Buying Online!

Sharpless Auctions has been in the business of bringing buyers and sellers together for over 40 years. At our present facilities on Interstate 80 Exit 249 (5049 Herbert Hoover Hwy NE, Iowa City, Iowa), we routinely offer over 40,000 square feet of merchandise being sold online at least twice a week!

Effective May 1, 2020, Sharpless Auctions went online with all of their auctions.  Almost every week, we offer 3-6 separate online auctions through our online portal on https://sharplessauctions.com/hibid.com/.

HOW TO REGISTER BEFORE (OR DURING) THE AUCTION:

  • All prospective bidders must create or login to their HiBid.com account, which they may do so by clicking on the “Login/New Bidder” menu item at the top of our page.
  • After doing so, to begin bidding, you must register to the specific auction you wish to participate in.  (Please note:  you will need to register separately for every auction you wish to bid in.)
  • To register, page down to the current auction you are interested in and click the gavel icon with the “Register to Bid” menu item.
  • A new window will prompt you to enter the payment method you will be using for our auctions.  We accept all major credit cards.  You will need to authorize a credit card to register in our auctions. 
  • PLEASE NOTE:  The first time you register for an auction, a temporary $1 transactions hold will be placed on your account for approximately 3-5 days, at which time the charge disappears.  Your credit card or bank account WILL NOT be charged.
  • It is VERY IMPORTANT that the billing address and zip code you provide matches EXACTLY with the address and zip code on file with your credit card company or credit union/bank.
  • Please read all of our terms & conditions before you register to bid.  These same terms & conditions are available to read anytime by clicking on the “Auction Details” button

READY TO BID?  Here’s how!

  • Once you have logged in and registered to bid, click the “View Catalog” menu.  This will bring up all the auction lots available to bid on for this particular auction. 
  • Many of our catalogued lots have multiple pictures and/or full descriptions.  To view the full description and/or photos, click on the Lot Number or the catalog picture of the item (not the Bid button). 
  • Place a one-time bid -OR- Enter a private maximum bid.
  • If you place a private maximum bid, the system will automatically bid for you, entering the lowest bid possible up to and including the maximum you entered.
  • After placing your bids, you will see that lots you are winning will have a green colored background.  Outbid lots have a red background.  
  • To place an item on your watched list, click on the Lot Number or the photograph of the item (NOT the bid button).  Items you place on your watched list will have a blue border.
  • The colored icons at the upper right hand corner of the catalog page are quick links for you to view lots that you have bid on or placed in your watch list.  NOTE:  You can bid on lots from your watch list and also hide lots if you are no longer interested in that current lot.  This feature only works if you are LOGGED IN.
  • ON AUCTION DAY:  Thirty (30) minutes before the start of the auction closing day, you will want to go to the red flashing “Live Catalog” menu item.  This screen is “live” of online auction items that will be/are closing.  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REFRESH THE PAGE!  All bids, time left, etc. update in real-time.  REMEMBER!  If you are not bidding from the “Live Catalog” screen, you will have to manually REFRESH your page OFTEN for bidding updates! 
  • Once the closing process begins, one item will close every 20 seconds.  In the event that a bid is placed on an item in the final minute of the auction closing, the time will be automatically extended for an additional minute to prevent “auction sniping.”  The time extension will continue until all the bids have stopped.
  • Bid increments are the amounts by which each bid will increase based on the current bid price.  The higher the value of an item, the higher the bid increments.  To view the scheduled bid increments table, click on the “Auctions Details” button.

AFTER THE AUCTION CLOSES: 

  • A buyer’s premium of 15% is charged to the total invoice price, as well as sales tax.  If you have a resale tax permit, please notify our office at 319-351-8888 BEFORE YOU BID.  We will need your tax number and the expiration date to put on file in your customer record.
  • An e-mail with an invoice attached will be sent to the winning bidder of each auction item once the auction has completely closed.  If you do not receive the e-mail in your Inbox, please check your Junk Email folder.  

CLICK HERE TO LOGIN AND/OR BID ONLINE!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact Denise at Sharpless Auctions at 319-351-8888 or by email  at sharpless@Lcom.net.