Frequently asked
questions

A live online auction is an exhilarating, real-time buying experience that combines the excitement of a physical auction room with the convenience of online bidding. At Artbid, we take it up a notch by live-streaming a professional auctioneer, delivering an authentic, dynamic atmosphere right to your screen.

During a live online auction, artworks are presented in a predetermined sequence, and each lot has a specific amount of time allocated for bidding. As the auctioneer announces each lot, you can participate by placing real-time bids against other collectors and art enthusiasts, all from the comfort of your own space.

Your bids are registered instantly, and the live-streamed auctioneer navigates the rising offers, hammering down the final bid when time runs out for that particular piece. This format not only adds a layer of excitement and competition to your art buying, but it also mimics the immediacy and urgency of a physical auction room, without requiring you to step outside your door.

All artworks sold by Artbid will be delivered “ready to hang.” In most cases, this refers to the artwork’s canvas being stretched over a timber frame, AKA stretched canvas. The artwork will also include hanging fixtures (hooks and wires) so it’s ready for your wall upon delivery. In some instances the artwork will be framed. Please check the individual lot information for more detail about the artwork.

As Artbid is online only, buyers cannot view the artwork in person. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you need to feel confident about bidding, including requests for more photos of the artwork.

All original artworks come directly from Australian artists to be sold exclusively on Artbid.

Every artwork is verified as authentic by Artbid and comes with a certificate of authenticity upon delivery.

When an artwork is resold during an artist’s lifetime and for 70 years after the artist’s death, a 5% royalty fee is paid to artists who are Australian citizens or permanent residents, or their heirs.

We don’t currently offer a framing service, but all artworks sold on Artbid are suitable for framing at a local framer.

If you’re an artist looking to feature on Artbid, we’d love to hear from you! Please check out our artist page and get in touch with us.

Unfortunately Artbid is not looking to partner with collectors or consignors at this stage.

Not only is bidding on art at auction thrilling, it also provides the opportunity to purchase high-quality work at an affordable price. The buying process is often more straightforward and transparent than more traditional ways of purchasing art, and there is more variety of work. Not to mention the convenience of being able to buy art from the comfort of wherever you’re logging in from—be it home, work, or on-the-go.

First, sign up for a Artbid account by clicking ‘Register to bid’. Once you have a registered account, you can then register for the auction you would like to bid on. Either place your absentee bids online prior to the live online auction commencing or watch and bid in real-time via our live video stream. An Artbid online auction functions the same as an in-room auction, but instead of raising your arm to bid you simply raise your finger and tap.

A standard practice across all auction houses, a buyer’s premium is a commission fee added to the sale price of an item. This is commonly 20-25%, but at Artbid, there is only a 12% buyer’s premium added to the final price of the artwork (inclusive of GST), payable by the winning bidder.

Yes, each artwork will have a reserve price that must be met or exceeded by a bidder in order for it to be sold. Artbid works with artists to set a fair reserve price which remains confidential. The reserve will always be less than, or equal to the amount listed in the price guide.

Price guides are simply estimates of what an artwork might sell for at auction. Reserve prices, previous sales, and current market conditions are all taken into consideration when creating guides. We always aim to set accurate price guides/estimates, but at the end of the day, they are just estimates. At auction, anything can happen!

Once you have registered with Artbid, you simply need to login in to your account and ensure your internet browser (we recommend Chrome) and operating system are up to date.

No, we are online only.

All major credit cards, bank transfer and Art Money Buyer’s Premium. Credit Card payments incur a fee, estimated at 2.2%. Bank Transfers do not incur a fee from Artbid, but you will need to check with your bank about their fees. Find out more about Art Money Buyer’s Premium here.

We’re proud to work with Art Money to empower your art buying. Use Art Money Buyer’s Premium and pay over time, for a flat monthly fee. Find out more.

A standard practice across all auction houses, a buyer’s premium is a commission fee added to the sale price of an item. This is commonly 20-25%, but at Artbid, there is only a 12% buyer’s premium added to the final price of the artwork (inclusive of GST), payable by the winning bidder.

Art Money Buyer’s Premium is the name of a payment option provided by Art Money which allows you to pay for art over time for a flat monthly fee.

The Artbid bidding process is easy and user friendly. Simply register for an account or login in to your existing account. Register for the auction you’d like to participate in and leave an absentee bid and/or tune in to the live auction stream before the item you wish to bid on comes up for auction. When it does, click on the bid amount nominated by the system to place your bid. All bids are in Australian Dollars, inclusive of GST.

Though we aim to schedule our online auctions at the most convenient times, we understand that not everyone will be able to tune in live. If you can’t make it in real time, we encourage you to leave an absentee bid.

Prior to a live auction commencing, you can submit your maximum bid on a desired artwork and the system will bid against other bidders in increments until you either outbid your competition or are outbid yourself. If that latter happens, we will alert you in case you want to up your maximum bid.

A starting bid for each artwork is set when the auction commences, and any bid placed after must meet or exceed the amount of the starting bid.

If you’re following along live, you will see that you were the highest bidder when the auction for the item you were bidding on ends. You will also receive an email to notify you.

Once you submit your bid, you cannot cancel it. All online bids (including maximum and absentee bids) are final, and cannot be revised or revoked once a bid has been placed.

If you are the lucky winning bidder, once payment has cleared the artist will ship the securely packaged artwork directly to your door using a courier and you will be emailed tracking information.

Shipping is free to almost any address in Australia, no matter the size or weight of your artwork. The Northern Territory, Tasmania and remote areas are exempt from free shipping, as well as some regional areas of Australia. Please use our postcode lookup tool to confirm whether your postcode is eligible for free shipping. Please get in touch for a shipping quote prior to the auction if you are seeking delivery to an exempt postcode.

Typically, you will receive your artwork within 1-3 weeks. This accounts for the 1-5 days artists may take to securely package and ship your artwork, and general delivery times of 1-14 days. Delivery times to and from remote areas can vary. As some of our artists are living in remote areas, delivery times can take up to 4 weeks. We partner with a variety of fulfilment operators who specialise in the transport of art and depending on the size, value and destination of your delivery, shipping times may vary.

Artbid only ships Australia-wide.

We take all necessary precautions to make sure this doesn’t happen. But in the unlikely event that it does, all art purchased through Artbid is fully insured. If your art arrives damaged, please get in contact with us as soon as possible so that we can arrange a refund.

Unless an artwork arrives damaged, Artbid does not accept change of mind returns or refunds. We welcome questions regarding an artwork while it is available for bidding on our site so you’re confident with your purchase from the get-go.