Help
uk.drouot.com is an online platform.
Auctions are organized by auctioneers located in France or worldwide.
Their contact details are available on their online catalogue in the section “Auctioneer”.
To bid during the auctions
Discover new treasures
Bid during the auctions you like
Complete your transactions once won
Searching in the auction catalogue:
- Select the auction that you are interested in
- Click on « lots »
- Order the lots according to your needs (by price, lot number, time remaining, categories…)
Search by object category:
- Click on the theme you are interested in from the menu Items by specialities
- Order the lots according to your needs (by price, lot number, remaining time…)
Search by keyword:
- Enter your key words in the search barre (3 maximum)
- Click on the magnifying glass icon, or hit the enter button on your keyboard
- The lots corresponding to your search will appear
Create an alert by keywords :
By creating an alert, you will receive an e-mail every time an item matching your criteria is uploaded. This feature is available for people with, or without a uk.drouot.com’s account.
- Enter your key words in the search barre (3 maximum)
- Click on the magnifying glass icon, or hit the enter button: all future matching lots are displayed. There are no lots? Don’t panic, you can still create your alert
- In the price filter, enter the minimum and the maximum price you are willing to pay for the item
- Click on create an alert
- Indicate your email
- Activate the alert by clicking on the confirmation link on the email
- It’s done! You will receive an email when new items matching your criteria are uploaded
- To manage your alerts, go in your client’s account, on alerts.
Once you have found an object that you like, don’t forget to add it to your favorites, so that you can follow its activity!
The creation of an account is necessary in order to access some features of the site, notably bidding on a lot.
To create an account:
- Click on Create an Account, at the top right-hand side side of the screen.
- Fill in the required details.
- Accept the conditions of use and confirm your registration.
- You will then receive a validation email. Don’t hesitate to check your spam mailbox.
- Click on the confirmation link.
- Your account has been created!
From the “My Account” space, you have access:
- To your profile and personal details
- To your Live and Online favorites
- To your registrations for Live and Online auctions
- To your Live purchase orders
- To your Online auctions
You can therefore manage your purchases with ease!
After signing in at uk.drouot.com, search for the auction you are interested in and click on Register for bid.
In order to insure the security of all transactions, it is necessary to follow the following steps before each auction:
- Verify your personal details
- Accept the conditions of the auction and the site
- Agree to share your details with the sale operator
The auctioneer does not know the amount you set up.
During the sale, our system will bid for you respecting auction's progression. You benefit from the guarantee of a purchase at the fairest price if you win the auction.
To place an automatic bid you must have a fully completed uk.drouot.com account. You can make an automatic bid for broadcasted Live auctions.
Do you wish to change the amount of your automatic bid? You can do it during the sale, up to 3 lots before yours.
Example : your automatic bid is on lot n°10, you can modify it before the bidding starts on lot n°7.
Leave an automatic bid
1. Clic on "Plan a bid" on the lot you are interested into
2. Log in and register for the auction
3. Select "Automatic Bid" and enter the maximum amout you are willing to pay before fees for this lot
4. Clic on "Confirm" : your bid is registered. It will be carried out if the auction house validate your inscription to the sale.
5. Log in and check all your automatic bids in "My auto bids" section.
During the sale, the system will bid for you and never exceed the amount you asked. If you are the last bidder, the auction house will contact you to organise payment and logistics.
To place a absentee bid you must have a fully completed uk.drouot.com account. You can make an absentee bid for all real life auctions, whether they are broadcast Live or not. You can place an absentee bid until 4 hours before the sale.
1. Clic on "leave an absentee bid" on the lot you are interested into
2. Enter the maximum amout you are willing to pay before fees for this lot
3. Clic on "Confirm" : the absentee bid is saved on your cart
4. Agree on the general terms and conditions on your cart and click on "validate"
5. Log in and complete your profile if needed / or create an account
6. All your absentee bids are listed in your personnal account
During the sale, the auctioneer will bid for you and never exceed the amount you asked. If you are the last bidder, the auction house will contact you to organise payment and logistics.
You can log in on your computer, tablet or smartphone and access the video of the auction, like you were in the auction room.
News: we recently developed a new Live interface to visualize the auctions without the Flash technology. This new Player Live, more design, also provides new features!
To watch a Live auction
To watch a Live auction, you only need to have a uk.drouot.com account. Register a credit card, an ID, or to be registered for the auction is not required. On the day of the auction:
- Log in
- Click on « Today for sale »
- Click on “Watch the live » on the auction you wish to follow.
- You access the Player Live, where you can see the video of the auction and the progression of the sale.
