Do you have a question for George Hazell & Co? Here, you will find the answers to most frequently asked questions divided into the following topics:

• Registration
• Sales Formats
• Costs/Fees
• Finding Equipment
• Buying and Bidding in an Online Auction

If the question is not here, please call us.

Registration

How do I register at George Hazell & Co Online as a buyer or seller?

Who is allowed to buy equipment?

How do I become an approved bidder?

How do I change my registration details?

Sales Types & Terms

Please explain the “My Account” page?

What are Reserve Prices & Opening Prices?

What types of sales formats are available and how do they differ?

Costs & Fees

Who pays for value added tax (VAT), excise and other related taxes?

Who pays for shipping/transportation?

What is Buyers Premium?

Finding Items

How do I find what I want to buy?

Buying and Bidding in an Online Auction

The 10 Minute Rule?
How do I place a bid on a product in an Online Auction? How does a maximum bid work?

Can I retract or change a bid in an Online Auction?

Am I committed in anyway by holding a bid below the reserve price?

Will I be notified if my bid is outbid?

What is an opening price, and how does it affect my bidding?

What is a reserve price, and how does it affect my bidding?

What is a minimum bid increment, and how does it affect my bidding?

What is a maximum bid, and how does it affect my bidding?

Why did my bid price increase by more than the minimum bid increment?

How can I track all my bids?

Registration

How do I register at George Hazell & Co Online as a buyer or seller?
Simply complete the registration form and accept our Terms and Conditions. Registering on the Site is free. 

Who is allowed to buy equipment?
Only registered users who have been approved as bidders are allowed to purchase equipment.

How do I become an approved bidder?

Once you have registered, contact our office, during normal business hours, through email, fax or telephone, where we may ask for proof of ID (scan or fax).  You will then be approved for bidding at any of our on-line sales.  (This is best done at least 24 hours before bidding).

How do I change my registration details?
From your "My Account" page, you can access your details to view and update, for example, your account details, password, notifications, etc.

Sales Types & Terms

Please explain the “My Account” page?

After logging on you will access your "My Account" page. From here you can configure your settings and make bids. Treat your "My Account" page as a kind of 'home page' from where you can control your online activities.

What are Reserve Prices & Opening Prices?

A "Reserve Price" is the minimum price at which a seller is willing to sell an item. If an offer is made at or above this price, the seller is obliged to sell. The seller can also set a price below the Reserve Price to open (Opening Price) or stimulate bidding, but is only obliged to sell if the Reserve Price is met. The Reserve Price is not generally disclosed to buyers, but buyers will be notified when the Reserve Price has been met.

Opening Price
This refers to the minimum bid required at the start of an auction.

Maximum Bid
The highest sum that the George Hazell & Co Online system is allowed to bid on behalf of a buyer when using the maximum bid feature.

What types of sales formats are available, and how do they differ?
George Hazell & Co Online provides a number of different sales formats.

• online auctions;
• sealed bids or tender sales;
• private treaty sales; and
• commission bids.

What follows is a short summary of how the different formats work.

Online Auctions
Online Auctions are auctions that take place entirely online. Online Auctions are conducted by George Hazell & Co Online. The Online Auctions are advertised in advance and interested buyers usually have the opportunity to inspect the equipment before the auction takes place. Once you have registered and have been approved as a bidder, you can participate in an Online Auction from your Personal Computer.

Sealed bids or tender sales
Some equipment is available by "sealed bid" or "tender". In this case, George Hazell & Co Online will post a description of the equipment and an invitation to submit "sealed bids" or "tenders". The posting will usually specify an end date by which all sealed bids or tenders have to be submitted. The seller may include certain specific conditions and is not obliged to accept the highest offer.

Private Treaty Sales
Offers the equipment with an asking price only. Interested buyers are invited to contact us with their offers.

Costs and Fees

Who pays for value added tax (VAT), customs and excise and other related taxes?
All VAT, customs and excise and other related taxes specific to the purchase, export or import of a product purchased on the George Hazell & Co Online are the responsibility of the buyer unless otherwise stated. Correspondingly, it is the responsibility of the buyer to pay applicable taxes and duties that may be imposed on a product.

