Online Bidding & Buying Terms and Conditions

All items offered for sale in a PNWA online auction are sold as is, where is with all faults. While attempts are made to ensure accuracy and all item/lot descriptions are believed to be correct, neither PNWA nor the item’s consignor make any expressed or implied warranties or guarantees as to the authenticity of or defect in any item/lot and will not be held responsible for any advertising errors, typos, discrepancies, or inaccuracies.

Bidders and buyers are responsible for conducting their own inspections of auction lots. In-person previews are available at the Pacific Northwest Auction House during normal business hours.

The condition of vehicles and motorized equipment cannot and will not be guaranteed. These items are sold as is, where is with all faults. These items are most often used and there is no warranty or guarantee from PNWA or the consignor. PNWA will attempt to make note of obvious conditions in the online description, though BUYER ACKNOWLEDGES VEHICLES AND MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT ARE NOT INSPECTED BY MECHANICS, SKILLED TRADESMEN, OR EXPERTS BEFORE BEING PLACED UP FOR AUCTION. BIDDERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PREVIEW THESE ITEMS IN PERSON AND TO BRING THEIR OWN MECHANIC OR EXPERT TO INSPECT THE ITEMS BEFORE BIDDING.

By placing a bid on an item or lot in the online auction, you are entering into a binding contract and agreeing to purchase the item for the amount of your highest bid plus all applicable taxes and fees. ALL BIDS ARE FINAL AND THERE ARE NO RETURNS ACCEPTED ON ANY ITEM OR LOT.

Before you may bid in a PNWA online auction, you’ll need to register; though you only need to register one time to be eligible to bid in current & future PNWA auctions. Please note it may take 24 hours or longer for your registration to be verified before you will be able to place firm bids. Prior to being verified, your bids will show as pending.

It is your responsibility to keep your account credentials secure. You are financially responsible for all bids placed using your auction login information.

Verified registrants are eligible to bid in PNWA online auctions. By placing a bid, you are stating you are ready, willing, and able to purchase the item or lot for the amount of your bid plus applicable taxes and fees. Bidding on an item or lot creates a binding contract on you to complete the purchase of that item or lot.

Bids are only accepted via the online auction software. Bids are never accepted via email, telephone, or in person.

When an online auction is open for bidding, you may bid for any lot by entering your maximum bid and clicking the Bid button. Each bid shall be final and binding once you click the Bid button.

The current winning bid will be displayed on screen during the online auction.

By placing a bid for any item, you acknowledge you are bidding in a live auction, and you agree each bid submitted is irrevocable and cannot be amended or corrected, even if submitted in error and notification is made to PNWA. You accept full liability for all bids submitted via your account, including the liability to pay in full and on time in accordance with these terms and conditions for any lot where the winning bid was submitted from your account.

Please note: The Pacific Northwest Auction House reserves the right to reject a registration to bid online, withdraw its permission for you to use the online bidding software, or terminate an online bidding account for any reason at any time prior to, during or after any online auction.

​A maximum bid or max bid is the highest amount you are willing to bid to win an auction lot. Once a max bid is set, the system will rebid on your behalf if/when another bidder outbids your current bid, only until bidding reaches your max bid. 
 

For example, if you set your max bid to $50 and the current winning bid is $5, you will be the high bidder on the item with a $6 bid, even though your max bid is $50. Don’t worry, no other bidders will know your max bid amount.
 

If there are no further bids on this item, your bid of $6 will win the lot. However, if another buyer bids $7 (in attempt to outbid your $6 bid), the system will automatically make you the lead bidder at $8.
 

You will continue to be the high bidder unless someone bids more than your max bid of $50. If this happens, the system will send you an email alerting you that you’ve been outbid. 

The Pacific Northwest Auction House uses both staggered and soft closing methods to close the lots at the end of an online auction. The staggered close means each item is assigned a separate closing time (and the time remaining to bid is shown on each item). The staggered close is meant to help those bidding on multiple items so they don’t have to focus on all their items at once when the auction begins closing. 
 

The soft close (sometimes called extended bidding) means that if a bid is received in the last 3 minutes of bidding for an item, the time to bid is extended by another 3 minutes for that item.

At the consignor’s request, some items may be offered at auction with a reserve price. A reserve price is the minimum winning bid price a consignor is willing to accept for an item or lot. The reserve price is not shown to bidders, though lots with a minimum reserve price will show whether the current high bid has met the reserve price or not. If the final high bid does not reach the seller’s reserve price, the item will result in a NO SALE. ANY BID SUBMITTED BELOW THE RESERVE PRICE WILL NOT RESULT IN THE PURCHASE OF A LOT. Reserve prices may be decreased or removed at any time at the consignor’s discretion. 

