Private Treaty Sale

A sale arranged privately through a dealer or auction house rather than at public auction.

Example

A collector sells a watch to a known buyer through a dealer at an agreed price.

Important

It offers privacy and certainty, but no public bidding, so you rely on the intermediary's view of fair value.

Related terms

  • Reserve Price — The minimum price below which a seller has instructed an auction house not to sell.
  • Hammer Price — The winning bid at auction, before the buyer's premium and other charges are added.

Lessons that explain it

  • A price is a guess between two auction estimates until a hammer actually falls — There is no continuous market here - only comparable sales, an appraiser's estimate, and an auction reserve that can fail to be met. The gap between what an item is 'worth' and what it actually sells for can be wide, and it is measured only at the moment of an actual transaction. (12 min)

All 578 terms in the Investing glossary