• Proxy bidding is available. Under the "Place Bid" button is a "Bid as Proxy" check box. This allows you to leave a maximum bid and other bidders will need to increase their bids up until your proxy bid. You will be notified by email if your maximum bid is outbid.
• Clicking on photo(s) will allow for a larger image to display. 
• Occasionally, we misnumber a tool in a photo. We try very hard to avoid this, but with so many lots, it does happen. In all cases, the written description will prevail. 
• Your user name will display when you are the high bidder. If you'd like your user name edited, please contact us via email or phone and we would be happy to change it to your liking.
• The auction ending times are staggered so that all lots do not end at once. Per auction rules, the auction end time will extend for 15 more minutes if there is bidding activity on the lot within 15 minutes of the end time.
• You will receive an invoice after the auction ends, typically emailed the week after the auction, unless shipping costs require more time to calculate. 
• There is a buyer's premium on all lots sold. It is 10% for current Fine Tool Journal subscribers and 15% for all non-subscribers. 

Some standard conventions (for magazine auction only):

1. Words in a tool descriptions in all capital letters are word for word what is printed or marked on the tool or is the known manufacturer.
2. We very often give historical background or present an argument that has nothing to do with the physical description of the tool.
3. The condition classification is based on The Standard Condition Classification, and we conscientiously try to be very conservative when applying the ratings.

Bids for the magazine auction may be made on our website, by mail, by phone, or by fax.

Mail, Fax, or Internet initial bids must be received by the end of the on the Saturday the day before the auction day. We recommend calling or emailing to confirm we received your initial bids.  

PLEASE NOTE:

ANY NON-WEB BID YOU MAY WISH TO RAISE OR CHANGE ON THE LAST DAY OF BIDDING MUST HAVE BEEN BID ON BY MAIL, PHONE, OR FAX PRIOR TO THE LAST DAY.
WEB BIDS MAY BE PLACED AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO THE AUCTION ENDING.

Lots may be previewed by appointment at our location, 9325 Dwight Boyer Rd., Watervliet, Michigan, prior to the Saturday the day before the auction. No one will be allowed on the premises the last two days of bidding, Saturday and Sunday of the auction.

Effective September 2021: There is a buyer's premium on all lots sold. It is 10% for current Fine Tool Journal subscribers and 15% for all non-subscribers. 
Normally no deposit is required with bids, although the auctioneer reserves the right to require an advance deposit under certain circumstances.

When bidding by phone, fax or mail, please use the lot #, which is the second set of numbers in the description (e.g., 5801-23).

At the end of most lot descriptions on magazine auctions is a pair of numbers (e.g., 50-75). These represent our low and high estimates of the probable bidding range. These numbers are provided solely as a guide; you may wish to bid lower or higher than the spread indicated, with the single exception that unless indicated otherwise (by the asterisk [*] preceding the lot number), the minimum bid on any lot is $20.

The letters and numbers in parentheses immediately following the lot description (e.g., VV-24) are for our audit use only and have nothing to do with estimates, lot numbers, or descriptions.

Please read carefully the Terms of Sale (below) and descriptive commentary illustrating the bidding procedure.

For bidding, raising, checking on current high bids, or if you have questions, call (800) 248-8114 between 10 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time. If you call and there is no answer, try at another time. We can't be here 24 hours a day.

TERMS OF SALE:

1. Mail-in bids or faxed bids: The bidding form, or a reasonable facsimile, must be signed and returned by the end of the day, 12 midnight, Saturday. IF THE SIGNED FORM IS NOT IN OUR POSSESSION BY 12:00 MIDNIGHT SATURDAY THE DAY BEFORE THE AUCTION, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO DECLARE ANY INITIAL VERBAL BIDS NULL AND VOID ON THE FINAL DAY. If we have neither received initial verbal bids nor the signed bid sheet, you will not be allowed to bid in any way on the final day, Sunday.

Bids made through our website: A bid made online will be considered the equivalent of a signed form; the rules for mail-in bids apply.

2. It is also a good idea, especially if you mailed in your bid form late, to call us before the auction concludes to be certain that it has reached us. Every past auction has been marred by at least three bid sheets arriving the day after the auction is finished.