Who pays for shipping/transportation?

All costs, including taxes, related to transportation remain the responsibility of the buyer unless otherwise stated. The buyer assumes responsibility for all shipping and rigging charges from the seller's premises to the product's destination.

What is Buyers Premium?

This is the auctioneer's commission. It is a percentage of the final selling price of items purchased and is added to the total sale value.

Finding Items

How do I find what I want to buy?

Searching for specific keywords and attributes - Use our search facility to find equipment, related specifications and/or text, which contain specific keywords. For example, a search on a particular manufacturer name will find all information in the database with this manufacturer's name.

Buying and Bidding in an Online Auction 

The 10 Minute Rule?

How do I place a bid in an Online Auction? How do Maximum bids work?
To bid in an Online Auction the buyer has to be registered with George Hazell & Co Online and have bidder status. On registering you receive a user name and password, which you can use to log in.  You can do this directly on the homepage by entering your user name and password or by selecting "Log In" in the navigation bar at the top.

Click the "Bid Now" button when you have found the desired product. The system will ask you to “Enter Your Bid”.  You can also make a bid higher than the minimum bid and the system then increases your bid automatically every time you are outbid, thus allowing you to participate actively in the auction without having to follow it constantly.

Can I retract or change a bid in an Online Auction?
Once bids are submitted you cannot remove or modify them, although you can place additional bids. If you make a mistake in your bid, please contact the Auctioneers immediately.

Am I committed in any way when I make a bid below the reserve price?
No. As long as your bid lies below the reserve price, you are not committed to buying a product. It may occur that a seller will occasionally want to sell a product at a price below the reserve price. In such cases, George Hazell & Co will contact you and ask you whether you want to buy the product for your present highest bid.

Will I be notified if my bid is outbid?
Your "My Account" shows you the current status of all your bids.  You will also receive an email.

What is an opening price, and how does it affect my bidding?
The opening price is the price at which interested buyers can start bidding. The system will reject any offer below this value. Opening prices for products without a reserve price tend to be higher than those with a reserve price.

What is a reserve price, and how does it affect my bidding?
George Hazell & Co Online has the right to specify a "reserve price" for a lot. When such a price has been defined, it means that only the buyer making the highest offer, which is above the "reserve price", will win the bid. If the offer is below the "reserve price", George Hazell & Co Online is not obliged to sell the item.

('Reserve Not Met'/'Reserve Met') — The seller is obliged to sell to the highest bid if this corresponds to the reserve price or is higher. Only in cases where the reserve price is not met may the seller accept lower offers. The auction commences at the opening price, 'Reserve Not Met', and bids can be made until the end of the auction. When a bid exceeds the hidden reserve price, the product is clearly marked with 'Reserve Met', the obligations change and bidding can continue.

What is a minimum bid increment and how does it affect my bidding?
The minimum bid increment is the minimum amount that has to be added to the current highest bid in order to place a new bid. This encourages buyers to bid larger increases in price, thereby decreasing the number of small, insignificant bids and the work required to administer them. Generally, this increase is larger for high value products.

What is a maximum bid and how does it affect my bidding?
A maximum bid is a bid placed on behalf of a buyer by the Auctioneer, up to the maximum amount. This feature allows buyers to outbid other bids without having to be online.

With a maximum bid, the buyer specifies the price for the highest bid. George Hazell & Co Online automatically places the next bid and increases it by the bid increment until the buyer either wins the bid or his maximum price is reached. This method and the maximum bid remains in effect until the end of the auction or until the buyer changes his maximum bid.  Any new bids made by other buyers automatically activate the maximum bid function for the buyer.

The maximum bid placed by a buyer is never disclosed to other buyers - and the system will always use the lowest bid necessary to win. 

Why did my bid price increase by more than the minimum bid increment?
This happens in the case of simultaneous bids and Bids below the reserve price. If two bids occur in close succession, the bid price is driven up by both bids and may appear to occur simultaneously.

How can I track all my bids?
A registered user with bidder status can access the bidding activity within the "My Account" area of the site to review all current bidding activity.

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