Christie's & Sothbey's

Christie's auction house in Paris, which usually sells fine art and furniture, hosted an unusual auction of paleontological curiosities, including several prehistoric mammals.

Skeletons of a 10,000-year-old, four-metre-long rhinoceros and a 2.3-metre-high cave bear are also going under the hammer. The skeletons were currently owned by a private collector, but buyers may include museums or artists, said Christie's spokeswoman Capucine Milliot. The mammoth skeleton was sold for $ 421,200.

The auction was also toasting modernity. For the first time at Christie's in Paris, bidders will be able to remotely bid online. Christie's Live, used for the first time in New York in July 2006, then in London and Amsterdam, allows users to "virtually" attend auctions.

• Upcoming auctions

The 26^th of October at Christie's will be possible to bid for Important Silver & Objects of Vertu. You can get more information clicking here. The 26^th of October at Sotheby’s will be possible to bid for Ariane Dandois: European Furniture, Paintings & Asian Art. You can get more information clicking here.

• Advantages & disadvantages of bidding online

A person may consider many things when he bids on an auction online. He may encounter auctions that may either be credible or not. There are sites that offer return policies in a particular item which may have not met the standards on usage or effectiveness. The seller should have a history in his transactions where he has received good feedback and comments from his previous buyers. However, there could be sellers that may not be questioned with their honesty because they are using anonymous email accounts.

There are factors that should be considered to ensure that a person would benefit from making a transaction online. It is advised to be a safe buyer rather than becoming an aggressive bidder who does not know if the product is good compared to the descriptions and pictures that were displayed on the auction.