Frequently Asked Questions

How can I get goods valued?

Your assets can be valued differently according to what and how much you have to sell. Our expert valuers can come out to see your goods or you can bring them to us. Contact us and we will be able to advise you on the best way to proceed.

What is a reserve price and how is it set?

A ‘Reserve’ price is a predetermined minimum value a vendor wishes to realise for their asset when sold at auction.

Unless specified ‘Unreserved’, you can assume that all auctioned assets have a ‘Reserve’.

Pickles provide the vendor (asset owner) with an indication of what the asset should reach at auction, however the final ‘Reserve’ price is set by the vendor.

What does ‘referred’ mean?

Referred is when the highest bid did not reach the reserve price and so it is referred to the vendor who will decide whether they wish to accept or decline the highest bid, or make a counter offer.

What does ‘passed in’ mean?

This is where the highest bid did not reach the reserve price. In this situation, the asset is held back and may be placed in another auction at a later time or, the vendor may decide to remove the asset from auction.

When is an item ‘sold’?

In this situation the highest bid has reached or exceeded the reserve price and the highest bidder at ‘hammer fall’ has won the asset. *Please note: If you are the highest bidder and reserve has been met or passed, you have legally entered a contract at that stage, and are responsible for the purchase of the item. Failure to proceed with the transaction could see you being banned from participating in any auction at Pickles for 12 months.

What is a reserve price and how is it set?

A ‘Reserve’ price is a predetermined minimum value a vendor wishes to realise for their asset when sold at auction.

Unless specified ‘Unreserved’, you can assume that all auctioned assets have a ‘Reserve’.

Pickles provide the vendor (asset owner) with an indication of what the asset should reach at auction, however the final ‘Reserve’ price is set by the vendor.
 

What is the auction process when an item has a reserve?

In a typical auction, one of three things will happen.

1. SOLD: in this situation the highest bid has reached or exceeded the reserve price and the highest bidder at ‘hammer fall’ has won the asset. *Please note: If you are the highest bidder and reserve has been met or passed, you have legally entered a contract at that stage, and are responsible for the purchase of the item. Failure to proceed with the transaction could see you being banned from participating in any auction at Pickles for 12 months.
2. PASSED IN: this is where the highest bid did not reach the reserve price. In this situation, the asset is held back and may be placed in another auction at a later time or, the vendor may decide to remove the asset from auction.
3. REFERRED: in this situation, the highest bid may have come close to - but did not reach - the reserve price. When this happens, the highest bid is referred to the vendor, who will then decide to either accept or decline the highest bid, or make a counter offer. If no agreement is reached between the highest bidder and the vendor, the vendor may decide to place the asset into another auction at a later date or remove the asset from auction. *Please note: If you are the highest bidder and your bid has been referred, you have not legally entered a contract at that stage. Therefore, if there are other items you may be interested in (in the same auction or elsewhere), you can bid on those and you are under no obligation to accept the vendor’s negotiated offer.

Do I have to pay GST if I export my purchase overseas?

Some buyers choose to export their purchases overseas and if you are not registered for GST in Australia then you are eligible for a refund of the GST paid on your purchase as long as you meet the requirements outlined by the Australian Taxation Office. These include but are not limited to:

• Goods must be exported within 60 days of purchase
• Goods must not be used in Australia before export
• Goods cannot be altered in anyway before export

Documents must be supplied to Pickles Auctions that have been issued by an international transport provider or an arranger of international transport services as evidence of the goods being exported, and should include:

1. Information that identifies the goods
2. The destination
3. The date of departure from Australia
4. The buyer as the shipper of the goods

Please advise us at the time of purchase that you intend to export your purchase and we will ask you to complete an Export Declaration Form. You will be required to pay the GST on the purchase price in full at the time of purchase, as the goods are not GST exempt until they have been exported. We will refund you the GST upon receipt of the above documentary evidence. Late notification of intention to export or notice that the export has occurred will result in a delay in the refund being issued.

