How do you determine the minimum bid starting price?

Autographstore.com believes what makes a good auction is quality material and reasonable starting bids. The vast majority of the minimum bids in our auctions are extremely low. Most represent somewhere between 10% and 50% of a fair value. Many might be best described as nominal. The purpose of the minimums in all Autographstore.com's auctions is simply: 1) To limit inquiries to those bidders who are sincerely interested in a given item; and 2) To ensure that (virtually) all lots will be sold. We NEVER use a reserve in any of our auctions.

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When should I place my bids and what is the 5 minute rule?

We strongly urge bidders to place initial bids early. Bids are welcomed and encouraged before the closing date of the auction. Most bidders choose to place their initial bids days before the closing dates. If a bid is placed during the last 5 minutes of an auction, the auction will be automatically extended for an additional 5 minutes from the time of the latest bid. The auction will close once all bidding activity has stopped for a period of 5 minutes.

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How am I notified that I placed a bid or was outbid on an item?

You will receive bid confirmations and outbid notifications via e-mail on every item for which you are bidding, except when you are immediately outbid upon placing your bid due to an existing higher ceiling bid. In this case you will be notified on your computer screen. It has been our experience that many internet service providers (AOL in particular) and email programs will randomly identify these e-mails as spam and will delete them or delay delivery. As this is out of our control, we are unable to rectify this issue. As a result, we strongly recommend users track their bids as we cannot guarantee timely delivery of the notification e-mails through many ISPs.

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What is a straight bid?

Bidders may place a "Straight" or "Absolute" bid on a lot. A "Straight" bid is defined as a bid placed at a level higher than the current next incremental bid. All straight bids must be placed in appropriate increments for the specific lots to which they apply. In the event of tie bids, the earlier received bid will take precedence. This is especially significant with reference to "Straight" bids because if a "Straight" bid is placed at a higher than normal incremental increase on an item on which another bidder has left an "Up To" bid, such "Up To" bid will have priority. For example, if a lot is bid at $100 by Bidder A with an "Up To" of $121, and Bidder B attempts to top the current high bid of $100 with a "Straight" bid of $121, then Bidder A’s "Up To" will automatically be executed and Bidder A will be the high bid at $121. Bidder B will be informed that he is not the high bid at $121, and that the next bidding increment is $133. In this way, the bidding process can accommodate bidders wishing to place "Straight" bids while not compromising the bidding strategies of "Up To" bidders.

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What is a max bid?

"Max Bids" (sometimes called UP TO, CEILING or LIMIT BIDS) are an option. When placing such a bid you are instructing Autographstore.com to competitively bid on your behalf up to, but not over, a given limit. Such bids must be calculated in the appropriate 10% increments for items bid up to $1,000 to ensure that other bidders are not being outbid by less than the appropriate bidding increment. The website automatically calculates these increments for you. Please note that the "Up To" bid increments that will appear for an item will skip an increment to prevent a bidder from occupying two consecutive bids. For example, if a bid is placed of $100, the first available "Up To" bid will be $121, skipping $110, as an increment must be left available for another bidder to enter his bid. The bidding system will automatically execute "Up To" bids within seconds after a bid with an "Up To" has been topped. Remember, all bids must comply with the minimum bid raise rule.

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What are the rules I must follow when bidding?

Autograph Store Auctions has the right to establish general practices and limits concerning users' bidding privileges and procedures. A user who has entered the highest accepted bid at the end of an auction is obligated to complete the transaction. Once entered, bids are NOT retractable. This Auction Site and it's host are not responsible for bids not being processed or not being accepted due to technical difficulties. Moreover, bid manipulation of any kind is expressly forbidden. A seller is prohibited from placing bids or arranging to have bids placed on behalf of seller, seller's agent or assigns. No shill bidding is allowed. Buyers are prohibited from communicating with each other with the purpose of manipulating the final purchase price of an item. Please note that it is a violation of law to make bids in a false name or with an invalid payment method, even if our software initially accepts such a bid. Be aware that even if you do not give us your real name, your web browser transmits a unique Internet address to us, which can be used by law enforcement officials to identify you. Do not test our auctions with false bids. This puts you at substantial personal legal risk. Fraudulent bidders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

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How do I pay for the items I won in the auction?

Payment methods...

Pay Pal is our preferred method of payment please send payment to payments@autographstore.com

We accept personal checks. Checks are held until funds are collected which takes 7-10 business days; it may take up to an additional 7-10 business days after funds have been collected before shipment will occur. We also accept cashier’s checks, certified checks, money orders. These forms of payment are registered immediately and shipment of items occurs up to 2-5 days after posting. We thank you in advance for your cooperation. Please mail payments to Autograph Store, 370 West Pleasantview Ave. #256, Hackensack, NJ 07601.

Payment of invoices

Invoices will be emailed to winning bidders following the auction. Please do not call or email our office regarding invoices prior to the day after the auction closes. Please remember that all invoices must be paid within two weeks of the invoice date. This term of sale is very important as prompt payment of auction invoices is essential to an orderly reconciliation of the auction. Any bidder who has not paid in full without having made prior arrangements for late payment will have future bidding privileges revoked.

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