Buy at Auction

Are you looking to add high-quality, sought-after pieces to your collection? Acquire desirable works of art, furniture, antiques and collectibles through one of the leading luxury goods auction houses in Johannesburg. Register as a bidder here for exclusive access to our auctions.

How To Register To Bid

All lots are sold on our online platform, accessible here or the RKA app (available on Google Play and the Apple App Store).

To register, visit the website or app and log in or create a new account. From the auction landing page, click Register to Bid and follow the prompts. New users will be contacted by a member of our team to go over our terms and conditions before being approved. This happens as soon as possible after registration.

There are no registration or sign-up fees. Once your profile is set up, you won’t need to create a new one but you will need to register for each auction to receive a paddle number.

Create an online account

Go to https://bidlive.rkauctioneers.co.za/register.
Enter your details and choose a password.
Once you click the ‘Create Account’ button, you will receive an email to confirm your email address and activate your account.

Ways To Bid

Pre-Auction Bid
Click Place Bid and select the current asking price for the lot. If someone outbids you, you’ll be notified by email or push notification.
Absentee Bid
Click Place Bid and select the maximum amount you’re willing to pay. Our platform will then bid on your behalf in set increments, up to your maximum, if someone bids against you. You will not necessarily pay your maximum, but rather only what the lot reaches.
Example: A lot has an asking price of R1,000. You submit an absentee bid of R5,000. The displayed price stays at the asking price until others bid. If bidding stops at R3,500, that is all you pay. If bidding surpasses your maximum, you will be outbid unless you are participating live.
Live Bid
If a lot is being auctioned live, click or swipe to bid at the current asking price. Once interest subsides, the auctioneer will call Fair Warning (approx. 5 seconds), followed by Last Call (approx. 5 seconds). If a new bid is placed during Last Call, the process resets. The lot is marked as sold when no further bids follow Last Call, and the next lot opens immediately.

Cancelled Bids

If your live bid is cancelled and the lot sells at the same price, this means your bid matched the maximum of an absentee bidder. The first bid placed, in this case the absentee bid, takes precedence.

If you are willing to pay more, simply bid again. If there is no further bidding, the auctioneer will proceed with Fair Warning and Last Call before selling the lot.

How To Know If You’re Winning

Next to the asking price on any lot, you will see one of the following:

Winning — your bid is currently the highest.
Outbid — someone has exceeded your maximum.
Won/Lost — the lot has closed.

You can also view all your bids (upcoming, active, and past) under the My Bids tab on both the app and website.

Buyer’s Commission

A 15% commission is charged on the hammer price of each lot. VAT is then applied to the commission only.

Example: Hammer price R1,000.00 + commission R150.00 + VAT R22.50 = Total R1,172.50

Auction Schedule

RKA holds five auctions per year, approximately every nine weeks, typically in March, May, July, September, and November. Each auction runs for eleven days, with different sessions and items offered throughout.

Outbid Notifications

You will receive an email notification whenever you are outbid. If you have the RKA app installed with notifications enabled, you will also receive a push notification.