That's sort of why I mentioned how many moving pieces there are. It's not in their interest to hammer early, so more than likely something else happened. It may have seemed quick to you, but if one of the online folks got distracted, or the system was slow to update and the auctioneer isn't seeing any change he/she will hammer in a reasonable amount of time, but it may not look that way to the online bidder. I've seen enough similar things happen at auctions where I know nothing sneaky happened that I'm certain it's pretty common. Most of the online houses add language to that in their terms as well because it comes up pretty often.The Purist wrote: ↑11/09/21 11:08I just think it is a disservice to seller and bidders when the hammer comes down unexpectedly and too quickly. Other online auctions have count-down timers, or at least say “going once, going twice, sold.” I was prepared to go way over the hammer price on that rod, so the seller, and Lang’s lost out.
I think phone bidding is the most reliable method of remote bidding if it's offered. The auctioneer always checks with their phone rep(s) before hammering. I've only done that a couple of times, but it was for something I really wanted and didn't want to risk losing over an online issue.