What You Pay: Hammer, Premium and Tax
The price you won at, plus the buyer's premium and any sales tax, in whole cents.
When you win a lot you pay three things:
- The hammer price: the price bidding ended at.
- The buyer's premium: a percentage of the hammer price, set by the auction house and shown on every auction before you bid.
- Sales tax, where the house collects it, on the hammer plus premium. Tax-exempt buyers with a certificate on file pay none; see Sales tax exemption.
Every amount is worked out on the server and rounded down to whole cents, so you are never charged a fraction of a cent and rounding never goes against you. The lot page shows what a bid would cost you in total before you place it.