Bidding at local auctions is undermined when you are not adequately prepared.
Examine, research the artist or item and the current market’s view of this particular work or item.
- subject matter
- quality of execution
- time frame of item’s creation
- signed or unsigned
- history of ownership, if provided
- literature referencing this item
Robust bidding is more likely (within the confines of what you can afford to spend), when you have previewed AND done your homework about the market’s view of the item (with respect to the bullet points cited above).
I find that I only “chicken out” on bidding when I haven’t adequately previewed the sale AND done my research ahead of the sale.
There is no point in bidding on an item unless you are confident of what you are prepared to spend.
If no preview days and times are listed, call the auction house to see when previewing is permitted.
Corinne Cain of www.SavvyCollector.com