Place bids from anywhere in the world

Bidding remotely is simple and straightforward with Christie’s innovative digital platforms. All of Christie’s auctions are fully accessible for online browsing and bidding, meaning you can easily place a bid from the comfort of your home through Christie’s LIVE™, or alternatively by telephone. In 2021, 72% of all bids were placed online, and for live auctions, telephone bids made up 42% of winning bids versus 7% within the saleroom — so you’re in good company.

What do I need to bid?

Before you can bid, you will need to create an account with Christie’s. Once you have an account, you can register for any sale in advance through your online account via our auction calendar.

How to bid?

Online with Christie’s LIVE™

Christie’s online bidding platform has live streaming video of the auction to bring the excitement of the saleroom right to your computer or mobile device.

Clients who wish to bid online with Christie’s LIVE™ should register at least 24 hours in advance of the sale. Once you’ve registered, you can enter the online saleroom 15 minutes before the start of the sale, or at any point during the sale. Just visit your online account, or the auction calendar, find the sale you want and select ‘Join auction’. For applicable sales, you may place your bid via Christie’s LIVE™ in one of two ways, by either submitting a “max bid” or submitting a “bid”. Please see Christie’s LIVE Terms of Use for further details.

Telephone bidding

If you prefer to bid by telephone, we can call you directly from the saleroom and bid on your behalf with the auctioneer.

If we cannot reach you whilst the sale is happening, to avoid disappointment, we recommend that you consider leaving an ‘emergency absentee bid’ too.

To register for a telephone bid, please contact Client Services for assistance.

Absentee bid

If you are unable to attend an auction, simply place an absentee bid (also commonly referred to as a written or commission bid) at least 24 hours before the sale and the Christie’s auctioneer will bid on the item for you. An absentee bid left in advance takes priority over the same bid amount in the room or on the telephones. If your bid is more than the seller’s minimum reserve, the auctioneer will try to win the item for you at the lowest price they can.

You may place an absentee bid via your online account, or by calling Client Services. If you are logged into your account on the app or website, simply find the sale and items you wish to bid on, and enter the maximum bid amount you wish to go up to.

Online-only auctions

Christie’s online-only auctions offer selected works at an attractive price point, inviting to both new and established buyers. Browsing, bidding and buying take place exclusively online, and sales are open to bidding for a fixed period over a number of days. Find out more about bidding in online-only auctions.