What do I need to know before buying goods at an auction?
When you buy at an auction, there are certain things that you need to look out for. Auction sales are different from other sales and the legal protection that you get is also different.
An auction sale is a contract. If you make the final bid and that is accepted by the auctioneer then you have entered into a legal agreement to buy the goods, even though there may be no written agreement yet.
Any terms to the contract that the auctioneer wishes to make must be made clear to the buyers at the time of the sale or before the auction commences. For more information on auctions see this website from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.