RIAC Announces LIVE Online Bidding!

RIAC Live

Very few places offer live online bidding, and the majority of those that do offer it do so via a 3rd party service such as Proxibid, Invaluable, or iCollector. With that in mind, RIAC is proud to announce RIAC Live, our very own live bidding service. Accessed right on our website, you can now bid in real time without leaving your house. What do you need to do to use this exciting new software?

• A verified RIAC website account.
• A current verified credit card on file that is not expired. This can be input using your RIAC website account or you can call us to make arrangements.
• Agree to our auction Terms & Conditions.

Got all those taken care of? Then let’s get started!

1. Sign in or create a new RIAC web account.
2. You’ll be taken to the “Edit Account” screen. In the lower, right-hand corner is a button to request RIAC Live Bidding approval. Approvals will be immediate if you meet the criteria above. If you are a new account you will be marked as “Pending” until our office staff can setup your account. If you plan on bidding live in the upcoming auction, you can request to bid anytime before the auction. No need to wait until it starts.

The same auction terms and conditions apply.

Once approved, you should see the approval message below. Then all there is to do is wait until auction and head on over to www.rockislandauction.com/live and start bidding!

For a preview of the Live Bidding screen and all its features, click here.

How is This Different from Other Services?

Real Time Bidding: This is truly real time bidding. You will be bidding against other live bidders, people in attendance, phone bidders, and sealed bidders. Once you click the bid button, your bid is sent immediately to a real person at RIAC who bids on behalf of anyone using the service.

Don’t Outbid Yourself: If you have placed sealed bids with us on some items, the bid amount will be displayed for you as the items appear in the list with the words “Sealed Bid.” This can be seen in the first picture in this article.

Streaming Audio/Video:  This is optional. You do not need to turn on the live video stream to bid. We always say, “We provide a service to our consignors, and an experience to our guests,” and we want to bring that auction experience to you. See the auctioneers working, hear the bids being called, and feel the same nervous anticipation when the gun you want is on the block. This video will have a delay typically 2-4 seconds. If you have a slow or choppy internet connection, we recommend you disable the live video. If you have a good connection, try it out.

Fee: The 1% added to the standard buyer’s premium for live online bidding.

Customize Your Experience: You control how the auction feels. Want the video off? Easy as a click of a button. Do you want all the sounds off? You can do that too. Looking for an item and need to turn off the auto-scrolling list of items?  Sure thing!

Sync with Your Wishlist: If you use our online catalog’s Wish List feature, any items in your wish list will be highlighted in green as they appear in the auction items list on the right side of the page. See the first picture in this article for an example.

Technology Requirements

This first version of RIAC Live is designed for desktop/laptop computers only. There is no mobile support at this time.

Preferred Browsers:
A general “rule-of-thumb” is to try and make sure that, regardless what browser you choose, you are using the most up-to-date version as possible. Any browser released within the last year should suffice, but here are some benchmarks to go off of.

• Google Chrome 50+ This is the best choice for video streaming.
• Internet Explorer 10+ or Microsoft Edge
• Mozilla Firefox 45+
• Opera 39+
• Mac OS X (Safari 7.1+)

We hope you’re as excited to use this new bidding platform as we are to unveil it. It’s just another way that Rock Island Auction Company is improving the auction experience to make putting guns in your collection easier and more entertaining than ever before.

NOTE: RIAC will continue to list our catalogs with Proxibid  for our customers that prefer to use those platforms.