In-Person Antique Auctions

Franklin, NH — Upper Hall

Our flagship format: traditional live auctions in the upper hall of our Franklin, NH auction house, where you inspect the goods in person at preview and bid in the room. Most sales also carry a published catalog with photographs and online absentee bidding for those who can't attend, but live bidding happens in person only and the event is not live-streamed. The best of the best — and most of it isn't available for shipping, because these are community events first and foremost. Come hang out with us and take your treasures home!

In-Person Discovery Auctions

Franklin, NH — Lower Hall

High-energy in-person sales in the lower hall, where box lots, large groupings, furniture, and single items are sold fast-paced to the highest bidder. The room is organized into sections, and the lots in each section are offered on choice: the winning bidder chooses as many lots as they wish at their high-bid price, and the bidding rounds in each section continue until everything is sold. No catalog, and live bidding happens in the room only. Some discovery sales also take absentee bids — online, at the desk, or by phone, often blind (see Absentee Bidding). Lots won in the room go home with you the same day.

Online Antiques & Oddities Auctions

Online — livestreamed

Our flagship online format, held once or twice a month. Each lot is meticulously photographed, described, and published in a digital catalog with online absentee bidding before the live sale; then the auction is live-streamed to a chat room, where you bid in real time from our website as the auctioneer calls it. A tightly curated smalls auction, and everything ships nationwide from our warehouse.

Payment Discounts

We offer a 2% discount on the buyer's premium whenever you pay without a card, so 15% becomes 13%. Which option you have depends on where you pay, not on the kind of auction:

• Paying in person at the desk? Pay by cash or check to receive the discount.
• Paying an invoice online? Choose Zelle at checkout. Zelle is the online equivalent of cash — it is not accepted at the desk.

What's Not Subject to Premium

The buyer's premium applies only to the hammer price of auction lots. It does not apply to shipping charges or concession purchases at in-person events.

Calculate Your Total

In-Person Registration

All in-person attendees must register and receive a paddle number before bidding.

• Photo ID is required at your first in-person visit, and may be requested on return visits to verify your identity before issuing you a paddle.
• Paddle numbers are assigned on auction day only. If you registered ahead of time, in person or online, you'll still need to stop at the desk to receive your paddle.
• Already registered online? Just present your photo ID on your first in-person visit and we'll link your accounts

Online Registration

Complete the registration form on our website here. Upon registration, you'll be assigned a permanent bidder number for all your auction activity. If you attend an in-person auction, you'll be in our system, but you'll still need to check in at the desk to receive a paddle number for the day.

Phone verification

To bid in our online auctions, you must verify a mobile phone number by entering a one-time code we text you. This is a one-time setup. We use your number for account security and auction-related notices; verification is required regardless of marketing preferences.

Registering for each auction

Before bidding in a given auction, you must register for that specific auction. When you register you'll choose how you'd like to receive your winnings — shipping, confirming your address for this auction, or pickup, choosing a location and time (either can still be changed at checkout) — put a valid payment card on file, and agree to these terms, including the card authorization described under Invoicing & Payment.

Your card is stored securely by our payment processor, Square. We never see or store your full card number — only a secure token and the card's brand, last four digits, and expiration. Once you register for an auction, that card is locked for the auction and cannot be removed or replaced until your obligations for it are settled, though you may still pay with a different card at checkout. You may keep more than one card on file, and you may remove a card whenever you have no open auction obligations; removing a card does not cancel obligations already incurred.

Account Security

You're responsible for all bids placed online under your account or in person under your paddle number. Don't share your online login credentials with anyone, and don't share your paddle number on auction day with anyone you don't authorize to bid on your behalf. If you receive a bid confirmation email for a bid you didn't place, contact us immediately at hello@graniteunionauction.com or (603) 451-6960.

Absentee Bidding

An absentee bid is a maximum amount you leave with us before the sale. We then bid on your behalf, against everyone else, up to that amount — and never past it.

• Online: place absentee bids on any lot from our website. For online auctions, absentee bidding stays open until the lot sells. For in-person auctions, it closes one hour before the live sale begins.
• By phone: for any auction, you can leave absentee bids with us by phone right up until the auction starts, as staffing allows.
• In person: for in-person auctions, you can leave absentee bids at the desk — stop by during the preview — right up until the auction starts, as staffing allows.

There is no live online bidding at our in-person auctions. Once the online absentee cutoff passes, there is no way to place or change a bid through the website; once the sale begins, your only options are the absentee bids you've already left or being there in person.

How your absentee bid is placed

However you leave it, an absentee bid follows the same logic. The current bid on the lot doesn't jump straight to your maximum. If your maximum is $25 or less, the lot is bid up to your full amount. If it's more than $25, the lot opens at $25 (or at the lot's opening bid, if that's higher) and only rises when someone else bids — each time, we raise you one bid increment above the competing bid. If a competing bid comes within one increment of your maximum, your bid goes straight to your maximum rather than stopping one increment short.

