Request a review
Share the lot and your budget.
Across the world’s salerooms
Bid with a clear plan.
An OACA member service for external auctions: review, agreed limits, a 50% deposit and a recorded outcome.
Agree the mandate
Confirm the estimate, fees and spending limits.
Fund the deposit
50% of the agreed estimate; staff verify receipt.
Track the outcome
Not won: full deposit refund. Won: apply to the bill.
Available to active members of every tier, subject to individual review. Fees and payment instructions are confirmed per request before you pay.
Deposit, fees and refund terms
The deposit is 50% of a single estimate agreed by you and OACA, rounded up to the nearest currency cent. It is not automatically half the auctioneer’s high estimate or your bid ceiling. Example: an agreed USD 2,000 estimate requires a USD 1,000 deposit.
If the lot is not won, the full recorded deposit becomes refundable without an OACA agency fee deduction. OACA arranges the transfer using the method and timeframe in your accepted quotation, and records the refund after verifying payment. A status change does not itself transfer funds.
If successful, the deposit is applied to your agreed bill; any excess is refundable. The quotation must specify the OACA success fee, buyer’s premium, taxes, shipping, insurance and other applicable costs. Your maximum hammer bid and total spending ceiling are separate limits. No currency conversion is assumed. Existing seller commission discounts do not apply to external auction-house charges.
Applications do not place bids. OACA must accept your request, verify the full deposit and complete the auctioneer’s bidder and agency authorization requirements before representing you. After acceptance of a binding external bid, cancellation may not be possible. A cancellation request pauses new agency approval but does not retract a bid already placed; staff must confirm that no outstanding obligation remains before releasing funds.