Absentee and telephone bidding is offered as a service to our customers, and prospective bidders shall not hold the auctioneer or his staff responsible for any errors or failures in executing bids!

Absentee bidding

Absentee bids are accepted via mail, phone, fax or email. Such bids will be posted with the time and date of arrival, with ties being awarded to the earliest bidder.

ALL ABSENTEE BIDS MUST BE MADE ON COWAN’S ABSENTEE BID FORM, AND SIGNED BY THE PROSPECTIVE BIDDER.

ABSENTEE BIDDERS UNKNOWN TO US MAY BE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT A BANK LETTER OF CREDIT PRIOR TO THE AUCTION, OR, USING A CREDIT CARD, DEPOSIT WITH COWAN’S A FEE EQUALING 30% OF THEIR ABSENTEE BID.

All absentee bids are executed competitively by a member of the auction staff. We will try to purchase the lot you are interested in as cheaply as possible. We do not open bidding with your top bid, rather we will bid up to the amount you have left only if necessary. We do not accept "buy bids." In the event of a tie bid between a floor and absentee bidders, the floor bid will be honored.

Telephone Bidding

You can arrange in advance for us to call you when a particular lot comes up for sale. We can estimate the time we will be calling (we usually sell 100 lots per hour), but to be sure, you should plan to be at the number you give us at least a half hour before the estimated time. We will make every attempt to reach you at the number you provide, but there is nothing we can do if your phone has a caller block, if the number is incorrect, if the line is busy, or if there is no answer.

When we reach you, a member of our staff will relay the asking price as the bidding proceeds, and you can tell us whether or not you want to stay in. If you are the winner, you will be informed at the time the hammer price is determined.

Bidding live via the telephone is available on a first come, first served basis for those lots with a low estimate of $500 or greater, and is restricted to those bidders outside the 513 or 859 area codes. In order for us to efficiently serve the needs of those who wish to bid by phone, please note the following:

• If you reserve a telephone line on the absentee bid form, please indicate that you wish to bid via this option by checking "I WISH TO BID BY TELEPHONE" for the lots for which you wish to be called.

• We strongly advise you to also leave an absentee insurance bid for the lots for which you wish to be called. After nearly every auction we receive a call from someone who forgot the auction date, gave us his or her office number when he/she was actually at home, or somehow missed our call. By leaving an "insurance bid" that will be executed ONLY if we cannot reach you, disappointment can often be avoided.

• Make certain you leave the number where you wish to be reached on the day of the sale. Since our sales tend to occur on Saturday, do not leave your office number unless you plan to be there! If your phone is equipped with caller id, make sure your phone will accept calls from incoming callers who do not identify themselves. We have had several instances where we received a call block and could not reach a potential bidder.

• We sell about 100 lots per hour, so plan your day accordingly! We will make every effort to find you, but we cannot be held responsible for missed calls.

• Do not wait until the last minute to reserve a phone line.

Bidding Increments

The auctioneer reserves the right to reject any bid for any reasons. The following increments are used at the auction. If you leave an absentee bid, please make certain that your bid(s) fall within these increments.

PLEASE NOTE: We will automatically reduce your bid to the closest increment if your bid falls outside the published range of increments

Buyer's Premium

(a) Buyer’s Premium for “Historic Firearms and Early Militaria”. The Auctioneer will collect and retain from the Buyer, as additional commission, a premium equal to 15% the Sale Price of each Lot up to and including $200,000, plus 10% of the amount by which the Sale Price exceeds $200,000.

(b) Buyer’s Premium for “Fine and Decorative Arts”, “Historic Americana” and “American Indian Arts”. The Auctioneer will collect and retain from the Buyer, as additional commission, a premium equal to 17 ½%  of the Sale Price of each Lot up to and including $200,000, plus 10% of the amount by which the Sale Price exceeds $200,000.

(c) Buyer’s Premium for Internet Auctions. For Lots sold through third party internet auction platforms, the Auctioneer will collect and retain from the Buyer, as additional commission a premium equal to 20% of the Sale Price of each Lot up to and including $200,000, plus 15% of the amount by which the Sale Price exceeds $200,000. Of these fees, 5% of the Sale Price shall be remitted by the Auctioneer to Liveauctioneers.com along with their affiliates and retained as part of their fees for hosting the auction.

AFTER THE AUCTION

ABSENTEE BIDDING

Invoices will be mailed to all successful bidders within 72 hours after the close of the auction. Successful bidders are expected to pay for their purchases immediately. If payment is not received within 10 business days after the mailing of an invoice, absentee bidders authorize Cowan’s to charge their purchases to their credit card left on file with their absentee bid.

SHIPPING

Cowan's is happy to provide a shipping estimate in advance of the auction - please contact us at shipping@cowans.com to use this service, or call us at 513-871-1670 (ext 19).

Shipment generally occurs 7 - 14 days after payment has been received. Payment with a money order or bank draft expedites this process. We prefer to ship via UPS or Federal Express, and unless absolutely necessary, will not ship to a P.O. Box. For this reason, please provide a street address for our shipper. It will expedite your receipt of your purchase.

SHIPPING CHARGES

Successful bidders are required to pay for all shipping, insurance and handling charges. Your purchases are valuable, sometimes irreplaceable, and important. We cannot, and will not skimp on making certain they reach you safely. You should be aware that for larger and/or valuable items, shipping charges can be substantial.

If you have a FED EX or similar overnight delivery account, we will be happy to ship via these services. Simply supply us with your account number, and we’ll expedite your shipping. Because we will still incur handling and packaging expenses for this service, you will still be charged a handling and packaging fee.

How to Sell

Cowan's Auctions holds major consignment auctions throughout the year, each supported by a full color catalog that is sent to buyers throughout the United States and Canada. An internet-only version typically attracts buyers from South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Japan. More than 1,000 bidders typically participate in each sale.

Cowan's provides complete insurance and free storage for your consigned items. Our service includes all photography, advertising and catalog preparation of the items consigned to us.

To include your item in one of our upcoming auctions, you can do one of the following.

• Give us a call at 513-871-1670.

• Click here to access our Auction Estimate Request Form. Complete the form and mail or fax it to us, including all details. Send clear photographs either by snail-mail or digital email.

• Click here to fill out our Online Consignment Form .

• Bring the item to us for evaluation by making an appointment with one of our specialists. If you have a large collection, it may be possible for our specialist to visit your location.

Cowan's Auctions, Inc.
6270 Este Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45232
Ph: 513-871-1670
Fax: 513-871-8670
Email: info @ cowans.com

We are especially interested in items from the following categories:

• Advertising

• American Indian & Southwestern Art.

• Art

• Autographs & Manuscripts

• Canes & Walking Sticks

• Firearms

• Flags & Patriotic Textiles

• Folk And Decorative Arts

• Furniture

• Glass

• Lighting Devices

• Maps

• Mirrors & Looking Glasses

• Pewter

• Photography

• Political Campaign Ephemera

• Pottery & Porcelain

• Precious Metals & Stones

• Rugs

• Shaker

• Slavery & The African-American Experience

• Scientific Instruments

• Timepieces

• War Memorabilia

• Western Americana