I have never been able to attend in person. I mail my initial bids in, and if I am high bidder when those bids close, then I wait by my phone to be called when the auction takes place. It is extremely organized and works great. It was a bit odd the time I forgot to say not to call and I received the call while I was teaching. (Yes, I bid while teaching.). Let the record show that I did not bid on the $5000 chip.