To WATCH any of Crossroads’ YouTube LIVE Auctions, simply log on to www.YouTube.com, type CROSSROADS AUCTION CENTER in the search bar at the top of the page and hit the ENTER button on your keyboard. In the search results that appear, just click on CROSROADS AUCTION CENTER .This will take you to Crossroads’ Main Page. Each time we start a LIVE broadcast, it will pop up on that page.
If you have a YouTube Account, be certain to visit our page PRIOR to a scheduled auction and Subscribe to our channel. If you do this, you will receive a notification each time we go LIVE.
You do not need your own YouTube Account to watch our LIVE auctions. You may use an account belonging to a friend or relative.
To place a bid on an item during one of or YouTube LIVE auction, simply wait for the item you want and comment on the broadcast with the items’ number and the amount you wish to bid. (i.e. Lot #14 $100) the item number will always be displayed on a placard behind the item being offered.
Please Pre-Register with Crossroads
You DO need to have access to an active YouTube Account to bid.
All of the bidding action takes place in the comments section . The auctioneer is 10-30 seconds behind the actual bidding due to technology and a lag in the broadcast time. The Auctioneer you HEAR may be asking for $50 when it is clear in the comments that the bidding has already progressed to $250. Don’t worry, the Auctioneer will eventually catch up to the comments (or actually HAS already caught up you just haven’t SEEN or HEARD him catch up yet due to the broadcast lag). If you see, within the comments, that someone has outbid you, you may feel free to bid again.
TIPS; YouTube LIVE Auctions can be just as exciting and fun as any In Person auction. However, the bidding strategies are slightly different due to the lag in broadcast time and the amount of time it takes a comment/bid to register. Because of this, there are a few things we’ve noticed that make YouTube bidding very different from In Person bidding.
1. YouTube Live Auctions are no time to be coy or cheap. Because each bid takes sometime to reach the auctioneer, it is unwise to attempt to play “nickels and dimes”. $5 and $10 bids just risk someone else beating you to the bid and costing you more money. It is wisest to come out of the gate with a hefty offer. For example, if you are happy to pay $300 for an item, make your first bid $125. You will silence much of the opposition and make it harder for someone to instantly outbid you.
2. It’s okay to bid against yourself. Sometimes you may wish to increase your own bid in order to reach a level that stops all the people thinking the same as you. If YOU want to pay $300, there are probably a number of other people thinking the same thing. If you already have the winning bid at $285, it is fine to increase your own bid to $300 in order to prevent someone else from bidding $295 or $300 thus forcing you to bid $310 or more.
If you REALLY want an item, Don’t try to “snipe” at the last minute . We have seen countless bids, intended as last minute “snipes” come in AFTER the item has sold and SOLD appears in the comments. Waiting until the last minute and depending on the speed of YOUR internet provider, OUR internet provider and the momentary position of Satellites in orbit around the Earth is a dangerous game and one that is easy to lose.
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Our Online LIVE Auctions-
Q: HOW DO I SIGN UP/GET A BIDDING NUMBER?
A: You don’t NEED a bidding number just REGISTER with us and you are all set!
Then you can comment on the LIVE broadcast. Make sure your comment includes the Lot number and the amount you wish to bid. BOTH are necessary for us to count the bid. In THIS auction you are identified by your Profile name rather than by a bidder number!
Q: HOW DO I PAY FOR ITEMS?
A: Payment and Pick Up are handled at our facility located at 988 County Route 37 Central Square, NY in a brief period following the auction. we will ALWAYS announce the Pick Up/Payment days both at the beginning of the auction and at several points throughout the event. If you know you are not available for the allotted days for Pick Up/Payment, Please refrain from bidding. We accept cash. checks and credit cards as forms of payment (10% buyer’s premium with cash, 13% buyer’s premium with checks or credit/debit cards)
Q: “My bid appeared BEFORE another bidder but the other bidder was declared the winner, WHY is that?”
A: On your own device (phone, tablet, laptop etc.) you will always see your own bid FIRST (because it doesn’t need to travel around the web, up to a satellite and back down). Every device shows bids received in a different order. To avoid confusion, we have picked ONE device in our gallery which acts as our control device. That device is the final word on the order in which bids have been received by US.
Q: HOW DO I KNOW IF I WON A BID?
A: During an Estate Auction, the auctioneer always mentions the name of the winning bidder out loud. Pay attention to that name and you will know if you have won the bid or not. Using the comments feed to ask if you have won a bid or not is frustrating for everyone as we have no staff available to answer that question and you will grow old waiting for an answer.
Q: CAN I INSPECT ITEMS BEFORE I BID?
A: Yes, we are Happy to have you preview items in person at our facility from Noon-4Pm on Auction days. We will often advertise additional preview opportunities on our Facebook Page.
Q: DO YOU SHIP?
A: The answer depends on the lot we are selling, if an item will not fit in a 24" box then probably not. In order to ship you will need to provide us with YOUR 7-9 digit FEDEX Account number, if you don't have an account set up with FEDEX do that first. We will drop off your winning lot and FedEx will box it up with the proper packaging and send it to you. This is the only way we ship items! Shipping and packaging costs will be billed by FedEx to your FedEx account. Crossroads will NOT be liable for any damage that could occur in shipping, once it leaves our facility it is between you and FedEx to resolve any shipping disputes.