There is an Export Administration Fee that applies which will be added to your invoice and must be paid prior to completing your purchase. If you notify us of your intention to export and then change your mind we will refund you the Export Administration Fee either in full or half depending on how far through the administration cycle it has progressed. Please see Administration Fees.

What is PicklesLIVE?

PicklesLIVE is a powerful online auction service that lets anyone join a physical auction in real time over the internet.

If you are unable to attend an Auction in person, our innovative online bidding system PicklesLIVE allows you to participate online in our live physical auctions from the comfort of your home or office anywhere in Australia. Hear the auctioneer’s voice, see images of the assets and participate in all the bidding action with a click of a button.

How do I register for My Pickles?

My Pickles is a free, private web space where you can register to bid for PicklesLIVE auctions, create product alerts, sign-up for regular auction alerts and brochures and manage your profile.

All you have to do is provide a valid e-mail address to access to My Pickles - it only takes a few minutes to sign up. Click on the 'My Pickles' link in the left menu or Sign up now.

What are the minimum computer system requirements?

To bid via PicklesLIVE, your computer must meet the following System Requirements.

How much is the deposit?

At each auction, a deposit percentage or amount is set. The deposit amount is dependant on the type of auction - please contact us for more information.

Make sure that you are aware of the amount of money you will need before bidding at an auction. The deposit secures the item that you have successfully bid on. Deposits must be paid for by cash, bank cheque or EFTPOS.

Why was I charged a $1 pre-authorisation fee?

When a credit or debit card is added to a My Pickles account the card details are validated by the bank charging the card with a $1 pre-authorisation. This amount never eventuates into an actual charge on the cardholders' account - it will disappear within 5-7 days. Any time the credit card details are changed or updated on the My Pickles account this pre-authorisation will occur again.

What do I do if PicklesLIVE is experiencing technical difficulties?

If the incident occurs in the first 20 minutes of the auction and the problem has not been resolved, the auction will be delayed for a further 10 minutes. Pickles will announce for participants to fax or email the lots they are interested in bidding on. We will then contact you via phone so you can still bid live on the lots.

If the issues have not been resolved the auction will recommence without PicklesLIVE. PicklesLIVE will recommence as or when the problem has been resolved.

Throughout this process the Auction Clerk/Auctioneer will continue to inform you of developments. If you have further enquiries, please contact our Customer Contact Team on 1300 052 392 or email info@pickles.com.au..

Why can't I access PicklesLIVE from my place of employment?

• When using a company network to participate in a PicklesLIVE auction the firewall needs to be configured to permit outbound connections.
  The system requires TCP port 1935 to be open on network firewalls to enable the use of Flash Player audio, and ports 443 and 80 to be open to enable http and https access. To enable audio/video streaming, the following IP addresses may need to be whitelisted - please contact your network administrator for assistance.
  • 52.62.62.47
  • 52.64.204.1
  • 54.66.185.151
  • 54.79.66.73
• If your company policies do not allow you to download and install Flash Player, sound will not be enabled within PicklesLIVE. Please contact your IT department for assistance.
• If you are using Internet Explorer and letters are displaying instead of icons in the Item Details section, it is likely that certain fonts are being blocked. These fonts are served from the website https://au.velocicast.io/icon_font/fonts/. The following files may be blocked by your network - please contact your network administrator for assistance.
  • ionicons.eot
  • pickles-icons.eot

Why can't I hear any sound?

• Your computer must have a sound card installed (see the minimum requirements page). Do not forget to check that your speakers are plugged in and turned on.
• When using the PickleLIVE app for the first time, make sure you download Adobe Flash Player to enable the sound by clicking on the red Flash Player icon located on the item image. Follow the instructions to download and install.  
• If you are using Firefox or Safari browsers, please restart your browser after installing Flash Player.
• If you are using Chrome browser, a pop-up will display to enable you to Run Flash – click on Allow.
• If you are using Internet Explorer or Edge on Windows version 10, Adobe Flash Player will be pre-installed. If you are running an older version of Windows, you may need to download and install Flash Player manually.

