PLEASE READ CAREFULLY AS NEW TERMS ARE EFFECTIVE FOR ALL SALES OCCURRING AFTER FEBRUARY 28, 2025.
No matter where you are, if you have a reliable internet connection, you can follow along and place bids during our auctions by visiting STAIR or any of our online third-party bidding platforms. To ensure timely approval, please register to bid on the platform of your choice by 12pm ET on the day prior to the auction. If you are requesting an increase in your bid limit, contact us at least 24 hours in advance of the auction.
Bid Live Online Directly with STAIR
When bidding directly with STAIR, a buyer’s premium of 31% applies to the hammer price of a lot up to $50,000. For any hammer price exceeding $50,000, the buyer’s premium is 25% on the portion that exceeds $50,000 (“STAIR BP”).
Bid directly with STAIR for the most favorable terms and the freedom to pay and collect as you choose! Our buyer’s premium is all inclusive so there are no surcharges for credit card payments and no additional bidding platform premiums when you bid directly with STAIR.
Bid Live with an Online Third-Party Bidding Platform
You may register and bid with one of our online third-party bidding platforms at LiveAuctioneers or BidSquare. When bidding with a bidding platform, the buyer’s premium is the STAIR BP plus any additional premium charged by the bidding platform through which you successfully bid on the lot.
PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT NOTE FOR LIVEAUCTIONEERS (“LA”) BIDDERS – Buyers who place their bids through LA are required to pay for their purchases through LA (via credit card or ACH – there is an additional charge for each payment method) and arrange for shipping or collection through LA. STAIR cannot take payments from LA buyers and LA buyers cannot arrange their own shipping.
Buyers who bid through LA will receive an invoice from LA after the sale. LA will automatically charge your default payment method on file 72 hours after your invoice is initially sent by LA (this auto-charge may occur on a weekend).
Buyers who bid through LA must arrange shipping or collection through LA during the checkout process; self-arranged shipping is not permitted. At checkout, LA buyers will be presented with two options: ‘Ship with Live Auctioneers’ should be selected if your items will be shipped to you via a registered shipper; ‘Local Pick-up Available’ should be selected for property to be collected by the purchaser, or any individual or company that is not a registered shipper that has been authorized to collect on the buyer’s behalf. For property to be collected by a registered shipper, the shipping address on your auction invoice must match the destination on your shipper’s bill of lading.
Please refer to LA’s Terms and Conditions when buying and/or bidding through LA. LA buyers and bidders should direct any inquiries regarding payments to payments@liveauctioneers.com and shipping to shipping@liveauctioneers.com.
We are always happy to greet clients who wish to bid in person at our gallery located at 549 Warren Street, Hudson, NY 12534. Please come to our previews and our auctions, you are always welcome at STAIR!
Buyers unable to bid live (in person, online or over the telephone) may still participate by leaving an Absentee Bid. We will confidentially execute bids on your behalf, up to the maximum amount you request. If it is not an incremental amount, it will be rounded down to the nearest increment (please see table below). We will continue bidding for you until your maximum bid is reached, or the bidding ends. If other bidders drop out before your maximum bid is reached, the lot will be yours at the next increment.
To register, you must first log in or create an account. Once you have logged in successfully, please go to the catalog to register for the auction. You may place your absentee bid(s) by going directly to the lot(s) you are interested in.
Bid Increments
Price Bid Increment
$0 $25
$200 $50
$500 $100
$3,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$30,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
If you are unable to attend the auction in person, you can still bid live on the telephone with a STAIR representative. A member of our client services team will call you from the auction room a few lots before the lot you are interested in. Once the bidding on your lot begins, they will talk you through what is happening in the saleroom. When they ask if you would like to bid a specific amount, please answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as quickly as possible – bidding moves at quite a pace!
Overseas bidders and clients bidding from a cell phone are asked to leave a backup bid, which will function as an absentee bid (see above) if we are unable to reach you or the connection is lost.
Requests to bid over the telephone must be made before the sale day. Our phones lines are limited and, as such, we can only accommodate telephone bidders willing to bid within the lot estimates. If your maximum bid is below that amount, please consider leaving an absentee bid or register to bid online.