Auctioneer Simon Drieu said he would now continue using online bidding for future sales.
‘It has proved so popular I can’t even put it into words,’ he said.
‘I had messages and emails from people saying what a great feature it was. After the sale we looked at the statistics and of all lots sold, 70% were online versus 30% in the room, it was unbelievable. I must admit, with nearly 30 years experience under my belt, it was one of the most surreal sales I have ever done.
‘I expected a small proportion of bids on the internet as it was something new but a lot of the time I was receiving bids solely from the internet, and even before the start of the sale we had around 200 people register to bid remotely online. It’s not often an auctioneer is left speechless.’
Mr Drieu was also surprised at the variety of clients who utilised the new feature, with many different age groups taking part. He added the he plans to improve the online bidding for future auctions.
‘Many people were also just following the sale live on the internet, and what we plan on having at the next auction is for people to be able to listen to me. As it was, people could watch the bidding going up but next time I will be miked up so those following the sale can hear me.’
