Bidder's Lounge

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At Northshore Art Auctions we operate on an auction/archive system. That is to say that most of the items listed on the auction are currently stored and displayed in art galleries. This results in long term closing dates due to the inconvenience of relisting the items frequently. As the auction grows and the number of participants increases, short term closing dates will become the norm.

In the meantime....

If you are watching an item that has a closing date of 10 days or more, we recommend that you check back at least once a week to see if the that item has been relisted and bid on.

Or...

If you wish to bid on an item that has a closing date of 10 days or more, merely jot down the item's category, name and item number then click here to go to the Closing Dates page. The item will then be relisted with a closing date of 7 to 10 days. You will receive an email notification of the relisting and you can then place your bid which will open the auction on that item.

Bidding

Easy as you please;

To bid on an item, simply go to the Category page of the auction and choose a category or artist you are interested in. Click on any of the items in that category.
You will see 6 sections;

Item Information This section shows you the particulars on the item.
Item Description A description of the item including specifics not mentioned in the Information section.
Item Count which shows how many times a particular item has been viewed.
Bid History which lets you follow the bidding history of the item including who bid and the bid amounts.
Buy Now If a seller is using the Buy Now function you will see the price and a link to the Buy Now form. [Info]
Place a Bid This section allows you to place a bid. You will see the highest bid and the minimum amount required for the next bid which is determined by the item's Bid Increment. [Info]

Winning

Everybody likes this part;

If you chose the Buy Now feature, the auction is over. You will receive an email to that effect telling you what to do next.
If you placed a bid, go back to the item page to see your bid. Check the Item Information section for the date and time the auction for that item closes. You can check your item(s) on the individual Category listing pages. There you will see the item, the date the item closes, the amount of time left untill the closing, the number of bids and the current high bid. If someone outbids you, you will receive an email telling you who bid and how much. You can then return to the item page and place another bid.
When the closing time is less then 12 hours, the time left will be highlighted in red on the individual category listing page and on the item page itself.
If you win the auction you will receive an email telling what to do next.
If the auction closes, but the seller's Reserve Price was not met and you were the highest bidder, you will receive an email advising you that you won the auction and explaining your options. [Info]

Comments

A few words about the artwork itself;

1. Artwork. We are dealing with a very specific 'product' in this auction ... artwork. And as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Our sellers try to provide you with the best representation possible of their items through Item pictures and enlargements.
As we're sure you know, digital cameras can't always provide the best possible reproduction of the subject being photographed. To help compensate for this, the sellers may use digitally edited pictures, detail pictures or scans of professional photographs to best convey the beauty of their offerings. And as referred to in the mission statement on our home page, you can rest assured in the quality of the artwork offered on this auction far exceeds what can be expressed here visually.

2. Shipping. Since we are working with delicate items of varying sizes shapes and features, shipping costs are hard to calculate. Our sellers do their best to represent these costs during the auction, but you may want to work with them after purchasing your painting to make sure that you will receive you new artwork in pristine condition. Since the sellers at this auction are 'members' of our auction family, unlike other 'mass merchant' auctions, we can guarantee that they will never try to misrepresent shipping costs to achieve extra profit.

3. Handling. As part of our goal to keep shipping and handling costs down and at the same time provide quality packaging of your artwork, we have made available to our sellers the services of Noel Grabow, a local and well respected framer who has been providing specialized framing to several galleries in our area for many years. He also specializes in creating shipping containers for artwork which can provide a better, more secure environment for your new painting and at the same time keep the costs well below those of other 'crating' services.

4. Insurance. Insurance is an option left up to the buyer's discretion. However, since we are dealing with fine art as opposed to basic 'Ebay' type products, we strongly recommend that you insure the shipment of the item(s) you purchase. Even though the best care is taken to make sure that your artwork is shipped in manner befitting it's value, although rare, accidents do occur and the sellers cannot be held responsible for uninsured or under-insured items that coiuld be damaged during shipping.

You can get an idea of insurance rates from the following companies listed below.

UPS http://wwwapps.ups.com/calTimeCost?loc=en_US

USPS http://www.usps.com/consumers/domestic.htm

FEDEX http://www.fedex.com/ratefinder/home?cc=US&language=en&link=1&lid=//Ship//Ground+Rates+Corp


Tips	A few basic tips to aid you in your buying experience. 1. You should always fully read the entire auction listing so that you understand what is being sold, the shipping costs associated with the item(s), etc. 2. You should always check the seller's feedback. 3. For the privacy of our buyers and sellers, no personal information or email addresses are given out until the completion of an auction. If you have any questions you would like to ask a seller regarding one of their items, please email us at auction@proteus-systems.com and we will forward your question(s) to the seller. Please include the following information in your email;
	The item name The item category The sellers name (the Offered By name on the item page) The item number Your question(s)
	4. You should as a general rule always leave feedback, so that other buyers may know what type of experience you had buying from the seller. 5. You should always stay in good contact with a seller after you have won the auction and never hesitate to ask questions. You should also contact the seller within 2 - 3 days to make payment and shipping arangements. 6. You should always keep all records of proof of purchase, receipts, or any other form involving the item you purchase.

Artists

A little bit about them;

The artists who post items on this auction vary in backgrounds and styles as do the representaive galleries. You will find works by established as well as up and coming artists. We are continually on the lookout for new artists and galleries in the hopes of providing you an ever expanding selection to choose from as well as a wide scope of styles and composition. At the same time, we strive to continue providing artwork of the highest quality.
You will find a link to Artists Webpages in the auction menu on every page that will allow you to familiarize yourself with the works of the artists who post items on this auction. Each one provides a brief biography of the artist as well as some representative samples of their works.
As an artist's popularity grows, we add a special link to their works on the Category page so you can come back often and follow the selections offered by your favorite artists.

Feedback

Why it's important;

As mentioned in the tips section above, we recommend that you leave feedback on each of the items you purchase so that future bidders can benefit from your experiences as well as share in your appreciation of the works that you purchase.
Since the artists, galleries and individual collectors who post items on our auction are members of the Northshore Auctions family and adhere to the professionalism we promote, our feedback section is not so much a 'rating system' as found on many of the larger auctions which serves to protect bidders from unscrupulous practices, but instead serves as a guide, a cheering section if you will, for the sellers which promotes a comfortable auction experience for prospective bidders.