Pickles Auctions Questions & Answers

Hi ALex,

Not sure what constitutes a 'fake auction' but we operate 'real' and 'genuine' auctions every day (save Sundays).

FYI...Reserve prices at auction are commonplace. I suggest perhaps you simply Google search "Auction Reserve" to find out more.

Most sales contracts are by definition 'non-flexible' and binding. Auction contracts tend to have no cooling-off period or allow for 'buyers remorse'.

Not sure if you have raised your complaint with us, but if you like, I'd be happy to investigate your issue to save you time, effort and cost in legal proceedings at this time. Please email any relevant details to [email protected] and I will look into your situation.

Regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Got M.

Apologies for the late reply, as you can imagine things are little topsy-turvey at the moment.

I do hope you manage to register for one of our Auctions, whether Pickles Online or PicklesLive. You can find details about how to register at the below.

https://www.pickles.com.au/How-To-Buy

Regards,
Pickles Cx

Hello Clive,

Thanks for the question, the answer to which is a definitive NO!

All cheques should be made out to either 'Pickles' or Pickles Auctions'.
Under no circumstances should our staff be requesting cheques be made out to 'Cash' (for obvious reasons).

I would like to investigate this further and would respectfully ask if you could advise which branch this was at and the name of the staff member who requested this or their dept/position/title (if known)?

You can advise by responding here, or email me at [email protected]

Thanks in advance, Pickles Cx

They are.

In this case (and not uncommon to many others) there was no response to my request for further information.

Pickles Cx

Hi Carolyn,

Thanks for the question. However, I can't quite determine what it is you are asking, and perhaps you could expand on this to a better understanding so that I can answer your question more effectively. You can either respond on this forum or perhaps just email me directly at [email protected] and I'll see how I can help.

Regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Dofffed,

Thanks for your interpretation.

My response was to simply highlight the possibilities of what he/she has likely experienced, as what you are suggesting (false bidding) is certainly a practice that we at Pickles do not engage in, not only because it's unethical and completely illegal, it simply does not make good business sense.

Practically speaking, It just doesn't make sense to false bid as there is no advantage for anyone simply because there is every likelihood that the (false) bid may win the asset. That means, No Sale (buyers don't get the asset they want, the vendor does not realise the value of their asset, auctioneer gets no commission for the sale, the auctioneer has to absorb the costs or re-lotting and remarketing the asset) all in all, not a sensible outcome for anyone.

There are many reasons why a bidder may not have noticed another bid being placed (more than I can easily list here) but suffice to say it is always a legitimate bid that is being recognised by our auctioneers and one that may not always be obvious to all in the room.

I again refer to Absentee bids, Vendor bids, online bids, dealer onsite bids, etc... We also have regular buyers who make a point of not making their bids obvious as they prefer competitors not knowing what assets they are interested in. Always our auctioneers are acting with honesty and integrity, these are pillars of our company Values.

I hope that provides a little more understanding and once again, thanks for your perception of things.
Regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Danny,

There is no cooling-off period or Buyers remorse for assets sold at auction. Assuming you have participated at a Pickles Live or Online auction then you will have entered into an agreement by which you are obligated to proceed with the purchase (you would have had to agree to the Terms and Conditions of participation). By not proceeding with the purchase you are in breach of the Terms and Conditions of participation for which you would have agreed to abide by.

If you have participated and have won an asset at auction, then you have prevented other genuine buyers from purchasing that asset. Failure to proceed with the purchase will result in the forfeit of any and all deposits paid or you will be liable for any loss of revenue or costs incurred for re-lotting and re-marketing the asset plus any compensation to the Vendor for the loss of sale.

Furthermore, at the discretion of the branch responsible for the auction, you may find that your details will be recorded in a 'Banned Buyer' listing, which means you would be banned from participating any future Pickles auctions indefinitely.

In all cases, you should immediately contact the selling branch to advise of your decision to not proceed with the purchase.

I hope that answers your question.

Regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Ian,

Thanks for the (very good) question. The simple answer would be no.

Please understand that my response is based only on Pickles auctioning processes and does not reflect the practices of other auction companies.

In essence, once bidding is complete (referred to as the hammer fall, and not to be confused with a published end time) only the highest bid (buyer) at that time can be accepted (regardless of whether the asset is "Won', 'Referred' or 'Passed In').

Pickles considers it unethical to accept any other bid after the 'hammer fall' (meaning, "when all bidding has ceased") and would not accept any further bids after this time.

The only exception to this rule is a situation where an underbidder claims the auctioneer has inadvertently missed their (higher) bid. In this case, a dispute would be raised and the Auctioneer can decide to reopen the auction to allow the bidding to continue, however, this is a very rare occurrence.

In essence, your best and only opportunity to outbid another buyer, is during the bidding round for that asset, not after the 'hammer fall'.

Hope that helps.

Regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Helen,

I'd like to look into this for you. Can you please provide me with a copy of your invoice and any additional details so I can follow this up with the branch.

You can email me at [email protected]

Regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Helen,

That's wonderful news, glad to hear it's been sorted.
We certainly hope to be able to provide you with a smoother, trouble-free experience next time.

All the best, Pickles Cx

Hi Dnk,

Please provide as much detail about the asset and transaction as possible, a copy of your invoice will suffice.
You can email me at [email protected] and I will look into this for you.

Regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Dnk,

Thanks for providing the information I needed.

As per our email conversation, the vendor did not make us aware that there was an encumbrance on the asset at time of listing for Auction (which is their obligation), subsequently, they have rectified this. Therefore I can advise that there is clear title on this asset.

We do apologise for any inconvenience this has caused and can advise that we reinforced with this Vendor their obligations under the terms and conditions of sale.

Kind regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Melbrev,

Apologies for the late reply.

In response to your question: There are no applicable storage fees for assets (cars) that are being auctioned.

Storage fees are only applicable once an asset (car) is sold (purchased) and has not been collected within the required time-frame.

If you bid and win an asset at auction then you will pay a deposit on the spot. The balance of payment is then due within 24 hours.
Once the balance of payment is received you will then have 2 days (48 hours) to arrange for collection of the asset.

If the asset is not collected within that 24 hour period then a daily storage fee becomes applicable.
That fee is charged at $66.00 per day.

I hope that answer was helpful. If you'd like to know more then you can visit the FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) section of our website, located at

Kind regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Rorted,

I have spoken with our IT Support Team and they are more than happy to assist by providing you with information to help you with these issues.

You can contact them directly on 1800 005 366
The operate Mon-Fri between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

All the best,
Pickles Cx

Hi Anthony,

Please contact the branch immediately, it will be at their discretion how to proceed. Belmore number is (02) 9704 6669.

FYI...by participating in the auction (bidding), whether by accident or not, you have entered an agreement to purchase under the terms & condition of participation. Therefore if you cancel the sale you may be subject to a forfeit of any deposit made.

By bidding and winning the asset you have prevented other potential purchasers from winning that asset. The asset would now need to be re-lotted for another auction, incurring additional admin and processing costs and time delays for the Vendor.

Regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Anthony,

Can you please email me at [email protected] with your contact details and any relevant information about the sale, (including details of who you have spoken to at the branch) and I will follow up for you.

regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Joe,

It's difficult to put a price on it as there are so many variables, age, mileage, condition, nature of water damage etc... it also depends heavily on the buyers in the room and online on the day.

Best advise I can offer is to contact your nearest Pickles Salvage Yard and have them provide you with an estimate of what it could potentially reach at auction.

Sorry I couldn't provide you with a definitive answer.

Regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Moj,

If you are participating in an auction you have (by default) agreed to the Pickles Terms and Conditions of participation.

Part of these terms and conditions state that if you are successful in winning a lot at the auction you are committed to purchasing that asset. To not proceed with the purchase is a breach of these T&C's and you would forfeit any deposit paid.

By bidding and winning the asset you have prevented other buyers from successfully securing that asset. By not proceeding with the sale the asset then needs to be re-lotted for another auction which equates to time delays for the vendor (asset owner) and additional costs incurred to reprocess the asset for auction.

I hope that explanation helps.

Regards, Pickles Cx

Hi again Moj,

Apologies for the late reply to your last post.

Yes, please contact the branch, they will advise what the procedure would be and advise if any costs would apply and what they would be.

Regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Jeff,

Not sure about the specific asset you are referring to, but it may be simply that it appeared in multiple auctions but did not necessarily sell. What can sometimes happen is an asset may not reach the Vendors reserve price (if one is applicable). The Vendor may then decide to re-lot the asset at another (or multiple) auctions.

Don't know why it may have appeared at an Auction in another branch (State) however. Would need to know what the asset lot number to check the sale history. Again it could simply be that the asset did sell at one auction, the buyer shipped it interstate and then resold the asset, unusual but can happen.

Hope that helps. Pickles Cx

Hi again John,

Ok, so it sounds like exactly what I mentioned above.

Please note, unless specified 'Unreserved' all assets will have a reserve price set.

When bidding online the message you get if unsuccessful is 'This asset was sold to a higher bidder'. In reality, this simply means you were outbid and at the close of the lot, someone else had the highest bid.

This does not mean the asset was in fact won by that bidder.

If the asset reached or exceeded the reserve then the highest bidder would have won the asset. If not then the highest bid would have been referred to the Vendor (asset owner). The Vendor then decides to a) accept the highest bid, b) decline the highest bid or c) negotiate a mutually acceptable price with the highest bidder. In options b) and c) the asset may well be lotted again (hence appearing in auction multiple times).

On occassion, some bidders renege on their commitment to purchase, and although this is not common, it does happen and this means the asset needs to be re-lotted.

I guess it's fair to say that there is absolutely no reason, or benefit to us re-lotting the same asset again and again. Our business is based on connecting sellers and buyers through the successful sale of an asset. It makes no business sense or advantage to keep re-lotting the same asset.

Hope that helps.

Regards, Pickles CX

Hi Paul,

Thanks for posting your question, and apologies for the late reply.

Please send me as much detail as you can to the below email address. Please provide: asset purchased, branch, invoice if you have it, and any other rlevenat information.

Also, please advise what action you have taken to date, i.e. did you immediately contact the branch, if so, who did you speak to and what was the response?

Send the information to [email protected] and I will follow this up for you.

Regards, Pickles Cx

Hi Adnaan,

Apologies for the late reply.

Can you provide me with a little more detail so I can try to follow this up for you.
I would need your full name and the car rego. You can email this info to me at [email protected]

Regards, Pickles Cx