What is PicklesONLINE?

PicklesONLINE is our exciting new online-only auction system. Auctions run over a period of several days and at any time you may indicate your maximum bid amount. The PicklesONLINE system will then bid on your behalf up to your maximum, but not beyond it. This frees you up so that you don’t have to keep watching the progress of an auction.

To participate in PicklesONLINE you will need to open a My Pickles account. Next, simply sign-in and locate the PicklesONLINE item you are interested in. All bidding takes place on the Pickles website – there are no additional software downloads required.

When you are ready, enter your maximum bid. You will be asked to provide registration details the first time you bid in a sale. If you are successful in your final bid a deposit will be deducted from your credit card.

Buy Now – in addition to being offered through online auction, some lots may be offered for immediate purchase. We call this Pickles Online Buy Now. Take the stress out of bidding – accept the Buy Now price, pay your deposit online and the item is yours today! You don’t even have to wait for the auction to end. Normal charges apply.

• Permanent Buyers do not need to register or pre-authorise a deposit to participate in Pickles Online.

What is the difference between PicklesLIVE and PicklesONLINE?

PicklesLIVE allows you to participate in our traditional auctions from the comfort of your own PC. You will hear the auctioneer’s call, see photos of the item being auctioned and be able to place bids at the click of a button. To participate in Pickles Live you will need to open a My Pickles account, register for the sale you are interested in, pre-authorise a deposit and download our PicklesLIVE software. When the auction starts, sign in and use the software to bid or to observe the auction.

PicklesONLINE auctions are online-only and run over a period of several days. The PicklesONLINE system can bid on your behalf up to a maximum amount that you specify – so you don’t need to continuously watch the auction. To participate in PicklesONLINE you will need to open a My Pickles account and then place a maximum bid on the item you are interested in. You will then be asked to confirm the bid amount, register your details and pre-authorise a deposit. Normal charges apply. All bidding occurs on the Pickles website – there are no additional software downloads.

Why was I charged a $1 pre-authorisation fee?

When a credit or debit card is added to a My Pickles account the card details are validated by the bank charging the card with a $1 pre-authorisation. This amount never eventuates into an actual charge on the cardholders account, it will disappear within 5-7 days. Any time the credit card details are changed or updated on the My Pickles account this pre-authorisation will occur again.

Do I need to place a deposit to use PicklesONLINE ?

An initial deposit will not be required to use PicklesONLINE. If you are successful in your final bid a deposit will be deducted from your credit card.

How do I bid in a PicklesONLINE auction?

To bid in a PicklesONLINE auction you will first need to open a My Pickles account. After this, find the item you are interested in, and sign in.

To bid,

1. Enter your maximum bid amount in the Bid Box and click the Bid button
2. In the next screen, check your bid.
3. You will be asked to confirm your buyer details if you have not already registered in this sale. (Permanent buyers skip this step.)
4. Click the Confirm button.
5. You will be asked to pre-authorise a deposit if you have not already done so. (Permanent buyers skip this step.)

Finally, you will be taken to My Pickles where you will see the results of all your Pickles Online bidding activity including the lot you just bid on.

Note: You need to enter your buyer registration details the first time you bid or Buy Now in each auction.

Note: You need to pre-authorise one deposit for each item you might win.

What fees and charges apply to PicklesONLINE auctions?

A processing fee, which may vary from sale to sale, applies to all purchases made through PicklesONLINE. You can check the processing fee amount on the bid confirmation and on the Buy Now confirmation screens. This processing fee applies whether you win through bidding or through carrying out a Buy Now purchase. The fee is calculated on the final sale price of the item (and not on your maximum bid). If you win through bidding, then the final sale price is the current bid. If you win by choosing to Buy Now, then the final sale price is the Buy Now price. Remember, if you are bidding, then the fee shown to you on the confirmation screen is the most you should expect to pay and the actual fee will be less if the final sale price is less than your maximum bid.