If you’re looking for some extra cash and have some free time on the weekend, you might want to consider attending an auction. These tips are not only if you’re looking to re-sell items, but if you need a couple of things for your house and want to see if you can save money on some original items.

Before you begin attending auctions, do some researchon some items that you may be interested in. Some examples may be art, china, jewellery, photographs, or anything of that sort. Once you narrow it down to a few, search up the values and certain markings to watch out for that might give you a hint on how much it’s worth. You could save yourself a lot of time and money if you do some research beforehand, instead of going there blind.

After you have decided some items you’re going to keep an eye out for, look at when some of the next auctions that may be going on close to you. Certain auctions will have preview days where you can take a look at items that you could potentially be bidding for. When you do go, make sure that you bring a notepad and a pen so that you can take down notes of certain items so that when they are being auctioned for, you remember exactly which ones you were interested in. If you’re bold enough, go talk to some of the staff members and ask questions, the more you know about the auction, the more you can gain from it.

Now when you find yourself at the auction, make sure you arrive when the doors are opening. The last thing you want to do is show up late to an auction because you want to make sure you find a good seat. You would be surprised at how much seating can make a difference, especially if you’re gearing up for some intense bidding.

When an item comes up that you’re interested in and you start bidding on it, remember the top price that you wanted to pay because you don’t want to over spend. You also have to keep in mind that some auction houses charge a fee of 5 or 10% above the final gavel price so take that into consideration when you are proceeding with a bid. When you do win a couple of bids, make sure that you write down the amount that you bid, that way when you go to collect your items you can see that each item matches. Going to an auction can be an option if you’re curious about purchasing items that you may not find in stores or online and can be a great money saving solution if you need something specific for your house.