An auction is a public sale in which property or items of merchandise are sold to the highest bidder. LCA now holds most of its auctions via the internet auction site iGavel.com; These sales occur about 4-8 times per year, and generally present between 300-500 items. The sales consist predominantly of estate property, with almost no reserves on items. All items are pictured and described on the internet at www.igavel.com. In addition, there is a gallery exhibition at Litchfield County Auctions: 425 Bantam Road in Litchfield, CT; exhibitions take place the Friday through Tuesday, from 10-5, before the online auction ends, and occur simultaneously with a Priced Estate Sale. During the exhibition, LCA staff is available to answer questions pertaining to condition, provenance and further description of items, obtain shipping quotes for buyers who are not in the area, and assist clients who are unfamiliar with the online bidding process.

All bidding takes place through iGavel.com. The bidding is active for 2 weeks; however, the majority of the action takes place on the final day of the auction. Each item is spaced out a minute or so apart from the next. As the end-time for a given item approaches, the intensity of bidding increases and the price begins to rise. If a bid is placed within the last five minutes of the item's time limit, the time limit will be extended 5 minutes from the time of that bid.

CLICK HERE to learn about Extended Bidding; thus, the bidding continues until everyone has bid as high as they are willing to go. All auction purchases carry a 20% Buyer's Premium, which is clearly stated on the bidding page, in addition to the hammer price.