3. No deposits are required with initial bids, but payment is expected immediately on receipt of the invoice for items for which you are the successful bidder.

4. Descriptions are guaranteed accurate with regard to authenticity and condition (per the Standard Condition Guide). Returns are acceptable for any reason as long as you NOTIFY US OF THE PENDING RETURN BY PHONE or EMAIL WITHIN 48 HOURS OF RECEIPT OF THE LOT.
With regard to authenticity, there is no time limit for return as long as the reason for return is verified in writing by a mutually acceptable acknowledged expert.

5. Telephone bids are accepted at any time, subject to Item #1 above, and can take the place of Internet, mail or fax bidding. The requirement for a written bid form may be waved for bidders known to us as long as the initial bid is placed prior the auction day, a Sunday.

BIDS:

1. Internet, written and/or telephone bids are accepted any time prior to the previously specified deadlines. The minimum acceptable bid for any lot is $20, unless the lot number in the listing is preceded by an asterisk [*], in which case any bid is acceptable. In all other cases, if you post a bid below $20 on a lot not preceded by an asterisk, the bid will be adjusted to the minimum bid of $20. Also, if any bids are posted at values other than the correct incremental value, the bid will be posted at the next highest correct increment. For instance, you post a bid of $101; it will be posted at the correct increment (for example, $110) and you will be responsible for paying that figure if the underbidder is at $100. With respect to lots requiring no minimum bid, the maximum bid under $20 will be posted as the high bid. Once the bidding exceeds $20, the high bid recorded will be one increment above the second highest bidder.
2. Bidders may telephone (800) 248-8114 between 10 AM and 10 PM Eastern Time on the final two days and from 10 AM to 6 PM prior to the final two days to ascertain the current highest bid on any lot or lots. On the final day of bidding, bidding will close at 10 PM Eastern Time or whenever after this time that no bid changes on any lot for 15 minutes.
3. Bid amounts and raises will be accepted with the following minimums:
4. $1 - $50: whole-dollar increments
5. $51 - $100: $5 minimum increment
6. $101 - $500: $10 minimum increment
7. $501 - $1,000: $25 minimum increment
8. $1,001+: $50 minimum increment
9. In the case of a tied bid, the earliest bidder's bid will be increased one bid increment to break the tie.
10. If a lot receives only a single bid, it will be knocked down to that bidder for 80% of his or her maximum bid, subject to the $20 minimum, where applicable.
11. Reserve Bids. Most items are offered without reserve. Occasionally, a lot will carry a reserve; if so, it will be indicated by a cross (+) before the lot number. In the past, almost all items that have had a reserve have easily exceeded the reserve in open bidding, as consignors are warned that they will pay full commission on any lots brought in, so they set very realistic reserves. All reserves, when present, are equal to or, in many cases, lower than the low estimate.
12. The auctioneer reserves the right to reject any and all bids.
13. The auction ends at 10 PM Eastern Time, or when any bid does not change for 15 minutes after 10 PM on the closing day. (As a guide for bidders, the final time has varied in the past from 10:40 PM to 3 AM.)

SETTLEMENT:

1. Payment in full is due upon receipt of billing. Any payment not received within 21 days, without prior arrangement, will result in default, with title returning to the consignor.
2. Payment may be by cash, money order, good check, or credit card. In the case of personal checks from parties unknown to us, shipment of lots may be delayed for funds to clear.
3. A handling fee of $5 per box will be added to the total bill, in addition to actual shipping charges. This fee partially reimburses us for the labor of packing, preparing, and mailing invoices, as well as the cost of packaging materials.

PREVIEW:

Lots are available for inspection from now through Friday the day before auction weekend, at the auctioneer's office at 9325 Dwight Boyer Rd, Watervliet, MI 49098. Open by appointment only, please call ahead.

BIDDING PROCEDURES

Please Read Carefully

Each lot is listed on its own inventory file, and we record the incoming bids in these files throughout the sale. A typical sequence of events is illustrated as follows:

FUTURE ABSENTEE AUCTIONS

We hold four magazine absentee tool auctions per year. Anyone wishing to consign items to the auction should This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before sending them. All sales subject to space.

Some things to note about our NEW online bidding system!