Ok, you’ve followed my tips so far and have arrived to view your chosen auction with plenty of time and with the right equipment with you.  The purpose of viewing is to establish which lots you want to buy and how much you are prepared to pay for them. This is how I approach the viewing :

- Find lot one and work  up from there. This ensures that you dont miss out on anything and that you have all the lots you want to bid on in the right order when it comes to the actual sale.

1. - Assuming that there are hundreds of items in the auciton you are only going to be interested in buying a small %. I quickly glance at each lot in turn passing over ones which are not of interest to me.
2. - When I find a lot of interest I examine it in detail looking for : what is it? How old is it? Any damage or restoration? Any manufacture information? This enables me to work out if it would be of interest to my customers and if I am interested in buying that lot. If I have any outstanding questions about the item I write down notes so that I can do further research when I get home,
3. - I work out the maximum price I am willing to pay for the lot. Remember you will have commission to pay on top of the price you win any lot at. You will need to ask each auction house individually what the commission is. The maximum price you bid will need to take this commission into account.
4. - move onto the next lot and repeat the process until the entire auction has been viewed

There are a few points to remember:

• - The auction house staff are there to help you, if you cant find a lot or need to know more about it do ask. You may not always get the help you need but its worth a try
• - Find out how many lots per hour the auction sale proceeds at. This will  help you establish how long you will be at the auction and what time you need to turn up at the sale.
• - Auction lots can sometimes be quite large and there may only be one or two items in the lot which interest you. If you buy a very large lot the auction house will normally expect that you take it all away not just the items you want. Do ask the auction house staff they may be prepared to help with the disposal of unwanted part lots but normally not.