You agree to pay for and collect any lot that is the subject of a successful bid submitted by you or from your account, in accordance with the terms and conditions.
 

If you're the successful high bidder when an item closes, you should be able to see this status in your watchlist. You’ll also receive an email (generally by early the next morning) that will include your invoice for all items won plus applicable taxes and fees.
 

Lots won can be paid for and picked up during our normal business hours beginning at 10:00 a.m. Thursday morning (for auctions ending Wednesday) through 4:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. If you cannot pick up your item before 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, you must make arrangements with us in advance to avoid incurring storage fees. Your credit card on file will be charged for any items not picked up by this time.

A buyer’s premium will be added to all successful winning bids (along with applicable taxes). Our current buyer’s premium schedule can be found at the bottom of our Auction Fees & Commissions page. 

Auction lots are available for inspection prior to and during any online auction during our normal business hours, and it is your responsibility to satisfy yourself as to each aspect of a lot. You are strongly encouraged to personally inspect any lot on which you may bid or have it examined on your behalf before bidding.

Use of the online auction software is entirely at your own risk. Access to and use of the online auction software is dependent upon, among other things, the availability of the internet and the speed and quality of internet connections. You acknowledge that The Pacific Northwest Auction House has no control and no responsibility or liability for the website(s) used for online bidding. You further acknowledge that PNWA cannot guarantee the operation or performance of the online auction software. Further, PNWA shall not be held liable for any damages or responsible for the function of the website(s) or its inability to function. Buyer acknowledges that hardware malfunctions, software malfunctions, viruses, and similar issues do occur and are beyond the knowledge, scope, and control of PNWA.

The content displayed online may contain inaccuracies and typographical errors and we do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the content or that any defects will be corrected. Any reliance on any such content, advice, statement, or other information shall be at your sole risk. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to correct any errors or omissions in any portion of the online auction software and to make any changes to the features, functionality, or content of the online auction software at any time.
 

Access to the online auction software is made available as a convenience and on a temporary basis, and we reserve the right to suspend or terminate any aspect or feature of the online auction software at any time, with or without notice. Without limiting the foregoing, we may suspend access to online auction software to carry out scheduled or unscheduled maintenance or for any other reason at any time.

WE ACCEPT NO LIABILITY FOR ANY FAILURE OR DELAY IN EXECUTING BIDS OR ANY ERRORS CONTAINED IN BIDS PLACED VIA THE ONLINE AUCTION SOFTWARE.

THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AUCTION HOUSE AND ITS SUPPLIERS PROVIDE THE ONLINE AUCTION SOFTWARE AND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AUCTION HOUSE WEBSITE "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, WE ACCEPT NO LIABILITY FOR ANY FAILURES, DELAYS OR ERRORS CAUSED BY INTERRUPTIONS IN THE AVAILABILITY OF THE ONLINE BIDDING SERVICE OR OUR WEBSITE OR ANY ERRORS OR DEFECTS IN THEIR CONTENT OR FUNCTIONALITY, ANY SOFTWARE AND/OR HARDWARE DEFECTS (WHETHER YOURS OR OURS) AND/OR ANY INTERNET CONNECTION PROBLEMS (WHETHER YOURS OR OURS), AND WE DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE ONLINE AUCTION SOFTWARE OR THE WEBSITE WILL BE ERROR-FREE, FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT ANY DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED.

We may from time to time make changes to these terms and conditions. Please review these terms and conditions regularly to ensure you are aware of any changes made by us. If you use the online auction software after changes have been made and posted, you shall be deemed to have agreed to such changes. If you do not agree to such changes, you should not make any subsequent use of the online auction software.

If any provision of these terms and conditions is declared or determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be null, void, inoperative, illegal, or invalid for any reason by , the validity of the remaining parts, terms, or provisions will not be affected thereby and they will retain their full force and effect, and said null, void, inoperative, illegal, or invalid part, term, or provision will not be deemed to be part of this Agreement.

You hereto acknowledge and agree that these terms and conditions shall in all respects be interpreted, enforced, and governed under the laws of the State of Idaho. In the event the parties hereto, or anyone of them, litigate any actual or potential breach of these terms and conditions, the parties hereto stipulate and agree that the exclusive and continuing venue for any such action will be in Ada County, State of Idaho, or the United States District Court, located in the State of Idaho.