FAQs

1. How do I know whether a lot is sold?

2. What do the condition ciphers mean?

3. What does limit mean?

4. How can I buy a lot in the post-auction sale?

5. If I send a written order bid, will my maximum bid automatically be the hammer price?

6. How can I buy lots?

7. Which prices do the lots have in the post-auction sale?

8. Can I make a bid lower than starting price in the post-auction sale?

9. How much lower than starting price can I bid in the post-auction sale?

10. How and when am I informed whether my written bid was successful?

11. What do I have to do if I won one or more lots by absentee bidding (via internet, telephone or written order bid)?

12. How much is the buyer’s premium?

13. Will there be value added tax (VAT) added to the hammer price?

14. I would like to collect the lots I purchased myself. How do I do that?

15. Which costs make up the shipping charges?

16. From which auctions can I still buy something?

17. How can I offer something for auction?

18. Do you also purchase objects?

19. What exactly are the conditions for a consignment?

20. Increment steps

21. What does "USA-lot" mean?

 

FAQ – Online Only

For the first time in Hermann Historica’s history an auction was split in two distinctly different parts. While the first part of our 78th auction was executed as a classic auction, on our premises, with an auctioneer of flesh and blood, an audience, phone bidders and all the great atmosphere of such an event, the second part took place three weeks later in cyber space only. It was our very first online-only auction. This has raised a number of questions that we would like to address here. 

22. What is an Online-Only auction?

23. How can I bid in an Online-Only auction?

24. Can I bid by phone during the auction?

25. When my written bid is the highest bid, is my maximum bid the hammer price?

26. How do I submit an online bid once the auction has started?

27. How can I tell if my online bid is the highest bid?

28. Do I have to register to place a bid?

29. How can lots of an online-only auction that I am interested in, be inspected?

30. How is an online-only auction executed? 

31. Does a lot in an online-only auction have a set end-date, after which higher bids are no longer accepted, even if there are bidders that would like to submit higher bids?

32. How is an online-only auction supervised?

 

 

1. How do I know whether a lot is sold?

A lot is still available only if you can find it in the post-auction section of our website. Click on "Buy", select "Past Auctions", locate the catalogue from which you want to buy and click the button "Post-auction sale". All lots that you can find in this section are usually still available, as this list is updated frequently. If you are not sure, please do not hesitate to contact us via telephone or e-mail. You can also send us a signed order bid.

 

2. What do the condition ciphers mean?

I = excellent to mint
II = good, with minor flaws
III = fair
IV = poor

 

3. What does limit mean?

Unlike other auction houses, we do not distinguish between pre-sale estimate and limit price (reserve). We only use the limit price, which is at the same time the starting price – i.e. an object must be purchased by auction for at least that price (plus 29,5 % buyer’s premium) or bought in the post-auction sale for that price (plus 29,5 % buyer’s premium).

 

4. How can I buy a lot in the post-auction sale?

If you see in the internet that a lot was not sold during the auction, you can purchase it for the limit price respectively the starting price plus buyer’s premium. In the top menu of our website click on "Buy", select "Past Auctions", locate the catalogue from which you want to buy and click the button "Post-auction sale". Look for the desired lots, enter the starting price and confirm your bid. We'll get back to you immediately. You can also fax or email us a signed absentee bid form with your customer details, the lot number(s) and purchasing price. You can also acquire objects by phone in the post-auction sale on the condition that you send us a written confirmation (i.e. an order bid) immediately afterwards.
We do our best to keep the results up to date, but in case two or more offers arrive for the same bid at the same time, it's first come, first serve!

 

5. If I send a written order bid, will my maximum bid automatically be the hammer price?

No. Written bids will only be used to the extent necessary to outbid opposing bidders by approx. 5%. Chances are that you can get an object well below your maximum bid.

 

6. How can I buy lots?

At Hermann Historica you can purchase lots during the auction or by post-auction sale. Also see question no. 4

 

7. Which prices do the lots have in the post-auction sale?

In the post-auction sale you can acquire an auction lot for the limit price / starting price plus buyer’s premium.

 

8. Can I make a bid lower than starting price in the post-auction sale?

By default all lots in the post auction sale are being offered at starting price plus buyer’s premium. If we receive bids lower than starting price we will discuss these with the consignor. If he agrees to a sale below starting price, we will get in touch with you. Please be aware that bids at starting price get priority!

 

9. How much lower than starting price can I bid in the post-auction sale?

Well – that depends. Some consignors don’t accept any lower bids, some accept 5%, some 15%. Don’t make bids more than 20% below starting price. Let’s calculate two examples at the hand of a lot with a starting price of € 1.000,00. Plus buyer’s premium of 29,5% this lot would usually cost €1.295,00

a) If you make an offer of 10% below starting price you will pay 900 plus buyer’s premium, a total of €1.165,50. This 10% discount off the starting price thus corresponds to a reduction of the buyer’s premium to 16.55%.

b) If you make an offer of 20% below starting price you will only pay 800 plus buyer’s premium, a total of €1.036,00. This 20% discount off the starting price thus corresponds to a reduction of the buyer’s premium from 29,5 to 3,6%.

 

10. How and when am I informed whether my written bid was successful?

We update our website after every auction day, i.e. you can see for which hammer price a lot was sold. If that price is higher than your own bid, another bidder won the lot. If the price is within your frame of bidding, you could be the winner.
In order to know this for certain, please either wait for the invoice to be sent or telephone us directly.

 

11. What do I have to do if I won one or more lots by absentee bidding (via internet, telephone or written order bid)?

Please wait for the invoice to arrive.

 

12. How much is the buyer’s premium?

The buyer’s premium amounts to 29,5 % of the hammer price. This includes the value added tax (VAT).

