PSE Certificate: Professional Stamp Experts Certificate [abbr.].
PTS: Philatelic Traders Society (U.K.)[abbr.].
Reserve Price: 1. The catalogue stated or non-stated minimum price acceptable by the auctioneer or the owner of the lot. 2. the Stated Reserve. 3. the Hidden Reserve.
"Returned to the Owner" Lot: see: "Bought In" Lot.
"Running Up the Bidder": 1. The practice designed to artificially create higher realizations for an auction lot by "accepting" bids from non-existent bidders. 2. "Bidding Against the Ceiling" [slang]. 3. "Bidding Against the Curtains" [slang]. 4. bidding against a "Ghost Bidder" [slang].
Schätzpreis: see: Estimated Value.
Seller's Commission: The percentage or other pre-determined commission deducted from the Hammer Price of the lot, and retained by the auctioneer as part of the commission for selling the lot.
Shill: A person employed by or representing an unscrupulous auctioneer or owner of the items being offered at public auction, and who creates artificially higher prices for lots sold at public sales.
Sold to the Book: 1. The auctioneer's terminology designating that a lot has been hammered down to an Absentee Bidder represented by the auctioneer. 2. Sold to the Order.
Sold to the Order: see: Sold to the Book.
Spotter(s): Personnel employed by the auctioneer to monitor the public auction floor bidders, and to point out to the auctioneer any active bidder who may have been overlooked by the auctioneer.
Starting Bid: see: Minimum Bid.
"Statue of Liberty" Bidding: see: "Paralysis of the Arm" Bidding [slang].
Suggested Bid: see: Estimated Value.
Tie Bid: One or more identical high bids received for the same lot offered at auction
Terms of Sale: see: Conditions of Sale.
The "Tip": see: Buyer's Premium.
Unreserved Auction: An auction without Hidden Reserves or Stated Reserves selling lots for whatever is offered by the bidders.
Unsold Lot: see: "Bought In" Lot.
VAT (Value Added Tax): The tax payable on the Hammer Price + the Buyer's Premium for auction lots purchased from auctioneers resident within the countries being members of the European Union (EU). VAT is not payable for lots delivered to addresses outside of the EU community.
Withdrawn Lot: An auction lot removed from the sale for reasons that could include, but are not limited to the following reasons: mis-description or misidentification, the lot having been lost or misplaced, or the lot not having realized the reserve price.