ADVERTISING :  Non-personal, paid communication directed toward the general public or, in some cases, specific prospective client groups. Usually used in the auction world to provide information about the time, place, contents, and arrangements of an auction.

AFFIDAVIT : A written or printed declaration or statement of facts made voluntarily and Confirmed by oath before an officer having authority to administer such oath.

AGENT :  A person who attends an auction and bids for someone else who is actually the purchaser.

ANTIQUES :  Products manufactured or handcrafted that are unchanged from their original state and date from a period at least 100 years prior to being offered for sale. They reflect aesthetic, artistic, or craftsman like qualities of the period of their creation. The value of such antiques is based on availability, intrinsic or market value, age, prominence of the creator, and physical condition. In practice, antiques often include any objects made before living memory or more recent objects of intrinsic value.

APPRAISAL :  An estimate, for a fee, of what real or personal property might bring if sold at auction or, if used for insurance purposes, what it would cost to replace. Can either be a verbal opinion or a written document, although only the latter is valid for legal purposes such as probate.

ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION :  Articles subscribed to by the members o f a corporation organized under a general law and which create the general union between stockholders or corporate members. Such articles commonly specify the form of organization, amount of capital, kind of business to be pursued, location of company, etc.

ARTIFACT :  Technically, the term should be used only for archaeological finds, such as Indian arrowheads, but often used to refer to any kind of antique.

AS IS :  The "caveat emptor"(let the buyer beware) phrase of the auction business. Most items sold at auction are sold "as is" in that the buyer is responsible for examining and judging the property for his/her own protection and the auctioneer does not offer warranties.

ASSESSMENT :  A charge made against property by a unit of government to cover the proportionate cost of an improvement, such as a street, sewer, or curbing or water drainage ditch.

ASSIGNEE :  A person to whom an assignment is made - also called grantee.

ASSIGNMENT :  A transfer or making over to another, any property or right of real or personal property.

ATTACHMENT :  The act or process of taking, apprehending, or seizing persons or property, by virtue of a writ, summons, or other judicial order, and bringing the same into custody of the law to accomplish the purpose of such attachment, such as to compel an appearance, or furnish security for debts.

AUCTION :  The method of sale of personal or real property to the highest bidder.

AUCTION BLOCK :  The podium or raised platform where the auctioneer stands while conducting the auction.

AUCTIONEER :  The agent of the seller who, for a fee, conducts the auction, recognizing the bidders and acknowledging the highest bidder who becomes the buyer. In many states and communities, auctioneers must be licensed and bonded.

AUCTIONEER SUBCONTRACTOR :  An auctioneer hired by the principal auctioneer to sell specific or special property that requires a level of expertise beyond his/her own.

AUCTION WITH RESERVE :  An auction in which the seller or his agent reserves the right to accept or decline any and all bids. A minimum acceptable price may or may not be disclosed and the seller reserves the right to accept or decline any bid within a specified time.

AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE (ABSOLUTE AUCTION):  An auction where the property is sold to the highest qualified bidder with no limiting conditions or amount. The seller may not bid personally or through an agent. Also known as an auction without reserve.

BANK LETTER OF CREDIT :  A letter from a banker certifying that a person named is worthy of a given level of credit. Often requested from prospective bidders or buyers who are not paying with currency at auctions where they are unknown by the auctioneer or those managing the sale.

BID :  A prospective buyer's indication or offer of a price he/she will pay to purchase property at auction. Bids are usually in standardized increments established by the auctioneer, such as $5, $10, 515.

BID CALLER :  The person who actually "calls," "cries or "auctions" the property at an auction, recognizing bidders and acknowledging the highest bidder. Commonly known as the auctioneer.

BIDDING LIMIT :  The top price the bidder sets in his/her own mind that he/she will be willing to pay for a given property.

BIDDING NUMBER :  The numbers sued to each person who registers at an auction. When that bidder buys an item, the auctioneer's staff notes the bidding number, the item purchased, and the price.

BIDDER’S CHOICE :  A method of sale whereby the successful high bidder wins the right to choose a property or properties from a grouping of similar or like-kind properties. After the high bidder's selection, the property is deleted from the group, and the second round of bidding commences, with the high bidder in round two choosing a property, which is then deleted from the group and so on, until all properties are sold.

BIDDER PACKAGE :  The package of information and instructions pertaining to the property to be sold at an auction event obtained by prospective bidders at an auction. Sometimes called a bidder packet or due diligence package.

BIDDING PADDLE :  A paddle-shaped device with a number printed on it that is the same number assigned to the potential bidder when he/she registered for the auction. The participant bids by raising his/her paddle.

BID RIGGING :  The unlawful practice whereby two or more people agree not to bid against one another so as to deflate value.

BILL : A formal declaration.  Complaint or statement of particular things in writing.

BINDER :  An agreement to cover a down payment for the purchase of property as evidence of the good faith of the purchaser.

BLACK LIGHT :  A type of fluorescent light used to detect repairs, if any, or additions to paintings, glass, or ceramics.

BOND :  A certificate or evidence of a debt.