So bid your true maximum — what the lot is worth to you. The opening bid is capped at the greater of $25, the lot's opening bid, or the next competing bid plus one increment, so you'll never pay more than necessary even if your maximum is well above the competition. The one exception is at a live sale, when the next ask to the room would land exactly on your maximum (see below).

Absentee bids are binding once placed, but you may ask us to cancel one before the fall of the hammer.

Blind absentee bidding

Some auctions use blind absentee bidding — the auction’s page says so. In a blind sale, bids are private: you see only your own bid. There is no current price, no high bidder shown, and no outbid alerts. Any bid at or above the lot’s opening bid is accepted and recorded, even if someone has already bid higher, and you’ll get a confirmation for each bid you place. You may raise your max bid on a lot but not lower it. At the sale, blind absentee bids are carried out exactly like any other absentee bid: we bid for you, against the other absentee bids and the room, up to your max bid.

How absentee bids work during the live auction

Each lot opens at the current high absentee bid. If live bids come in, we continue bidding on the absentee bidder's behalf up to their maximum. The maximum absentee bid is only revealed if a live bid is approaching or about to pass it. As live bidding comes within one increment of an absentee bidder's maximum, the bid jumps straight to that maximum, so the next ask to the room is always above it. If a live bidder matches an absentee bidder's maximum, the absentee bidder holds the high bid and the live bidder must advance to take the lead.

We never ask the room for a bid an absentee bidder already holds. If, when a lot comes up or at any point during live bidding, the next ask would land exactly on the high absentee bidder's maximum, the current bid moves to that maximum and the room is asked for the next increment above it. For example, a lot standing at $45 with an absentee maximum of $50 opens at $50, and the room is asked for $55.

Live Bidding

In person

At an in-person auction, lots are not sold in numerical order: they're called by their location in the room and by request, so Lot 001 may not sell first and the last lot may not sell last. Starting 30 minutes after the auction begins, you can ask a runner to bring a specific lot up to the block, and we'll do our best to get it there promptly.

Raise your paddle to bid, and make sure the auctioneer can see it clearly. Don't be shy — if the auctioneer doesn't see your bid, feel free to shout out or wave so we don't miss it! When the auctioneer is satisfied that bidding has concluded, they announce "sold" — that's the fall of the hammer. Bidding will generally not be reopened once sold has been called, though the auctioneer reserves the right to do so at his or her sole discretion if a genuine dispute arises.

Online

Bidding happens right in the livestream. A bid bar above the chat shows the lot on the block, the current bid, and who holds it, and gives you two one-tap buttons at the next two increments — tap one and confirm to place your bid. You can also enter any higher amount with the Custom Bid button, or simply type a dollar amount into the chat and confirm it. Once your bid is placed the bar tells you you're the high bidder, and flashes OUTBID the moment someone passes you, so you can bid again. If you've had enough, the OUT button lets the auctioneer know you're done (you can always jump back in). When the auctioneer is satisfied that bidding has concluded, "sold" is called and the lot closes — that's the fall of the hammer, and bids after that point aren't accepted. In an online auction, if a live bid matches an absentee bid, the absentee bidder holds the high bid and the live bidder must advance to take the lead.

Occasionally a lot is offered at a fixed Buy-It-Now price with no bidding: the first to claim it wins. In person, raise your paddle right away; online, tap the Buy button on the item's card in the chat. The buyer's premium applies to Buy-It-Now purchases just as it does to any other lot.

Bid Increments

The same increment schedule applies to online and in-person auctions. These are suggested increments to keep things moving: the auctioneer reserves the right to adjust them, or to accept or decline an off-increment bid, as he or she sees fit.

Estimates

Some lots show a low–high estimate — our best guess at the range a lot may bring. It's a guide only: an estimate is not a reserve, it doesn't set the opening bid, and it never limits how high or low bidding can go. Items routinely sell above or below estimate.

Opening Bids

Every lot carries an opening bid — the amount bidding starts at, shown on the lot before the sale. If there's no interest at the opening bid, the auctioneer may drop the ask and accept a lower bid to get the lot moving, at his or her discretion. An opening bid is not a reserve: it's where bidding begins, not a floor the lot must reach to sell.

Reserves

Most lots sell with no reserve. Some carry a hidden reserve — the lowest price the consignor will accept. The reserve amount isn't shown, but the lot displays a "Reserve Met" or "Reserve Not Met" indicator as bidding climbs. If the reserve isn't met, the lot may be passed or offered at a buy-it-now price. A reserve is different from an opening (minimum) bid: the opening bid is the lowest bid a lot will accept and is shown on the bid buttons, while a reserve is a hidden threshold the bidding must clear for the lot to sell.

In person

At our walkaround discovery auctions, the room is divided into sections. Merchandise is grouped into box lots, tray lots, or single items and assigned to a specific section. A section opens for choice, generally starting at a $5 bid. The high bidder makes their selections from the open section, paying their bid for each lot they take, and bidding then reopens at $5 for choice of what's left. The rounds continue until nobody offers the $5 opening bid, at which point a lower amount may be accepted or whatever remains in that section may be sold together as a single lot.

