UK Trade Auction Terms: A Plain-English Glossary
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Trade auctions use a vocabulary that assumes you already know it. A timed auction is one that runs to a published end time rather than through a live auctioneer. A rolling soft close extends that end time when a late bid arrives. A provisional bid is one that sits below the reserve and waits for the vendor. "As seen, where lying" means you buy the lot in its current condition, where it currently stands. This is the plain-English version of the terms you will meet on our lots, with what each one means for the money and the paperwork.
What is a timed auction?
A timed auction is one where every lot has a published end time and bidding happens online over a period of days rather than through an auctioneer working through a room. There is no rostrum and no single sale day to attend. You place bids when it suits you, and each lot closes at its own time.
All our auctions are timed online auctions, and under our terms they are trade-only: bidders register and bid in a business capacity, and the sale is not a consumer contract, so there is no consumer cooling-off right. That trade-only status is a term of our sales, and other auctioneers set their own position. The comparison with other formats is set out in how UK industrial bidding works.
What is a rolling soft close?
It is the anti-sniping mechanism that decides when a lot actually ends. A valid bid in the final ten minutes resets the countdown to a fresh ten minutes. That repeats with every bid, and the lot closes only once ten minutes have passed with no further bidding, which means the published end time is the earliest a lot can close rather than the latest.
The practical effect is that waiting until the last second gains you nothing. Set the maximum you are willing to pay and let it work. The mechanic is explained at length in how the rolling soft close works.
What is a reserve, and what is a provisional bid?
A reserve is the minimum figure at which the vendor is prepared to sell. Under our auction terms, if bidding closes below it the highest bid becomes a provisional bid held for 24 hours after the sale closes for the vendor to accept or decline, and reserves may be amended at any time during and after the sale. These are our contractual terms rather than a general rule of the trade, so check the terms of whichever sale you are bidding in.
Two consequences follow, and both catch people out. A closed countdown is not automatically a completed sale, so do not book haulage or commit a machine to a job until the sale is confirmed and paid for. And a provisional bid is still a bid: under our terms all bids are legally binding and cannot be withdrawn under any circumstance.
What does "as seen, where lying" mean?
It means you buy the lot in the condition it is in, in the place it currently stands. Descriptions and images are provided for guidance, and buyers must carry out their own inspection and due diligence. It also means the lot does not move to you: collection from where the lot lies is your responsibility.
Behind that phrase sits the most important thing to understand about how we work. Lots are listed from the vendor's own details and photographs. We do not see the stock, we do not inspect or test it, and we do not warrant its condition, hours, mileage, description, title or fitness for purpose. Universal Auctions Group Ltd acts solely as auctioneer and agent for the vendor and is not a party to the contract of sale, which is formed between the vendor and the successful bidder. Viewing is available strictly by prior appointment and is strongly recommended, and any testing must be agreed in advance and is subject to the seller's site and safety requirements.
What are the buyer's premium and the Additional Fees tab?
The buyer's premium is a percentage of the hammer price charged to the buyer on top of it. An internet surcharge is a term you will meet elsewhere in the trade: where one is charged it is a separate percentage of the hammer price in its own right, not a percentage of the buyer's premium, so the two are calculated side by side rather than one on top of the other. We do not charge an internet surcharge. VAT applies according to the lot's own treatment. The Additional Fees tab on each lot is where the charges for that specific lot are stated, and that tab is the figure to work from.
Two habits follow. Always read the Additional Fees tab before bidding, because the rates are per lot rather than universal. And always work back from a delivered budget rather than forward from a hammer price: subtract transport, then divide by 1 plus the percentages rather than subtracting them as flat sums, because the two methods give different answers. The arithmetic is worked through in the real cost of buying at auction.
Bidding terms
These are the words you will meet while a sale is running. Most describe either the structure of the sale or the mechanics of placing a bid.
- Lot. What it means: The individual item or group of items sold as one unit. A job lot is several items sold together.
- Lotting. What it means: How a sale is divided into lots. It determines what you can and cannot buy separately.
- Hammer price. What it means: The winning bid figure, before the buyer's premium and VAT.
- Maximum or proxy bid. What it means: The highest figure you authorise. The system bids on your behalf up to it, in increments, rather than committing your maximum immediately. Explained in proxy bidding explained.
- Increment. What it means: The set step between one bid and the next.
- Outbid. What it means: Another bidder's maximum has exceeded yours.
- Bid history. What it means: The record of bidding activity on a lot.