BOOKKEEPER OR CLERK :  The person who is responsible for the accounting and paperwork at an auction sale.

BOUGHT-IN :  See "reserve".

BOX LOT :  Usually the leftovers that hold little value and are collected in a box to be sold together.

BREACH OF CONTRACT :  The failure without legal excuse to perform any promise which forms the whole or pal-t of a contract.

BRUCELLOSIS :  Commonly known as "Bangs".  A disease that is infectious to animals and man.  Also known as "undulant fever".  Usually first infecting animals which in turn transmit the disease to man.

BUYER'S PREMIUM :  A percentage (usually 10%, but varying) added to the purchase price ("hammer price").  Paid by the buyer for services of the auctioneer.

BUY-BACK :  An item that is withdrawn from the sale because it does not attract the reserve price established by the seller. See "reserve".

CASHIER :  The employee of the principal auctioneer or auction firm who, working from the auction clerk's records, collects all the proceeds from an auction, disperses the receipts, and submits a complete report of the auction to the seller.

CATALOG :  A printed listing of items being offered to prospective bidders at an auction.  The more elaborate the sale, usually, the more elaborate the catalog.  If an auction company makes a catalog available to you, be sure to get one.  It can help you to know the description of the items sold and also how it will be sold.  There may be a quantity of the commodity in each lot being sold and they may be for all one bid or so much apiece.  Auction staff will be happy to explain these differences to you and your catalog will help you follow along. This way you won't miss an item that is important to you.

CATALOG SALE :  A sale for which a printed or mimeographed list of items to be sold is prepared in advance.  At the sale, bids are taken on the numbered lots in the order in which they appear in the catalog.

CATTLE :  Animas used by man for labor or food.

CATTLE GUARD :  A device to prevent cattle from straying across property lines or onto railroad tracks, etc.

CERTIFICATE :  A written assurance or official representation that some act has or has not been done, or some event has occurred or some legal formality has been complied with.

CHARGE :  The right, in France, to conduct auctions; a license that is sold by the state of auctioneers.

CHATTEL :  An article of personal property - not amounting to a freehold or fee in land.

CHATTEL MORTGAGE :  A mortgage on chattels.

CHOICE :  The privilege extended to the successful bidder to select, for the price he/she bid, one or more of the identical or similar items from the group of' such items that has been presented at auction.

CLERK :  The person employed by the principal auctioneer or auction firm to record what is sold, to whom, and the amount of the highest bid.

COMMISSION :  The fee charged to the seller by the auctioneer for providing his/her services; usually a percentage of the gross selling price of the property and established by the contract (the listing agreement) to the auction.

COMMISSIONER :  A person to whom a commission is directed by the government of a court.

CONDITIONS OF SALE :  The legal terms that govern the conduct of the sale, including acceptable methods of payment, terms, buyer's premiums, delivery, storage, reserves, etc.  Usually included in published advertisements or announced by the auctioneer prior to the start of the auction.

CONSIGNEE :  In mercantile law, one to whom a consignment is made.  The person to whom goods are shipped for sale.

CONSIGNMENT :  Property turned over to an auctioneer by its owner or those representing the owner to be sold on a commission basis and usually under specific conditions.  Such property is often combined with property from other consignors at an auction house or gallery where it is sold. Consignment agreements are usually written.

CONSIGNOR :  The owner or representative of the owner who places property with an auctioneer for sale on a consignment basis.

CONTINGENCY :  Quality of being contingent or casual; the possibility of coming to pass; and event which may occur.

CONTRACT :  A written agreement upon sufficient consideration to do or not to do a particular thing.

CONVEY :  To pass or transmit the title to property from one to another,

CORPORATE :  Belonging to a corporation.  As a corporate name or body.

CORPORATION :  An artificial person or legal entity created by or under the authority of the laws of a state or nation. A franchise possessed by one or more individuals who subsist as a body politic, under special denomination, and are vested by the policy of the law with the capacity of perpetual succession, and the acting in several respects, however numerous the association may be - as a single individual.

COUNTERFEIT :  Property that is not what it appears or is represented to be; often a forgery or copy. Some owners and auctioneers, not knowing of the deception themselves, will make refunds when the counterfeit is proven - the one notable exception to the "as is" practice in the auction business.

COVENANT :  An agreement. convention, or promise of two or more parties, by deed in writing, signed, sealed, and delivered, by which either of the parties pledges himself/herself to the other that something if either done or shall be done, or stipulates to the truth of certain facts.

CREDITOR :  A person to whom debt is owed by another person who is the debtor.

CURTESY :  The right which a husband has in his wife's estate upon her death.

DCS :  DR. of common sense.

DEBT :  A sum of money due by certain and express agreement.

DEFAULT :  The failure to meet an obligation when due.  Non performance of duty.

DEFICIENCY JUDGMENT :  A lack, shortage, or insufficiency.  The difference between the indebtedness and the sale price or market value after a foreclosure sale.

DEPOSIT :  'The sum of money paid by the bidder for the privilege of bidding or as a percentage of the purchase price, especially on large-dollar property.  Used to discourage casual or unqualified bidders.  Unused deposits are returned at the end of the auction.

