WHAT\u2019S ABSOLUTE? WHAT\u2019S RESERVE?<\/p>\n
Take a look at many advertisements for auctions, and you\u2019re bound to see the words \u201cabsolute\u201d<\/strong> or \u201creserve<\/strong>\u201d making their way into the text.<\/p>\n Have a conversation about auctions with an auctioneer, and chances are you\u2019ll hear the words at some point. The two words are part of auction jargon, part of the lexicon of language that surrounds the auction industry.<\/p>\n \u201cAuctioneers use the words \u201cabsolute\u201d and \u201creserve\u201d to describe an auction and how it will be conducted,\u201d said John Roebuck, CAI, AARE, president of John Roebuck and Associates, Memphis, TN. \u201cCalling an auction \u201cabsolute\u201d or \u201creserve\u201d tells bidders what the auction rules are, so to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n Say, for instance, that a piece of real estate \u2013 a home \u2013 is being sold at absolute auction. The qualified bidder who makes the highest bid during the auction will purchase the home.<\/p>\n Say, for instance, a seller has a boat being offered at a reserve auction. The seller can decide, based on the bids, to sell the boat or to reject to sell the boat for the amount offered during the auction.<\/p>\n Both are valid forms of auctions; the two simply are different ways of conducting the auction on the client\u2019s behalf. Unless stated otherwise, an auction is presumed to be with reserves.<\/p>\n\n
\n