Selling at Auction

The whole process starts with either a visit to our saleroom with an item, or with a visit to your home by a representative from the saleroom, usually our Saleroom Manager, Andrew Swain. Find out more about our valuation services here

Once it has been agreed that your item is saleable at auction and you are happy with the estimate/reserve we have recommended, it will be entered into the appropriate sale.

Reserve Price

This is the minimum price at which the item will be sold. It will be agreed with the vendor in advance. It is normal to allow the auctioneer discretion of 10% of the reserve price, e.g. £90 on an item with a £100 reserve or £180 on an item with a £200 reserve. If bidding slows at the discretion figure the auctioneer will sell at that price... Read more
If you visit the saleroom in person, a Client Property Receipt & Contract will be completed. You will be asked to sign this and a copy will be given to you for your records.

If we visit your home to view items for one of our sales, you will be told of the closing date for the relevant sale - the latest day by which to get the items to Baffins Hall. If you are unable to deliver the items to us yourself, we will be happy to recommend a carrier who will be able to do this for you, although this is at your cost.

We will either list the items on a receipt during our visit with your or send a Receipt & Contract to you in the post to sign, once the items have been received into the saleroom. Read Less

Charges

Commission: Our commission for sales is 15% plus VAT.

Insurance: All items left for sale are covered by insurance. A charge of 1.5% plus VAT of the hammer price is made to cover this.

Withdrawal from Sale: A charge may be made for withdrawing an item prior to sale, once the catalogue has been published. The fee is 5% of our estimated reserve or a minimum of £25.

Illustrations: Lots may be subject to a small illustration charge please contact us for more information.

Advertising

Regular advertisements are placed in local and regional newspapers and also in the Antiques Trade Gazette, the weekly publication for the antiques industry.

All sales are also available online via the-saleroom.com.

Settlement Terms

We pay clients 28 days after our sales. In the event that a buyer fails to settle his invoice with us we may not be able to settle with our client, but will keep our client informed at every stage if it occurs. We do not release client items to the buyer until payment has been received in full.

Terms of Consignment
Conditions of Business