North Dakota Code § 41-02-45

(2-328) Sale by auction
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1. In a sale by auction, if goods are put up in lots, each lot is the subject of a separate 
sale.
2. A sale by auction is complete when the auctioneer so announces by the fall of the 
hammer or in other customary manner. If a bid is made while the hammer is falling in 
acceptance of a prior bid, the auctioneer may in the auctioneer's discretion reopen the 
bidding or declare the goods sold under the bid on which the hammer was falling.
3. Such a sale is with reserve unless the goods are in explicit terms put up without 
reserve. In an auction with reserve the auctioneer may withdraw the goods at any time 
until the auctioneer announces completion of the sale. In an auction without reserve, 
after the auctioneer calls for bids on an article or lot, that article or lot cannot be 
withdrawn unless no bid is made within a reasonable time. In either case a bidder may 
retract the bidder's bid until the auctioneer's announcement of completion of the sale, 
but a bidder's retraction does not revive any previous bid.
4. If the auctioneer knowingly receives a bid on the seller's behalf or the seller makes or 
procures such a bid, and notice has not been given that liberty for such bidding is 
reserved, the buyer may at the buyer's option avoid the sale or take the goods at the 
price of the last good-faith bid prior to the completion of the sale. This subsection shall 
not apply to any bid at a forced sale.

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