Bidding limit

What is a bidding limit?

A bidding limit is the sum a bidder decides in advance is the most they are willing to pay for a work. It is their personal ceiling, a safeguard for good sense before the competing begins. With telephone or online bidding this limit is entered in advance, so that the system or a representative can manage the bids on your behalf.

How does a bidding limit work?

Before the sale a bidder settles on their maximum and directs their bids towards it. Once the price crosses that line, they stop bidding and let the work go. With remote bidding the limit is entered in advance and bids are raised on your behalf only up to that sum, not a crown more.

Why does a bidding limit matter to a bidder?

Because a saleroom can carry you away. In the heat of competing, with someone bidding against you, it is easy to go a few bids higher than you planned and to regret it afterwards. A limit set in advance protects you from being swept up and keeps your decision-making grounded even as the pace of the sale rises.

What should you watch out for with a bidding limit?

Bear in mind that the buyer's premium, and possibly other fees, are generally added to the hammer price. So set your limit such that it accommodates the final sum you will actually pay. And above all, once you have set your ceiling, stick to it — that is precisely where its strength lies.

— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club