FAQs
1. Are your Auctions open to the public? All of Hawaii Auction Services auctions are open to the public, unless otherwise specified on our website.
2. Is it free to register and view your auction? Its free to view auction items online and in person. If you want to bid, you must register an account with us. There is a .50 cent charge the first time you register your credit card; this is a onetime processing fee the payment gateway charges for each card you register your credit card. For you to register, it’s really easy. All you need to do is fill our registration form and provide a valid credit card to set up a bidding account. That’s it, you’re ready to bid!
3. How do I bid? Once you have registered an account with us, go ahead and start previewing. You can do this in person at one of our scheduled previews or online 24 hours a day. If you find something you like, place a bid for the amount you are willing to spend on the item. All items have a posted starting amount usually around $1 to $5, amount will be displayed. Keep in mind that some items do have reserves. This means that the consignor has set a minimum amount he or she is willing to accept for item to sell at auction. Bid any amount you want to bid, if you have met the reserve you will be notified instantly that you are the winning bidder. If not, it will let you know that the reserve has not been met. Reserve amounts on items are based on a below market resale value.
4. Can I preview items before I bid? Yes, we highly recommend that you do. You can preview online and/or give us a call and schedule I time to come down and do a live-in person preview to make you own determination of items condition.
5. What is a buyer’s premium? The buyer’s premium is a 18% charge placed on top of the winning bidders’ total amount. This amount is our compensation for providing the online service and helps cover our cost of operations.
6. How do I know that my credit card information is safe to register on your website? Our payment processor has one of the most stringent levels of certification available in the payments industry. This is accomplished using the best-in-class security tools and practices to maintain a high level of security. This also includes encryption of sensitive data and communication. In other words, you credit card info is safe to use on our website.
7. What are my payment options? We are a credit card only auction. This helps to streamline the automation process of payments as well as ad a level of security unrivaled. The credit card you registered with will be the credit card charged at the end of the auction automatically. The only exception to that is invoices that total over the amount of $3000. All invoices over the amount of $3000 will become an offline transaction, with the option of either Bank Wired Transfers to our bank or a cash transaction at our warehouse location. All offline payments will receive a receipt for verification of the transaction for your records and ours.
8. Why does the ending time keep changing near the end of the auction? This is the Extended Bidding function. Every item has a scheduled closing time. However, if there is active bidding within the last 3 minutes of the scheduled closing time for an item, that item will remain open until 3 minutes have elapsed with no new bids.
9. How do I know if I won or lost the bid on an item? When you bid on an item there will be a display shown at the top of the bidding page to let you know the current status of your bid displayed in different colors. Green “your winning” or red “you have been outbid”. You can also check you buyer dashboard for all current and previous activity.
10. How do I know what I owe and when do I pay? Our payment system for most invoices is all automated. At the end of the auction you will receive an invoice showing the amount charged on the credit card you used at registration. You will also be able to view your current and past transactions in the buyer dashboard.
11. What is the dashboard section for? The dashboard section contains all the information about your account, including bids, payments, items won, and items lost, as well as your contact information.
12. Can I schedule a pickup time? We have a scheduling function on the invoice that you will receive at the end of the auction. Just choose from the dates and times that are provided, then submit by pressing the schedule button, that’s it. We will have your items pulled and ready for pickup at those established scheduled times.
13. What if I cannot pick up my items at the scheduled time? Please contact us as soon as possible if you’re not able to pick up your items at the scheduled time. We must have all items removed from onsite locations by the scheduled date. If items are not pickup up by the end of scheduled pickup time and no attempt to contact us has been made, your items will be forfeited, and no refunds will be given. Unfortunately, there are no exceptions, because we are responsible for the removal of items after the close of the auction. Smaller items may be transported back to the warehouse, but there will be a transportation fee based on the size and number of items transported back to our warehouse in Mapunapuna. The same applies to items sold at one of our warehouse sales. They must be picked up by the scheduled date, we have to make room for items being brought in for the next auction.
14. Where and when do I pick up my items? All item times and locations will be posted on the website in the auction details section for each auction. More pickup information will be included in the invoice that is available at the end of the auction containing amount billed. When you receive your email, you will be given the option to schedule your pickup time during available pick up times. Once confirmed print this email invoice out, this is what you need to bring to the pickup location. This paid invoice is needed before any items will be released to person picking up items.
15. Can I send someone else to pick up my items? Yes, you can have another person or moving company pick up your items. We ask that you call us to let us know the name of the person or company that is coming to pick up on your behalf. They must show up with a copy of the invoice with paid in full stamp on it. No items will be released without an invoice that shows that all items have been paid in full. No partial payments will be accepted.
16. Do you offer shipping? Because of the wide variety of shapes and sizes of items that we sell at our auction and the cost of shipping, we recommend items being pickup up. We can supply a shipping of items that fit into a flat rate box, but there is a $10 per box handling fee and all additional postage will be the responsibility of the buyer. For larger items please contact us at 808-260-8979
17. Can I return an item if it does not work or I find something wrong with it when I get home? We are an auction service, not retail business. We do not have a return policy. All items are sold “as is, where is”. If you feel like an item was misrepresented, please contact us and we will try and resolve the issue to the best of our ability. That being said, we highly recommend all bidders to come to our live previews (if available) or, preview online 24 hours a day up to the start of the auction bidding. You can always contact us with any questions before you bid. We want everyone to feel good about all purchases, but buyer remorse is out of our control so please bid only what you want to pay for something., and don’t forget about the buyer’s premium of 18% and the GE TAX of 4.712% on top of that.
18. How often do you get new items in? Because of the nature of auctions, we never know what items we are going to get in. To assist you in finding what you’re looking we offer a Save Search Option function which will save the name of the item you are searching for on our website. As soon as we post an item with the same name our automated function will send you an email letting you know of its availability.
19. I have a question about an item, how can I contact you? We recommend that you contact us before you bid. You can reach us by email at info@hawaiiauctionservices.com or call our customers service line 808-260-8979. Please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
20. How do I sell my stuff through your auction? Email us a list of the items you would like to sell and some pictures, so that we may evaluate your items to see if our auction platform is the best fit for you. email: info@hawaiiauctionservices.com
