Privacy policy
For the online bidding platform at bid.abell.com, operated by A. N. Abell Auction Co.
Last updated 18 August 2026.
This policy covers the bidding platform at bid.abell.com: what we collect when you register to bid, what we do with it, and how to have it changed or removed. It sits alongside the A. N. Abell Auction Co. privacy policy and the Terms & Conditions. Where this page is more specific about bidding, this page governs.
Text messages and your mobile number
We do not sell, rent, or share mobile numbers with third parties. We use a mobile number given for auction alerts to send those alerts, and for nothing else. We do not pass it to advertisers, to data brokers, to affiliates, or to any other business. We never use it for marketing.
Message frequency varies. A bidder typically receives between none and a handful of messages in the days around an auction, depending on activity on the lots they have bid on or saved.
Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any message to stop them, or HELP for help.
Text alerts are optional. You give a mobile number and tick a separate consent box, which is empty until you tick it yourself. Registering and bidding do not require it, and a bidder who declines receives the same information by email. The full opt-in flow, the exact consent wording and examples of every message we send are published at bid.abell.com/sms.html.
Twilio sends the messages for us. They receive your number only so that they can deliver our message, and they may not use it for anything of their own. That is a service provider, not a third party we have shared your number with.
You can stop the messages in any of three ways: reply STOP to a message, untick the box on your My Account page, or telephone us and ask. Any of the three removes your number from messaging.
What we collect
When you register to bid we ask for:
- your first and last name;
- your email address;
- a telephone number, so we can reach you about your bids or your invoice;
- a billing address, which is where an invoice would be sent;
- optionally, a mobile number for text alerts, if you tick the consent box;
- optionally, a resale permit number and issuing state, if you are buying for resale.
As you use the platform we also record:
- the bids you place and the maximums you leave, and the lots you save to your list;
- your acceptance of the Buyer’s Agreement, with the version, date and time;
- a sign-in token stored in your browser, so a device you have used before does not have to be verified by emailed code every time.
No card or bank details are collected or stored on this platform. Winning bidders are invoiced directly by Abell after the sale, and payment is arranged with our office.
What we do with it
We use it to run the auction: to register and approve you as a bidder, to record and execute your bids, to tell you what has happened to lots you have bid on or saved, to invoice you if you win, and to meet our record-keeping obligations as an auction house.
We do not publish who is bidding. During a live sale, other bidders see a paddle number and an amount. They do not see your name. Only Abell staff see names. The maximum you leave on a lot is shown to you and to our staff, and to nobody else. Other bidders see only what the lot has been bid up to.
Who else sees it
We do not sell or rent personal information. We pass it only to the companies that run parts of the platform for us. They work on our instructions and may not use it for anything of their own:
- Twilio — delivery of text messages, where you have opted in;
- Postmark — delivery of email notifications and sign-in codes;
- Render — hosting of the platform and its database.
We will also hand over information if the law requires us to, or if we need it to bring or defend a legal claim about a sale.
Cookies
The platform sets one cookie holding your sign-in token, so that closing the page during an auction — or shutting your computer down and starting it again — does not sign you out and does not make you wait for another emailed code. It expires 180 days after your last visit. There is no advertising cookie and no third-party tracking on this site.
Signing out ends your session: your name, your paddle number and your bids are hidden, and nothing signs you back in by itself. The device stays recognised, so returning shows “Welcome back” and one press signs you in without another code. If you are on a shared or borrowed computer, press Not you? beside it. That deletes the cookie immediately, and the next visit starts from nothing.
Keeping it, and getting rid of it
Registration and bidding records are kept for as long as we are required to keep records of the sales they relate to. You may ask us to correct your details, close your bidding account, or remove your mobile number, at any time.
If you live in California
The California Consumer Privacy Act gives you rights over your own information. You can ask us what we hold about you. You can ask us to correct it. You can ask us to delete it. You can ask us not to sell or share it — though we do not sell or share it in any case, and there is nothing on this site that would let anyone buy it. We will not treat you any differently for asking, and you will not be charged.
Under California Civil Code section 1798.83, sometimes called the Shine the Light law, you may also ask us once a year for a list of the personal information we have given to other companies for their own marketing. We give none, so the answer will always be none.
To make any of these requests, telephone 323-724-8102 or email info@abell.com and say what you would like us to do. We will answer within 45 days.
Children
The platform is for adults. Bidding is a binding offer to purchase, and we do not knowingly register anyone under 18.
Contact
A. N. Abell Auction Co., 2613 Yates Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90040.
Telephone 323-724-8102 ·
info@abell.com