Everything You Need to Bid With Confidence

Yes. You’ll need a Great Lakes Estate Co. auction account before placing a bid. Registration is free and lets you track bids, won items, orders, and pickup information from My Account.

Yes. Creating an account is free, but a valid credit or debit card must be saved to your account before you can place your first bid. Your card is not charged when you bid. Winning bidders receive an invoice and pay within 48 hours after the auction closes. Requiring a card helps keep bidding reliable and reduces unpaid winning bids.

Enter the amount you’re willing to bid and submit your bid. The site will show the current price and whether you are the leading bidder. If another bidder exceeds your bid, you can return to the lot and bid again.

Your maximum bid is the most you’re willing to pay. The system can automatically bid for you in the required increments, only increasing your bid when necessary, up to the maximum amount you entered.

No. Every bid, including a maximum bid, is binding once submitted and can’t be changed, cancelled or withdrawn. Please review the lot description, photos, pickup requirements, and your bid amount carefully before bidding.

If another bidder takes the lead, the site may send an outbid notification to the email address on your account. You can also monitor active bids anytime from My Account.

If a bid is placed during the final 3 minutes of a lot, that lot’s closing time is extended. This gives other bidders a fair opportunity to respond and helps prevent last-second bid sniping. Additional late bids may continue extending the closing time.

A late bid may have triggered the soft-close extension. The lot will continue to show its updated ending time until bidding stops long enough for the soft-close period to expire.

Winning bidders will receive a notification after the lot closes. Your winning items will also appear in the appropriate section of My Account.

No. You can place a maximum or proxy bid and the system will bid on your behalf up to that amount. We still recommend checking the lot before it closes in case you’re outbid or the 3-minute soft close extends the bidding.

Payment is due within 48 hours after the auction closes. You’ll get a “You won!” email with a Review Invoice & Pay button, and your won lots also appear under My Account → My Auctions. Your invoice includes any buyer’s premium and sales tax. Payment must be completed before items are released at pickup.

We’ll send a reminder, but the 48-hour deadline still applies. If a lot isn’t paid by the deadline, we may offer it to the next-highest bidder or relist it, and the bidder’s account may be suspended or charged a fee. See our Auction Terms for details.

A buyer’s premium is a percentage added to the winning bid. It’s standard practice at most auction houses and helps cover the cost of running each sale: photographing and describing every lot, the online bidding platform, card processing, and staffing pickup days.

The premium is always shown on the auction and on each lot before you bid, so you can factor it into your maximum bid. For example, a $100 winning bid with a 15% buyer’s premium comes to $115, plus any applicable Michigan sales tax.

Applicable sales tax may be added depending on the auction, item, and transaction. Any applicable tax will be shown during checkout before payment is completed.

The auction will show the general pickup area, date, and time window before you bid. Winning bidders receive the exact pickup address and final pickup instructions after checkout/payment.

Please do not bid unless you can meet the stated pickup requirements or make suitable arrangements. Pickup windows are tied to the property and may be limited. Contact us as early as possible if an unexpected issue occurs.

In many cases, yes. The person picking up should have the paid order information and may be asked to verify the purchaser’s name or order details. Contact us beforehand if the situation is unusual or the item is high value.

Unless a lot specifically states otherwise, auctions should be considered local pickup only. If shipping is available for a particular item, that information will be included in the listing.

Estate and auction items are generally sold as-is, where-is. We do our best to provide useful photos and descriptions and to disclose known issues, but bidders should review each lot carefully before bidding.

Winning bidders are responsible for collecting purchases during the stated pickup window. Failure to pick up may result in forfeiture of the item and may affect future bidding privileges. Please review the Auction Terms for the complete policy.

Visit our Auction Contact page, email support@greatlakesestate.com, or call (269) 332-1864. For questions about a specific lot, include the auction name and lot number when possible.