- Withdrawn lot. What it means: A lot removed from the sale. Lots can be withdrawn, suspended or have their end time modified under the auction terms without notice.
- Trade-only. What it means: A term of our sales: bidders register and bid in a business capacity, and there is no consumer cooling-off right.
Payment, collection and settlement terms
These decide what happens after the countdown stops. They are the terms most likely to cost you money if you ignore them, because several of them run on a clock.
- Invoice. What it means: Issued to the successful bidder after the sale, covering hammer price, buyer's premium and VAT as applicable.
- Payment terms. What it means: Bank transfer, in full, within 24 hours of receiving the invoice.
- Cleared funds. What it means: Money actually received and cleared. Collection is authorised after this, not before.
- Collection appointment. What it means: Collection is by prior appointment only and may be refused without one.
- Grace period. What it means: The period stated in that sale's terms before storage charges begin.
- Storage. What it means: £20 plus VAT per lot per day once the grace period has passed.
- Abandonment. What it means: Goods are deemed abandoned after 20 days, with ownership passing to UAG and no refund.
- Title and risk. What it means: The point at which ownership and risk pass is governed by the auction terms rather than assumed.
- Collection and transport. What it means: Buyers arrange it. Any delivery option specifically stated within a lot is provided by the seller and subject to separate agreement.
Seller and instruction terms
The vocabulary from the other side of the sale. Worth knowing as a buyer too, because it explains who you are actually dealing with.
- Vendor. What it means: The seller of the lot. The contract of sale is between the vendor and the successful bidder.
- Agent. What it means: Our role. We act solely as auctioneer and agent for the vendor.
- Entry. What it means: An asset submitted into a sale. There are no standard selling, listing, entry or commission charges.
- Seller proceeds. What it means: The vendor receives 100% of the hammer price together with any applicable VAT. Buyer-side charges are not deducted from it.
- Listing information. What it means: Supplied by the seller. We retain editorial and compliance control and may amend, clarify or reject it.
- Stock location. What it means: Assets stay on the seller's site until sold and paid for. We do not require them to be moved to an auction site.
- Independent valuation. What it means: Where a formal valuation is needed, an independent professional valuation can be arranged separately.
Insolvency terms you will see on lot descriptions
Insolvency vocabulary tells you who has authority to sell and on what basis. It is worth reading carefully, because the capacity in which someone sells affects what title information is available.
- Administration. What it means: An insolvency procedure where an administrator is appointed to manage a company, often to realise assets for creditors.
- Liquidation. What it means: The winding up of a company, with a liquidator realising its assets.
- Receivership. What it means: A receiver is appointed, generally by a secured creditor, over particular assets or property.
- LPA or fixed-charge receiver. What it means: A receiver whose authority generally relates to property covered by the relevant security, and does not automatically extend to loose equipment.
- Officeholder. What it means: The administrator, liquidator or receiver appointed. Their appointment does not automatically give authority over all assets on a site.
- Estate property. What it means: Assets that form part of the insolvent estate. Assets owned by funders, lessors, customers or other third parties are not automatically included.
- Connected person. What it means: A party connected to the insolvent business. In a substantial disposal in the first eight weeks of an administration, creditor-approval or evaluator-report requirements may still apply, and an auction does not remove them.
Export terms
Overseas trade buyers are welcome to participate in our sales, and a small vocabulary comes with that. The important point is what our EORI registration does and does not mean.
- EORI registration. What it means: A customs identification. It does not make us the exporter, the exporter of record, the customs agent or the transport provider, and it is not a statement about who may bid.
- Export VAT deposit. What it means: On an export sale, VAT is taken as a refundable deposit rather than waived in advance.
- Proof of export. What it means: Acceptable evidence must be provided within the 28 day period stated in our terms for the deposit to be refunded.
- VAT on the premium. What it means: Not refundable, even where the VAT on the hammer price is refunded.
The five terms most often misunderstood
- Published end time. It is the earliest a lot can close, not the latest, because of the rolling soft close.
- Provisional bid. Winning the bidding is not the same as buying the lot when the bid sits below reserve.
- Buyer's premium. It is charged on top of the hammer price, so it is money in addition to your bid rather than part of it.
- As seen, where lying. It covers both the condition and the location, and the location half is the one that costs money.
- Basic vehicle data check. Where we carry one out it is not a mechanical inspection, a title guarantee or a substitute for the buyer's own enquiries, and outstanding finance and title enquiries sit with the bidder.
