ME Auctioneer flashcards

31 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Maine licensing authority

The Maine Board of Licensing of Auctioneers, within the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, licenses auctioneers, adopts rules, investigates complaints, and imposes discipline.

Unlicensed practice

Advertising, conducting, or offering to conduct an auction in Maine for compensation without a valid license. It can lead to cease-and-desist orders, civil penalties, and criminal exposure.

License renewal and CE

A licensee must renew on the Board's cycle and complete required continuing education within each period. Missing CE blocks renewal, and practicing while lapsed is unlicensed practice.

Grounds for discipline

Fraud or misrepresentation, commingling or conversion of trust funds, aiding unlicensed auctioneering, and failure to cooperate with a Board investigation are among the statutory grounds for sanction.

Board sanctions

The Board may reprimand, fine, suspend, revoke, or place conditions on a license, and may order restitution to harmed parties. Consent agreements are public records.

Advertising identification rule

Advertisements and contracts must identify the responsible licensed auctioneer and license number where Board rule requires it, so the public can verify licensure.

Listing contract elements

The seller-auctioneer agreement must identify the parties and property, state commission and fees, the sale method, reserve status, term, and termination and withdrawal rights.

Auctioneer as seller's agent

The auctioneer acts for the seller and owes fiduciary duties of loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, and accounting to the seller. No agency relationship exists with bidders.

Reserve versus absolute

With reserve, the seller may withdraw before the reserve is met. Absolute means the item must sell to the highest bidder regardless of price, with no seller bidding.

Bidder registration purpose

Registration identifies each bidder, verifies identity and payment authorization, and documents acceptance of the terms of sale before a bidder number is issued.

Shill bidding

Bidding by the seller, auctioneer, or their confederate to inflate price without disclosure. It is prohibited because it misrepresents genuine demand to other bidders.

Terms of sale

Published conditions covering buyer's premium, taxes, payment and removal deadlines, default remedies, and reserve status. They must be announced before bidding opens.

Dual agency disclosure

If the auctioneer represents or has an interest in both sides of a transaction, that interest must be disclosed in writing and consented to before the auction.

Agent bidder disclosure

A person bidding on behalf of another must disclose the principal's identity at registration so the record shows the true party bound by the sale.

Hammer contract formation

A sale contract forms when the auctioneer accepts the highest bid by the fall of the hammer or declaration of sold. The high bidder is then bound to pay.

Disputed bid rule

When bids are disputed, the auctioneer decides and may reopen the lot or re-offer it. The auctioneer's determination controls and is recorded in the clerking sheet.

Seller bidding at reserve

In a reserve sale, the auctioneer may bid on the seller's behalf only up to the reserve and only if that practice is disclosed before bidding begins.

Bid retraction

A bidder may not retract a bid once the auctioneer has accepted it. Before acceptance, the bidder may simply decline to raise the bid.

Increment announcement

The auctioneer states the bidding increment schedule before calling for bids and may change it only by announcing the change before accepting the next bid.

Linked or chandelier bidding

Selling multiple lots to one high bidder at a stated multiple. The linking rule and price calculation must be announced before bidding on those lots begins.

Seller's choice sale

The auctioneer or high bidder selects which lot or quantity is taken at the bid price. The selection order and multiplier rule must be announced in advance.

Timed online closing rule

Online auctions must publish the closing rule, including any anti-sniping extension that reopens bidding when a bid arrives near the scheduled close.

High bidder default

If the winning bidder fails to pay, the auctioneer may re-offer the lot and pursue the defaulting bidder for any deficiency and costs under the published terms.

Trust funds definition

Money held for another, including seller proceeds, bidder deposits, buyer's premiums owed to sellers, and collected sales tax. Trust funds may not be commingled with operating funds.

Trust account requirements

Trust funds must be held in a dedicated account at a Maine financial institution and disbursed only to entitled persons, with documentation supporting each withdrawal.

Commingling and conversion

Commingling mixes client trust funds with business or personal money. Conversion is using trust funds for unauthorized purposes. Both are grounds for license revocation.

Settlement statement

A written accounting to the seller itemizing gross proceeds, buyer's premiums, commissions, advertising and other charges, taxes, and net remittance with the remittance date.

Commission calculation

Commission is usually a percentage of the hammer price, sometimes with a buyer's premium shared by agreement. All rates must be stated in the listing contract.

Recordkeeping retention

Listing contracts, bidder registrations, clerking sheets, settlement statements, bank records, and tax filings must be kept for the Board's retention period and produced on request.

Trust reconciliation

A periodic comparison showing the trust ledger balance equals the bank balance adjusted for outstanding items. A shortage must be corrected and reported, not concealed.

Unclaimed proceeds

Sale proceeds or refunds owed to a seller or bidder that remain unclaimed must be handled under Maine unclaimed property law, not absorbed by the auctioneer.