To bid on a Live auction
To bid on a Live auction, you have to :
- Create a uk.drouot.com account, with steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 completed
- Register for the sale. Be carefull, the deadlines for registrations changes from one auctioneer to the other.
- The day of the sale, log in and click on "Bid live". You then access the Player Live, where you can see the video of the auction and the progression of the sale.
On the Player Live, before bidding opens, and later between each lot, the message "Bidding not open" will be shown.
- After "price set" message is displayed.
- You can click the proposed amount at any time (please note you cannot set your own amount).
- If you are the last bidder, you are immediatly notify by the platform.
The auction house will contact you after the sale to organize payment and logistics.
Example:
- Someone in the room has just bid € 380.
- You click on the "Bid" button, and carry the bidding to € 400.
- The status of the bid is shown by a green button.
- Someone in the room outbids you.
- An online bidder places a bid for € 450.
- Someone in the room bids € 500.
- You bid € 550.
- You win the lot for € 550.
- The status of the bid is shown by a blue button.
1. A simple bid
- On the lot form, click on Single bid of € X
- The bid increment is calculated automatically in relation to the fixed price decided by the seller and by previous bids.
- If a bid is placed within the last three minutes of an auction, some additional time is added, to allow participants to overbid.
- You will receive an email each time someone bids against you, to allow you to outbid them.
- At the end of the auction, you will receive an email summarising your purchases
2. An automatic bid .
Thanks to the automatic bid system, it is no longer necessary to sign in to bid against someone each time that you are outbid.
You can simply indicate the maximum amount that you would like to pay for an item, and the system takes care of the rest.
How it works:
- From the lot form, click on place an automatic bid
- Enter the maximum amount that you wish to pay for the item (without fees), then click confirm
- uk.drouot.com then bids automatically, beginning with the next bid increment of the object.
- If no one bids on this lot, you can win it for a price lower than your maximum bid.
- If someone bids on this lot, uk.drouot.com outbids them automatically until your maximum has been reached.. You will be alerted by email once your auction has finished.
- If an internet user bids the same amount as your maximum bid before you or enters a maximum bid higher than yours, you will receive an email alert. You can then decide whether to counter the bid or not.
- If two buyers set up automatic bids on the same lot, bids will automatically reach the maximum amount defined by one of these buyers.
- In the case of two automatic bids of the same amount, it is the first registered that will be taken into account.
You can, at any time, delete or edit an automatic bid.
If a bid is placed within the last three minutes of an auction, some additional time is added, to allow participants to overbid.
You will receive an email alert. It is then up to you whether to bid again!
You can increase your bid limit any time before or during the sale. To do so, you have to leave a 10% deposit of the desired increase.
For instance, you should leave a €100 deposit to increase you bid limit by €1,000.
The deposit is only collected if you win the bid. Otherwise, the deposit is canceled in the next 24h and you are fully reimbursed. Minimal deposit is 1€.
The sale operator will contact you within the next 48 hours to explain to you the procedure for payment, storage and transport. Each operator has its own conditions. Do not hesitate to contact the auction house if you have not been reached after this time. Click on the related sale to find its contact information.
You can finalize your account in two ways:
- Clic on « profile » from your client’s account and complete the empty fields
- Click on « register for the sale » or « validate my absentee bids” and by filling all 4 steps.
You will be asked to fulfill:
- Your personal information
birthday, address…
- A validated phone number
If you enter a mobile number, you will receive a code by text. If you enter a fix number, you will receive a code by phone call. Be careful while entering your phone number: choose the right country indicative and then enter your number (without repeating the indicative)
- A validated credit card
You can see lots without registering for a sale. Nevertheless, where bidding is concerned, the registration for a payment method is mandatory, which serves to secure transactions and guarantee bids. In order to verify your card, a transaction of 2 euros will be asked for: an amount which will not be debited.
Our system uses the standard 3-D Secure system, which requires your intervention before each payment.
Bank details are not stored by the Drouot Group, but by our partner Ogone, which carries the certification PCI/DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).
- A proof of Identity
You can see lots without registering for a sale. Nevertheless, where bidding is concerned, bidder identification is a legal requirement. Data are stored by our professional and safe partner.
- Your registration number (professionals)
A company registration number (CRN) is a unique combination of numbers, or letters. It is used to identify your company and verify its legal existence as an incorporated entity. Companies House will issue a CRN during the company formation process. You will find it printed on your Certificate of Incorporation and all official documentation received from Companies House.
On your Profile page, in the Personal details section, you can tick your newsletter preferences.
After finding an object you like, in the catalogue, you can add it to your favorites by clicking on the star icon.