About this guide, and where to check the terms
Last reviewed 26 August 2026. This guide is general information for trade buyers and sellers and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Definitions here are written in plain English for orientation: the terms of the individual sale govern the lot, and where this guide and those terms differ, the terms apply.
- Auction terms and conditions. Bidding, reserves and provisional bids, title and description provisions, payment, viewing, collection, storage and export: universalauctionsgroup.com/terms-and-conditions.
- Buying at auction. How the process works end to end: buying at auction.
- Viewing arrangements. Strictly by prior appointment and strongly recommended. To arrange it on a lot, contact us.
- Buyer fees and VAT treatment. The buyer's premium and any other charges for a lot are on that lot's Additional Fees tab.
- Selling with us. How selling works.
Frequently asked questions
What is a timed auction?
A timed auction is one where every lot has a published end time and bidding takes place online over a period of days, rather than through an auctioneer working through a room. There is no rostrum and no single sale day to attend, and each lot closes at its own time. All our auctions are timed online auctions and, under our terms, they are trade-only, which means bidders register and bid in a business capacity and there is no consumer cooling-off right.
What does a rolling soft close mean?
It is the anti-sniping mechanism that decides when a lot really ends. A valid bid placed in the final ten minutes resets the countdown to a fresh ten minutes, and that repeats with every bid until ten minutes pass with no further bidding. The published end time is therefore the earliest a lot can close rather than the latest. The practical consequence is that waiting until the last second gains you nothing: set your maximum and let it work.
What is a provisional bid?
It is the highest bid on a lot where that bid sits below the vendor's reserve. Under our auction terms, rather than the lot simply failing, the bid is held for 24 hours after the sale closes for the vendor to accept or decline, and reserves may be amended at any time during and after the sale. Two things follow: a closed countdown is not automatically a completed sale, so do not commit transport until it is confirmed and paid, and a provisional bid is still binding on you because bids cannot be withdrawn.
What does "as seen, where lying" mean?
You buy the lot in the condition it is in, in the place it currently stands. Descriptions and images are provided for guidance only and buyers must carry out their own inspection and due diligence. The second half of the phrase is the one that costs money: the lot does not come to you, so collection from where it lies is your responsibility. Lots are listed from the vendor's own details and photographs, and we do not inspect or test them.
What is an internet surcharge, and do you charge one?
It is a term you will meet elsewhere in the trade for a charge some auctioneers apply to online bidding. Where one is charged it is a separate percentage of the hammer price in its own right, not a percentage of the buyer's premium, so the two are worked out side by side rather than one on top of the other. We do not charge an internet surcharge. The charges that apply to any individual lot are stated on that lot's Additional Fees tab, so read it before you bid rather than after.
When does storage start and what does it cost?
Storage is £20 plus VAT per lot per day, beginning once the grace period stated in that sale's terms has passed. Goods are deemed abandoned after 20 days, with ownership passing to UAG and no refund. Collection is by prior appointment only, after cleared funds, and may be refused without an appointment. On lower-value lots the storage charge overtakes the value of the item quickly, so book the appointment when you pay rather than when you are ready.
What does it mean that UAG acts as agent for the vendor?
It means the contract of sale is formed between the vendor and the successful bidder, and Universal Auctions Group Ltd is not a party to it. We act solely as auctioneer and agent for the vendor. Lots are listed from the vendor's own details and photographs. We do not inspect or test lots and do not warrant their condition, hours, mileage, description, title or fitness for purpose, which is why your own enquiries and due diligence matter on every lot.
Sources and references
- Universal Auctions Group terms and conditions · Universal Auctions Group Ltd, 2026 https://www.universalauctionsgroup.com/terms-and-conditions
- VAT guide (VAT Notice 700) · GOV.UK / HMRC, 2026 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-guide-notice-700
- Get an EORI number · GOV.UK / HMRC, 2026 https://www.gov.uk/eori
- Company administration and liquidation · GOV.UK / Insolvency Service, 2026 https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/insolvency-service
We sell plant, machinery, commercial vehicles, catering, industrial and IT equipment through timed online, trade-only auctions you can bid in from anywhere, and stock stays on the seller's site until it is sold and paid for. Lot details come from the vendor and we do not inspect them, so carry out your own inspection and due diligence before you bid.
See how buying at auction worksUniversal Auctions Group · EORI registered and export-ready · no seller fees, UK-wide collection. This article is general information for trade buyers and sellers and is not financial, tax or legal advice.
