Hayward's Auction House owner Kevin Hayward said the outage, which affected Telecom XT customers south of Taupo for most of the morning, caused phone bidders using that network to miss out.
"It was a bit of a problem for us, because we had a number of phone bidders . . . and as a result those people missed out."
Out of courtesy for the other bidders the auction could not be halted, Mr Hayward said.
"We just can't stand around and hold the auction up."
There was strong interest in many of nearly 900 lots on offer, particularly in some Depression era furniture and a large collection of cameras dating back to the 1880s.
A Kapai plate camera, manufactured in Dunedin by cabinetmaker Thomas Girvan, fetched $2000, and a tripod $600.
Most of the plate cameras fetched between $500 and $800.
It appeared most of the cameras would be going to private collectors and enthusiasts.
"People come out of the woodwork for these."
Also attracting interest was a copper bath ($300) and Depression-era furniture made from ammunition boxes, with a bid of $400.
