How To Buy & Sell

Buying

Attending the Auction

You will need a bidding number before you bid. You will receive this from the office when you register.

When attending an auction for the first time you must complete a Buyers Registration Form. You can do this when you arrive, or to speed things up you can complete the form beforehand, remembering to bring it with you, along with the required forms of identification.

Buyers Registration Form

If you successfully purchase a lot, please ensure that the auctioneer can clearly see your bidding number.

Condition Reports

We do our best to provide an accurate description of any faults or repairs on items in our sales. Not all restoration or damage is noted in the catalogue. We can provide a more detailed condition report and additional images on request.

Commission Bid

If you are unable to attend the auction you may leave a commission bid with us, by indicating the maximum amount you wish to bid, excluding buyers premium.

We strongly recommend that you view or receive a condition report before submitting a commission bid.

Where we receive two identical Commission Bids, the first bid will be the preferred buyer.

You may make a commission bid by calling us on 01279 817778 or by using our online bidding system. See section on telephone and commission bidding.

Telephone bidding is available for our Country House and Specialist Sales only. You can request a telephone bid by calling us on 01279 817778.

This service is only available for lots with an estimate of £500 or more.

Buyers wishing to bid by telephone may make a request no later than 4pm on the day before the auction. We regret that we cannot accept any telephone bid requests on the day of the sale.

Buyers Premium

The Buyers Premium is 20% on the hammer price plus VAT.

Methods of Payment

You can pay by debit or credit card, and by cash up to a maximum of £5,000 per transaction.

Please be advised that credit cards incur a 2% surcharge + VAT.

Collection

You should pay for, and collect all lots by 5pm on the Friday following the sale, unless you have made specific arrangements to the contrary.

We are unable to pack and dispatch purchases, however we recommend Mailboxes on 01245 262527 www.mbebrentwood.co.uk. We can arrange for delivery of larger items at a competitive rate.

Terms and Conditions

Please refer to full Buyers Terms and Conditions of Sale

Selling

Selling your art and antiques at auction will expose them to a world wide audience of potential buyers - all items are either listed or illustrated on our website and the two leading Art and Antique websites.

We are happy to provide free valuation and sales advice. You can either bring the items to one of our offices, email us your images or in some cases arrange for a valuer to make a home visit.

Please contact any of our offices for further advice on how to place items into auction.

Contact Us

Vendor Commission and Photography Fees

The Vendors Commission is 17.5% of the hammer price plus VAT.

Photography fees for illustrations on the Internet and/or catalogues are payable as follows:

Country House Sale and Specialist Sales: From £15 to £50 per lot
Antique Sales: £10 per lot for furniture, otherwise
  £5 per lot
Weekly Interiors Sales: Not applicable

Notification and payment

We hold three different types of auctions throughout the year, the notification and payment for each auction is detailed below.

Weekly Interiors Sale

We will:

  • send you an email on the afternoon of the auction informing you of your results, and a cheque and statement (if successful) 14 days after the auction
  • post results on our website on the afternoon of the auction.

Country House Sales

We will:

  • send you a letter, or email, and a catalogue 10 days before the auction confirming your entry and any reserve prices
  • on the afternoon of the auction, send you an email informing you of your results, or a letter within 4 working days
  • send you a cheque and statement (if successful) 21 days after the auction
  • post results on our website on the evening of the auction.

Antiques Sales

We will:

  • send you a letter or an email before the sale confirming your entry and any reserve prices
  • send you an email on the afternoon of the auction informing you of your results
  • send you a cheque and statement (if successful) 20 days after the auction
  • post results on our website on the evening of the auction.

Please refer to Vendors Country House Sale and Specialist Sale Terms and Conditions

Please refer to Vendors Weekly Interiors Sale and Antique Sale Terms and Conditions