How to Buy
Bidding is simple! First, you will need to register to bid in the auction, and this can be done online, in person, or over the phone. There are four ways to bid at Leonard Joel:
1. BID LIVE ONLINE
Bid online in real time while watching our live auctioneer from wherever you are. That could be on the other side of the world or in the comfort of your own home or office. Read more about Leonard Joel Bid Live Online here.
2. TELEPHONE
Bid on the phone with a member of our team (this complimentary service is available for all Fine and Speciality auctions). Register for telephone bidding online directly from the lot/s you are interested in, with your Leonard Joel account.
3. Absentee
Leave a confidential Absentee Bid via our online catalogues with your Leonard Joel account. Leave your maximum bid – Leonard Joel guarantees to execute these at the lowest bidding increment within your limit.
4. IN PERSON
Enjoy the thrill of a live auction and bid in person at our Melbourne or Sydney salerooms.*
* Please note The Auction Salon will continue to take place online-only with no physical auction attendance on Thursdays. Please refer to our individual auction details for in-room bidding availability.
PAYMENT
If you are successful at auction you will receive an email with your invoice, along with payment and collection details. For selected auctions and locations, we can deliver your purchases to your door. Read more about our delivery service here.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are unable to attend an auction in person, you can place an Absentee Bid online, or in person.
Absentee Bids must be placed at least 60 minutes prior to the auction and should be the maximum amount you would like to bid. The auctioneer will then bid on your behalf and obtain the item at the lowest price possible within your bidding limit*.
Leonard Joel will execute Absentee Bids at the lowest bidding increment within your limit*.
*Please note that bids left on “no reserve” lots or lots where the reserve is below the low estimate will, in the absence of a higher bid, be executed at the low estimate.
Any other questions? Please email or call us at 03 9826 4333 (Melbourne) or 02 9362 9045 (Sydney).
You can request to bid by telephone (available for our Fine and Speciality auctions). Similar to absentee bidding, you can register to bid via telephone with a Leonard Joel staff member online (at the lot level), or by filling out a form in person. We will call you just before the lot comes up for sale and guide you through what is happening in the saleroom and place your bids as requested. Telephone bidding is free of charge.
Any other questions? Please email or call us at 03 9826 4333 (Melbourne) or 02 9362 9045 (Sydney).
Buyer’s Premium (which is 25% of the hammer price on every Lot, inclusive of GST) is added to all purchases.
Any other questions? Please email or call us at 03 9826 4333 or 02 9362 9045.
Leonard Joel offers specialist expertise and regular, curated auctions in Fine Art, Important Jewels, Decorative Arts, Fine Jewels & Timepieces, Asian Works of Art, Modern Design, Prints & Multiples, Luxury, and more. Please click here to view our full list of departments.
In addition, we also host the long-running and increasingly popular Auction Salon that takes place each Thursday in Melbourne and offers art, jewellery, furniture, interiors, objects, collectables, luxury, and more.
If you are looking to sell, our specialists will guide you through which auction they recommend for your piece.
Please refer to our “About” menu option for our Ivory and Indigenous Art policies.
The bidding begins:
Typically we will begin the bidding process at the low estimate then the bid price is raised by a combination of in-room bidders, absentee bidders, telephone bidders and live online bidding and in no particular order.
The Auctioneers:
Our auctioneers are natural, highly skilled multi-taskers scanning the room for bidding activity. Their eyes and reactions are what determine the placement of bids and the final hammer price.
How a sale is completed:
Once all bidding is exhausted and there is only one bidder left the pace of the Auction slows and the Auctioneer provides fair warning before lowering the gavel and concluding the purchase with the highest bidder.
Yes, you can set lot alerts using keywords online through your My Leonard Joel account. You will be notified directly to your inbox when an item matching your keyword comes up for sale. You can set as many lot alerts as you like, and these can be managed through your account.
To set your lot alert/s, log into your My Leonard Joel account and click on the ‘Lot Alert’ tab. Lot alerts use exact matches, so work best with single words / short descriptions eg. “Jeffrey Smart”, “Cartier Watch”, “Banksy”, “Sofa” etc.
Leonard Joel’s Timed Online Auctions are hosted by our online bidding partner Invaluable, through Leonard Joel Bid Live Online or Invaluable Marketplace.
Timed auctions are internet-only auctions that run for a set duration of time and are available for absentee bidding only. These auctions allow you to place bids until the scheduled end time for a particular item. Whoever has the highest bid when the time runs out wins the item.
Timed auctions allow auctioneers to set reserves for their items, as they aren’t there to monitor the bidding live. A reserve is the minimum price that an auctioneer will sell their item for. Depending on bids placed, a “reserve not met” or “reserve met” message will display next to the bid box for any lots with reserves. If the reserve price has not been met by the time the auction ends, the item will not be sold.
