of each item that interests you and take note of any flaws.
• Get professional help. Auction-house specialists who catalog items are a rich source of information -- they know the objects and can compare them to similar items they've seen. Many dealers can advise you on the item you're considering. They charge a fee for this service, typically by the hour or for a percentage of the sale price. You can find dealers at the National Antique & Art Dealers' Association of America. Consult with a professional to assess what the market is for a particular piece and to how to spot issues of condition and quality. Further, bring your expert to the preview.
• Go online. View what similar items have sold for by researching previous auction results, and research information about the maker of the item. For example, ArtPrice.com lists over 4 million auction results collected from 1700 to the present day and covers more than 370,000 artists. It's important to remember that appearance and condition affect value. Issues of condition might not be obvious in the catalog photograph -- and don't necessarily accept the auction house's description. Note that while you can get a condition report from the auction house, it's usually not in-depth.