You can locate all your favorites in one dedicated area. Here you can see: the sale status of an object, current auctions, practical information on a sale...
And to make things even easier, you can bid directly on an object from your favorites !
From the Auctions menu of your My Account space, you have access to a summary of your auction registrations, as well as to your Online auctions.
You can then check if your auction registration has been confirmed, refused, or if your request is still pending.
Please note, if you haven’t received confirmation from the sale operator in the 24h before the auction, don’t hesitate to contact them in order to confirm your registration. Click on the related auction to find their contact details.
In the same way, you can follow the status of your auctions from the following sections:
- Live auctions : you can find all the auctions you won from the Live interface
- Online auctions : you can easily access and follow the status of your Online auctions !
An automatic bid can be at one of four stages:
Pending: your inscription to the sale is awaiting confirmation.
Confirmed: your automatic bid has been confirmed and will be carried out during the auction. The maximum amount you set up will never be transmitted to the auction house.
Refused: your inscription has been refused by the auctioneer. This is perhaps due to missing information, an invalid form of ID, or outstanding debts. You can contact the sale operator for more information.
Sold to you: you have won the auction! You can contact the office to find out more information regarding the payment and collection of the lot.
You can order your absentee bids by sale, auction house or status.
An absentee bid can be at one of four stages:
- Pending : your absentee bid is awaiting confirmation. The sale operator still needs to confirm your details before your absentee bid is confirmed.
- Confirmed: your absentee bid has been confirmed and will be carried out during the auction.
- Refused: your absentee bid has been refused by the auctioneer. This is perhaps due to missing information, an invalid form of ID, or outstanding debts. You can contact the sale operator for more information.
- Sold to you: you have won the auction! You can contact the office to find out more information regarding the payment and collection of the lot.
You can order your absentee bids by sale, auction house or status.
An email reminder of this request will be sent, and you can then enter your new password.
Please note: your password must contain at least 6 characters.
The creation of an account is free and does not commit you to anything.
The creation of an account is necessary in order to access certain features of the site, for example:
- The management of alerts and favorites
- Registration for a sale
- Bids and absentee bids
Is online bidding subject to charges?
No.
Bidding Online will cost you no more than if you were in the room: the price at auction and the buyer’s premium.
How can I find out additional information on a lot?
The conditions reports and additional information regarding the lots can be given directly by the sale operator proposing the goods.
You can find their details on the form of the lot you are interested in.
How do I contact the seller?
You can find the details of the sale operator on the page of the sale you are interested in, at the top right.
You can also find them in the “information about a sale” tab, which is located at the bottom of each lot form.
There is a problem with my lot. Who do I contact?
In the event of a problem concerning a lot, including its payment or delivery, we advise you to contact the sale operator directly.
You can find their details on the sale or lot form.
Can I withdraw a bid?
If you have inadvertently placed a bid on a lot, contact the sale operator immediately to let them know.
You can find their details on the sale or lot form. However, once a sale has been carried out, you become the legal owner of the goods, and no longer have the right to withdraw your bid.
Can I see the results ?
If you want to see the result of a lot, you need to have a subscription to La Gazette Drouot. You will be redirected to their website.
Why must I give my details in order to bid?
You can see lots without registering for a sale. Nevertheless, where bidding is concerned, bidder identification is a legal requirement.
It is necessary for the sales operator to be able to identify the bidders in order to assure security, and to insure the origin of the funds if necessary.
Why must I save my bank card details before bidding?
You can see lots without registering for a sale. Nevertheless, where bidding is concerned, the registration for a payment method is mandatory, which serves to secure transactions and guarantee bids. In order to verify your card, a transaction of 2 euros will be asked for: an amount which will not be debited.
Our system uses the standard 3-D Secure system, which requires your intervention before each payment.
Bank details are not stored by the Drouot Group, but by our partner Ogone, which carries the certification PCI/DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).
Yes uk.drouot.com is fully responsive, including the Player Live during Live auctions.
The video is too slow or doesn’t work
The quality of the video depends on several factors:
- Your browser: try to use Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Edge to fully enjoy the Live experience. The Player Live does not work on Internet Explorer (IE).
- Your internet connexion: insure that you have a good internet speed.
- The camera used during the auction: the image’s resolution will be the same for all users.
The sound is bad or doesn’t work
The quality of the sound depends on several factors:
- Your browser: try to use Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Edge to fully enjoy the Live experience. The Player Live does not work on Internet Explorer (IE).
- Your internet connexion: insure that you have a good internet speed.
- The microphone used during the auction: the quality of the sound will be the same for all users.