Spurred by the popularity of television shows such as The Antiques Roadshow in the United States and Britain, antiques and collectibles have become exciting pastimes for large numbers of people. Just about anything can be bought at auction these days, cars, homes, art, jewelry, and of course, antiques and collectibles.

There are two types of auctions, online (eBay is a good example) and live. If the antiques bug has bitten and you've been thinking about attending a live auction but you don't know where to begin, here are some things you should know.

Types of Auction Houses

The creme de la creme of the auction world is Christie's and its competitor, Sotheby's. Christie's is headquartered in London, while Sotheby's is headquartered in New York. Both have branches throughout Europe and Asia as well.

Large premiere auction houses like these hold auctions by specialty department, such as American Furniture & Decorative Arts, American Folk Art, Rugs & Carpets, and Jewelry & Watches.

Smaller auction houses can also be found in the larger cities of the United States, Europe, and Asia, such as New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris, Geneva, Munich, and Copenhagen. They may be full-service auction houses or they may specialize in selling certain goods, for example, rare books and manuscripts, maps, posters and other printed matter, or glass and porcelain.

Auction houses located in smaller cities often sell some of everything. They typically hold larger quarterly auctions with higher quality goods and smaller monthly auctions with lower quality goods. Country auctions sell some of everything—some high quality and some lesser quality goods. They often don't have a fixed auction schedule and hold auctions only when there is enough merchandise to sell.