AUCTIONS
A sale open to the general public and conducted by
an auctioneer, a person empowered to conduct
such a sale, at which property is sold to the highest
bidder.
Paul Gaugin’s Pont Aven Landscape was sold in an auction held by Christie’s in May 1998.
A bid is an offer by a bidder, a prospective
purchaser, to pay a designated amount for the
property on sale.
A Dutch auction is a method of sale that
entails the public offer of the property at a price
in excess of its value, accompanied by a gradual
reduction in price until the item is purchased.
According to the UNIFORM COMMERCIAL
CODE (UCC), a body of law governing commer-
cial transactions that has been adopted by the
states, the auction sale of any item concludes
with the fall of the hammer or in any other cus-
tomary manner. Such a sale is “with reserve,”
which denotes that the goods can be withdrawn
at any time, until the auctioneer announces the
completion of the sale, unless the goods are
explicitly put up “without reserve,” which signi-
fies that the article cannot be withdrawn after
the call for bids unless no bid is made within a
reasonable time. In both types of auctions, the
bidder can withdraw a bid prior to the auction-
eer’s announcement that the sale has been com-
pleted.
Regulation
As a legitimate business enterprise, auctions
cannot be proscribed. They are not above rea-
sonable regulation by both state and local
authorities. Some states subject auction sales to
taxation.
In the absence of statutes, any person can act
as an auctioneer, but a license, which usually
restricts his or her authority to a certain region,
is often required. Licensing officers can refuse to
issue a license, but only if done reasonably,
impartially, and to promote the interest of the
community.
Agency of Auctioneer
An auctioneer serves as the agent of the
seller who employs him or her, and the auction-
eer must act in GOOD FAITH, advance the inter-
est of the seller, and conduct the sale in
accordance with the seller’s instructions. If real
property or goods priced at $500 or more are
sold at auction, a written agreement is necessary
to satisfy the STATUTE OF FRAUDS, an old ENG-
LISH LAW adopted in the United States that
requires certain contracts to be in writing. The
auctioneer is authorized to sign a memorandum
of sale on behalf of both parties, but this author-
ity is limited and expires shortly after the sale