Another unique feature in our timed auctions is extended bidding. Invaluable does not allow sniping. If a bid is placed within the last 5 minutes of a lot’s scheduled end time, we extend the sale by 5 minutes from the last bid. This way other bidders have a chance to place a bid. Extended bidding continues until 2 hours after the last lot’s scheduled end time.
(Source: Invaluable)
Yes, unsold items can be purchased after auction. We call this a Post Sale offer. Please note this is a first and final offer, valid for up to 72 hours. Successful offers will be invoiced if accepted by the vendor (the seller). To make a Post Sale offer, please advise the Lot number, your amount, and email the relevant department.
Yes, we offer digital gift vouchers for the amount of your choosing. To purchase a gift card, please email us at info@leonardjoel.com.au
If you are successful at auction you will receive an email with your invoice. If you have an online account with Leonard Joel and would like to pay by credit card, simply log in and select “Make a Payment” from the My Account menu.
A 1.1% surcharge (inclusive of GST) applies to Visa, MasterCard and AMEX payments. Diners Club Card is not accepted.
Alternatively, payment may be made by cheque, eftpos or bank transfer. Please note: payments made by cheque are subject to a 5 day clearance before goods can be collected.
Bank transfers should be directed to:
Account Name: Leonard Joel Pty Ltd
Address: Westpac Banking Corporation
150 Collins Street,
Melbourne Vic 3000
Australia
BSB: 033-364
Account no: 942956
Swift Code: WPACAU2S
IBAN: Not applicable in Australia
Leonard Joel partners with Art Money to make it easier for you to purchase work at auction. Find out more.
There are 3 ways to bid online with Leonard Joel (My Leonard Joel, Bid Live Online & Invaluable Marketplace). Each platform requires you to create a separate account.
If you are having trouble logging in to your My Leonard Joel account, please follow the below steps:
Step 1. Check whether you are using the correct email address and password. Please note that both email and password are case sensitive. If you are unsure of either, please either select “Forgot Password” or contact (03) 9826 4333 or email info@leonardjoel.com.au
If you are not receiving your password reset email, and it isn’t going into your spam, please call us on 03 9826 4333.
Step 2. If you are still having issues, are you entering our website through a bookmark on your internet browser or through google/typing in our website address?
i. If you are entering through a bookmark, this may be pushing you to our old website and therefore making your login invalid. Please delete this bookmark and close your internet browser.
ii. Then, re-open your browser and re-enter our website through a google search and try to login in again.
Step 3. If you are using correct details, and not entering through a bookmark, and still experiencing issues then your browser is most likely blocking cookies. To proceed, you will have to “allow” or “turn on” cookies. Below, please find easy step-by-step instructions on how to do this, depending on the browser you are using. If you are unsure what browser you are using, please click here and then follow appropriate instructions below:
Allow cookies on Safari browser
Allow cookies on Internet Explorer
Allow cookies on Google Chrome
Step 4. If you are still experiencing issues, you may have to clear your caches. Below, please find easy step-by-step instructions on how to do this, depending on the browser you are using. If you are unsure what browser you are using, please click here and then follow appropriate instructions below:
Once you have created an online account, there will be a short wait before you can place absentee bids, for administrative purposes at our end. If you are eager to place bids and would like this process to be sped up, please call us at 03 9826 4333 and we will expedite the process.
Leonard Joel uses Invaluable.com, a global, third-party online bidding platform to host all of our auctions on Leonard Joel Bid Live Online.
Our auctions are also published on Invaluable Marketplace but please note to use this service, there is a 2% surcharge by Invaluable.
If you are having issues biding live and require immediate assistance, please contact our Client Services team (03) 9826 4333.
If your issues persist, please consider registering an Absentee or Telephone Bid to avoid missing out.
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Troubleshooting: (Source: Invaluable)
I’m trying to watch a live auction, but keep seeing a spinning wheel and it says “Attempting to reconnect…”. What’s wrong?
Your bidder console connection may be failing due to a firewall or an antivirus installed on your computer.
If you are at a corporate office or in a public place, such as a library, there may be a firewall on the network that is blocking the connection. Please try to open the bidder console off of this network to determine if that location’s firewall is the problem.
If you have an antivirus program on your computer, please try to temporarily disable the antivirus and re-open the bidder console. If you have disabled your antivirus but still cannot connect to the auction, please contact us for further assistance at the details above.
What are the minimum system requirements for viewing or bidding in Live auctions?
For Windows Users:
OS: Windows 7 & 8
Browsers: Most Recent Google Chrome, Most Recent Firefox, Most Recent Edge
Internet Connection: DSL/Cable/FIOS, T1 or higher
RAM: 1 GB or higher
For Mac Users:
OS: X10.6, 10.7, 10.9
Browsers: Most Recent Google Chrome, Most Recent Firefox, Most Recent Safari
Internet Connection: DSL/Cable/FIOS, T1 or higher
RAM: 1 GB or higher