DESK :  The term applied to auction employees as a group, especially clerks, who enter absentee and telephone bids.

DOWER :  The provision which the law makes for a widow out of the lands or tenements of her husband after his death.

EARNEST :  The payment of a part of the price of goods or property sold, or the delivery of part of such items for the purpose of binding the contract.

EARNEST MONEY :  Down payment y purchaser as evidence of good faith to close the transaction or complete the agreement.

ESCHEAT :  Signifies a reversion of property to the state in consequence of a want of any individual competent to inherit.

ESCROW :  A writing, or deed delivered by the grantor, promisor , or obligor into the hands of a third person, to behold by the latter until the happening of a contingency, or performance of a condition and by hill1 delivered to the grantee, promisee , or oblige.

ESTATE :  The interest which one has in lands, or in any subject of property. This interest can vary from absolute ownership down to naked possession.

ESTATE SALE :  The sale of property left by a person at his/her death. May be sold "on site," at an auction house or gallery, or at a location that allows proper display and bidder crowds.

ETHICAL :  Professionally right or befitting: conforming to professional standards of conduct.

ESTIMATE :  An opinion - not an appraisal - of what price a property will bring at auction, based on past sales of similar properties at recent auctions.

ETHICAL :  Professionally right or befitting; conforming to professional standards of conduct.

ET AL :  And others.

EVICT :  To dispossess or tun1 out of the possession of lands by process of law

EXECUTION :  Includes performance of all acts necessary to render instrument complete and of every act required to give instrument validly or to carry it into effect.

EXECUTOR :  A person named or appointed by a Testator to call-y out the directions and requests in his will, and to dispose of the property according to the provisions of this will after his decease. Executor differs from Estate Administrator in that Executor is named in a will and as Administrator is appointed by the Court, usually in the absence of a named Executor.

EXHIBITION :  The showing of property prior to its presentation at auction: arranged by the auctioneer and/or owner to allow prospective bidders to inspect and evaluate the property.

FAIR MARKET VALUE : Price at which a willing seller and a willing buyer will trade.

FAST KNOCK :  A technique used to stimulate excitement and/or reward cooperative bidders.

The auctioneer asks for a low opening bid and suddenly "knocks it down" to the first bidder. 

Also, the "deaf ear."

FEE SIMPLE :  A fee simple is an estate limited absolutely to a man and his heirs and assigns forever without limitation or condition.

FINDER'S FEE :  An amount paid to a person who provides an auctioneer with information regarding consignable property or possible listings.

FLOOR :  The area where the auction is conducted.   Also used to indicate the reserve or bottom price that the seller will accept.

FORFEITURE :  A deprivation or destruction of a right in consequence of the non-performance of obligation or condition.

FREE ENTERPRISE :  The right to conduct a legitimate business for profit.

FREEHOLD :  An estate for life or in fee. A11 estate to be a freehold must possess these two qualities:

1) immobility, that is, the property must be either land or some interest issuing out of or annexed to land; and

2) indeterminate duration, for if the utmost period of time to which an estate can endure be fixed and determined it cannot be a free hold.

FUNCTIONAL DEPRECIATION :  Results from necessary replacement of equipment before it is worn out, by reason of invention and improved appliances which render for efficient or satisfactory service.

GALLERY :  The permanent place of business where the agent, or auctioneer, displays and sells property that is usually on consignment. Although previously used only to describe display areas for works of art, now often used interchangeable with "auction house."

GENERAL SALE :  An auction that includes various types of property - household, antiques, farm equipment, autos, etc.

GOODS :  Shall mean any goods, wares, chattels, merchandise or personal property, including domestic animals and farm products.   A general term to distinguish from real property.

GRANTEE :  One to whom a grant is made - the buyer.

GRANTOR :  The person by whom a grant is made - the seller.

GUARDIAN :  A guardian is a person lawfully invested with the duty of taking care of the person and managing the property and rights of another person, who for some peculiarity of status, or defect of age, understanding or self control, is considered incapable of administering his own affairs.   Can be appointed by the Court.

HAMMER PRICE :  The price established by the last bidder and acknowledged by the auctioneer before he drops his hammer.   The purchase price.

HEIR :  A person who succeeds by the rules of law, to an estate in lands, tenements, or hereditaments , upon the death of his ancestor, by descent and right of relationship.

HEREDITAMENTS :  Things capable of being inherited -be it corporeal of incorporeal, real, personal, or mixed.

HOLDING COMPANY :  A super corporation which owns or at least controls such a dominant interest in one or more other corporation that it is enabled to dictate their policies through voting power. A corporation organized to hold the stock of other corporations; any company whether incorporated or unincorporated which is in a position to control or materially influence the management of one or more other companies by virtue, in part at least, of its ownership or securities in the other company or companies.

HOUSEHOLD GOODS :  Those pieces of property that usually have been used in a private home and that are without particular significance for collectors.

ILLEGAL :  Not authorized by law

INCOMPETENT :  Lack of ability, legal qualifications, or fitness to discharge the required duty.

INCORPORATE :  To create a corporation.