 

13. Will there be value added tax (VAT) added to the hammer price?

No - see §10 above.

 

14. I would like to collect the lots I purchased myself. How do I do that?

Please mark on your offer bid that you choose to collect the items in person. Telephone us or send us an e-mail with appointment suggestions. As soon as an appointment is made, we will locate the objects in our storerooms and make them available. Please do not arrive unannounced in order to avoid delays.

 

15. What costs make up the shipping charges?

The shipping charges are composed of: packaging, shipping charges based on the desired way of shipping, insurance (1 % of the invoice amount) and, if required, processing fees for firearms, cultural goods etc. Please note that Hermann Historica does not ship oversized, heavy weight or fragile items! Please commission your own shipper to collect these items, properly pack and ship them, or use one of our recommended shippers.

 

16. From which auctions can I still buy something?

You can only purchase objects from the previous auction (if it is concluded by then). If the lot is still available, you will find it in the "Post-auction sale" section of the respective catalogue.

 

17. How can I offer something for auction?

If you would like to have an item auctioned but are not able to come in person, or if the objects in question are very numerous, please send us informative photographs of the items. We would also be delighted to receive additional information on exact dimensions, condition and origin. In case you can come by in person, please be kind enough to make an appointment as our respective specialists are not always here.

 

18. Do you also purchase objects?

We usually accept objects only that we assume will be sold on commission on behalf of the consigner. On rare occasions we will also purchase objects / antiquities directly.

 

19. What exactly are the conditions for a consignment?

We offer a commission based solely on success, i.e. you will be charged fees only if an object has been won by auction or purchased in the post-auction sale. Therefore we only accept items which we take it will be sold by auction. In the case of an object being sold either by auction or post-auction sale we charge a commission, which is 20% of the hammer price for lots above € 300, resp 30% for lots below this limit. This commission includes all processing fees (photography, description, printed mattery, if necessary translations, etc.)

 

20. Increment steps

Here you can find the increment steps which are valid from January 15th, 2019

 

21. What does "USA-lot" mean?

A USA-lot is physically located in the USA and thus shipped from there. So if you are buying from outside the USA and need to import the item into your country please keep in mind that this might incurr higher shipping charges than when buying from Germany (especially for Europeans), and that upon import you might be charged customs duties, import tariffs (e.g. VAT) and customs clearance charges. You should also keep an eye on your country's national import regulations, in particular with regards to arms and insignia of Nazi Germany.
Export of objects containing material of endangered or protected species subject to CITES regulations is not possible.
Items can be inspected in the USA only, so please ask for any additional information that you are interested in prior to bidding! Once lots have been shipped we cannot accept any requests for cancellation or price reduction.

 

22. What is an Online-Only auction?

This is an auction executed in the internet only. There is no floor, there are no visitors waving their paddles, there are no phones - there is only software.

 

23. How can I bid in an Online-Only auction?

Until several hours before the auction you can submit written bids through an absentee bid form or through our website. Once the auction has started you can exclusively bid through our online bidding platform. You cannot bid by phone or in person.

 

24. Can I bid by phone during the auction?

No! Bids can only be submitted in writing or through our website, before the auction starts, or online through our website, once the auction has started.

 

25. When my written bid is the highest bid, is my maximum bid the hammer price? 

No! As is the case in a classic auction we will act as your agent on your behalf and submit a bid in your name only to the amount necessary to outbid the second highest bidder by one increment. Example: you have placed a bid of 1.000, against a second bidder offering 800. If no-one else submits a bid, you will win this lot for 850, which is one increment above the 800 of the second highest bidder.

 

26. How do I submit an online bid once the auction has started?

Your screen will display a large image of the current lot, below which you can see the current high bid and a large green button, the bid button. On this button you can see the amount that you need to bid to outbid the current highest bidder. Just click on the green button!

 

27. How can I tell if my online bid is the highest bid?

Once you have clicked on the green button, and no-one else has done so at the same time, you will immediately get feedback, telling you that you are the highest bidder. As long as this status prevails, the bid-button on your screen is disabled to avoid that you bid against yourselves. Should anotezhr bid place a higher bid, you will immediately be told that another bidder has outbid you, and the bid button is active again.

 

28. Do I have to register to place a bid?

Yes. As soon as a catalogue for a future auction appears on our website you can start bidding. If you already are a registered customer, login with your email address and password, and submit your bids. If you are a new customer, please create a new account through our website. You can immediately start bidding, and will receive confirmation of your registration and your bids soon thereafter.

 

29. How can lots of an online-only auction that I am interested in, be inspected?

As in our classic auctions there also is in an online-only auction a pre-auction viewing of all lots. And, of course, you will see all lots professionally photographed on our website.

 

30. How is an online-only auction executed?

Almost identical to a classic auction. The auction has a set starting time, at which the first lot will be called. After the third call it will be knocked down to the highest bidder. Should shortly prior to knocking down a lot a higher bid be submitted the software will reset and start calling the lot again until no higher bids come in and it is finally knocked down.

 

31. Does a lot in an online-only auction have a set end-date, after which higher bids are no longer accepted, even if there are bidders that would like to submit higher bids?

No! In contrast to so-called „timed auctions“, as can be seen on Ebay, a lot in our online-only auctions has no set end-time. A lot is active as long as online bidders are submitting bids. Thus it makes no sense to wait with your bid to the “last second” – as the bidding process will then simply be extended. It characterizes a true auction that bidding continues until no higher bids are bidding submitted.

 

32. How is an online-only auction supervised?

There also is an auctioneer present, who supervises the software and the system, to make sure that in case of problems he can take manual control.