Absentee bids in a section

When a section sells on choice, absentee bids left on any of its lots compete with each other, because the high bidder in each round gets to choose. You never bid against yourself: bids you leave on several lots in the same section never compete with each other. In each round we bid for the leading absentee bidder against the other absentee bids and the room, and if their max bids reach more than one lot, they can win several lots in that round at the same per-lot price — never more than the max bid they left on any lot they take.

Online

When a choice round is offered in an online auction, the high bidder picks first, then the runners-up choose in descending bid order, each paying their own bid per lot.

In-Person Auctions

Check out at the desk when you're done bidding. Payment is due before you leave, and items may not be removed before payment. Pay by cash, check (approved customers), or any major credit or debit card.

If you placed absentee bids online and also attend the auction, you can settle everything at the desk and take it all home that day. Absentee bidders who don't attend receive an emailed invoice after the auction closes and can pay online, or by cash or card at pickup.

Online Auctions

You'll receive an invoice by email right after the live sale, and payment is due within 24 hours. Open the invoice from the email and pay through our secure checkout by credit or debit card (a new card, or the card on file from your registration), PayPal, Venmo, Afterpay (four interest-free payments on eligible orders), or Zelle — choose Zelle at checkout, tell us the name your payment will arrive under, and we'll mark your invoice paid when it lands. Shipping, insurance, and Open Box are all chosen at the same checkout. If we haven't heard from you, we may follow up by email, call, or text, and delayed payment delays shipping.

Your card on file

By registering for an online auction with a card on file, you authorize Granite Union Auction Company to charge that card for everything you owe from the auction — hammer prices, the buyer's premium, and shipping if selected — as follows:

• If this is your first auction purchase with us, your card is charged automatically at the end of the auction, when your invoice is issued.
• If you've completed an order with us before, you choose at registration: be charged at the end of the auction, or take four days from your invoice to pay on your own, after which your card on file is charged for any unpaid balance.
• If you've completed an order with us before and you're collecting your winnings in person, you may instead choose to pay by cash or check when you collect. If you haven't collected and paid within one week of the auction, your card on file is charged for any unpaid balance.

You may always pay earlier, and by any other method at checkout; the card on file is a backstop so that auction obligations are settled. If a charge is declined, you remain responsible for the full balance and any costs of collection, and repeated non-payment may result in suspension of bidding privileges and forfeiture of items under these terms.

Removal

Everything you buy at an in-person auction is yours to take home the day of the sale, once you've paid. If you can't take it with you, items must be removed from the auction house within one week of the auction. After that, a storage fee of $5 per lot per day applies.

Anything from any auction that hasn't been retrieved within 60 days is forfeited without refund, and we may re-sell, donate, or dispose of it at our discretion.

Pickup

Lots won in our online-only auctions can be picked up at the auction house in Franklin (58 South Main Street) or at our warehouse in Jaffrey (385 Squantum Road). Lots from our in-person auctions are generally available for pickup in Franklin only, though we may arrange a transfer to Jaffrey as a courtesy on request.

When you register for an auction online, you'll choose how you'd like to receive your winnings — shipping, or pickup at one of the locations offered for that sale — along with a pickup day and time. You can change your choice at checkout or from your account page. Changing your pickup location selection after registration can delay pickup by up to 7 business days.

Franklin pickup runs on posted pickup days, listed on our schedule; a quick courtesy text to (603) 451-6960 helps us have your order ready. Jaffrey pickup is by appointment only — call or text with at least two hours' notice.

Please collect your items within one week. After that, a storage fee of $5 per lot per day applies, and anything not retrieved within 60 days is forfeited without refund.

Shipping

We offer in-house shipping nationwide for every lot in our online-only antiques and oddities auctions. Lots in our in-person antique auctions are generally for local pickup only, though some are marked as eligible for shipping — check the lot before you bid. We're always happy to accommodate third-party shipping for lots from our in-person auctions, as long as you handle the logistics and payment and the shipper collects the items from our location. In-person discovery auction items are generally not available for shipping, though exceptions may be made on request. International shipping may be possible with prior approval.

Rates. Packages under 1 lb run $6–$8, over 1 lb $12–$20, and large or heavy packages $20 and up. We consolidate orders when we can and ship via USPS or UPS using the most affordable service; expedited shipping is available for an additional charge.

Timeline. We aim to ship online auction orders by the Wednesday or Thursday following the auction, and reserve the right to take up to 14 business days from the date of payment. Tracking is emailed automatically when your order ships.

Insurance. You may add shipping insurance at checkout. If you decline it, no refund will be issued for items damaged in transit or for lost or stolen packages, and we are not responsible for a shipment once the carrier has accepted it.

Open Box. Won several lots across auctions? Choose Open Box at checkout to hold an order and ship it together with future wins, then close the box from your account page when you're ready to ship.