Frequently Asked Questions

 

Buying with Sworders

Our fortnightly Homes & Interiors sales and our Specialist sales are typically held on a Tuesday, starting at 10am.

Please see our extensive sales calendar here for specific dates/times.

Viewings are welcome by appointment, please see our appointment booking page or alternatively please call us on 01279 817778 and we will be happy to make the appointment for you.

Yes, please see our sales calendar for specific dates/times. To book an appointment for a valuation, sale viewing or collection of a lot(s) purchase, please click here.

You can request condition reports through our website (locate the lot in the catalogue and click 'Request Condition Report'). Condition reports can also be requested by phone and email. We are unable to provide condition reports on the day of the sale so do make sure you get your requests in early.

When your bid at auction is successful you pay the hammer price (the price the lot is sold for) plus a buyer’s premium of 25% + VAT, except for our Fine Wine and Spirits auctions, when the buyer’s premium is 18%. Some lots may incur additional Artist's Resale Right charges. 

There is no surcharge for lots purchased via Sworders Live bidding service. If bidding through the-saleroom.com live online bidding service you will be subject to an additional commission charge on the hammer price, this will be charged at 4.95% plus VAT. These charges will be payable to us on top of the hammer price and our buyer’s premium.

There are plenty of ways that you can bid with us, for a full breakdown please see our comprehensive guide here – Buying with Sworders

Payment is accepted by credit or debit card, cash, cheque and bank transfer. We accept cash to an upper limit of 10,000 euros equivalent. We accept credit card payments to an upper limit of £5,000. Usually, any cheques will need to be cleared before you can take the goods away. Please be aware that cheque clearance will take eight days from deposit. We will only release goods to a third party upon receipt of identification and authority from the purchaser. Please refer to our full terms and conditions.

Our saleroom team are always on hand to help, whether you are collecting in person or require advice about shipping.

If you are successful in your bid, please make a ‘collection appointment’ (via our website, or please call us on 01279 817778 and we can make the appointment for you).  Once the appointment has been made your sale items will be ready and waiting for you to collect at your appointment time.

   

Selling With Sworders

Please see our full guide here – Selling with Sworders

We will pay the net sum due to you within twenty one days of the day of the auction for Specialist auctions and twelve days for Homes and Interiors auctions.

    

Sworders Delivery Service

If you do not wish to collect your item(s) directly from us, we can arrange direct delivery to your chosen address. 

We use a variety of transport companies depending on size, value and end destination of the item(s) to be shipped.

Once you add shipping to your invoice, you will receive an acknowledgment email; the name of the transport method/carrier providing the service will be included in the invoice. You will also receive an email when the item has been dispatched from Sworders, along with information about receiving tracking numbers/delivery times from the carrier.

Transit time depends on the destination. In the UK, jewellery purchases (up to 2.5kg) will be delivered next day, small items will have a transit time of up to 5 working days, and larger items a transit time of up to 12 working days from dispatch. For international deliveries, small items (packaged) will have a transit time of up to 7 working days; all other items shipped internationally will have appropriate timescales discussed as part of the bespoke shipping cost process.

Yes. You can get an estimated shipping cost by looking at the specific lot on our website; click on the ‘Shipping estimate’ tab and click on the appropriate market destination.  This will indicate potential shipping costs.

If no shipping cost is available, due to the size/weight of the item, a bespoke shipping estimate can be obtained after the sale using the link in your invoice email; this also includes international deliveries.

Once you have logged into your account, you will see a 'Shipping' button in the Invoices tab of your 'My Account' page, on the Sworders website. If shipping is available, you will see the shipping cost and can click to add shipping to your invoice, and from there, you can continue to pay your invoice as usual. Even if you pay your invoice first (without shipping), you can later add shipping to your invoice and then pay the balance. 

If shipping is not automatically available, typically for furniture, paintings or larger items, we are able to obtain a bespoke shipping cost for you based on the item(s) and destination, anywhere in the world; this can be done post-sale via a link provided in your invoice email. You will receive a reply within 24 hours of the request. These larger items are shipped via Bradleys Antique Packing Services. UK and some European transit is carried out in Bradleys Antique Packing Services own vehicles by their experienced, capable and friendly staff. Worldwide shipments are packed by Bradleys Antique Packing Services, using agents worldwide who will deliver on their behalf.

For UK Jewellery deliveries, we will usually pack and post the item(s) on the Monday or Tuesday following a Jewellery sale.

UK Delivery – Royal Mail Special Delivery

Jewellery up to 2.5kg; delivery to a destination in the UK will be next day delivery by 1pm – a signature is required.

All other items are collected twice a week from our auction house in Stansted Mountfitchet. The items are then packaged ready for posting or delivery to a given destination.  Some items may need to be temporarily stored while in transit before arriving.

UK Delivery – Bradleys Antique Packing Services / DPD
Delivery of smaller items to a destination in the UK (using DPD as the carrier) normally takes up to 5 working days from the collection date from Sworders.

Delivery of larger items to a destination in the UK (using Bradleys Antique Packing Services) normally takes up to 12 working days from the collection date from Sworders.

Deliveries outside of the UK
Delivery abroad will be via quality recognised couriers, with similar standing to FedEx International. Delivery of small items (packaged) to customers internationally normally takes up to 7 working days of collecting lot(s) from Sworders. For all other items shipped internationally, Bradleys will inform you of appropriate timescales as part of the bespoke shipping process.

Should you use this service, please note only when shipping costs have been paid will the item(s) be released for shipping. 

All items can be collected from our Stansted Mountfitchet Auction Rooms by the buyer at no extra cost (Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, CM24 8GE).

Alternatively, you can choose to use our Delivery Service for delivery to a given address. We offer this service using a partner carrier company, using different shipping methods, which are dependent primarily on the items size and weight. This includes international deliveries.

Deliveries can be arranged for both in the UK and internationally.

We can arrange deliveries across the UK. Please ensure that the Delivery address is complete in your ‘My Account’ page. The shipping cost you see reflects shipping to your shipping (Delivery) address rather than your Correspondence address. If there is no Delivery address, the system will default to the Correspondence address for deliveries. Note you can add a Delivery address to your account yourself in the 'Profile' tab by clicking the 'Add Delivery Address' button.

We can deliver internationally; you will need to request a shipping cost post-sale by clicking on the link provided in your invoice email. Please be aware that there may be export restrictions on collectible items and that you are responsible for complying with any relevant export or import laws.

Yes, where possible we will ship multiple purchases from the same sale, together in one delivery. Further, if we can, we will discount the shipping costs where fewer packing materials are required to ship multiple lots.

This depends on the item(s) purchased and the shipping method used.  Where we use UK Royal Mail, for jewellery items up to 2.5kg, costs are primarily based on weight and item value.  All other shipping methods tend to be priced on the size of each item, but also on what kind of packaging is needed to securely protect the object during shipping.

Please note that insurance is not automatically included in shipping fees. If you would like to add insurance, please email shipping@sworder.co.uk along with your invoice number, we will be able to provide a quote to cover your lot(s). 

The carrier we use is a registered firearms dealer enabling them to collect Section 1 & 2 as well as Antique & Obsolete weapons throughout the UK. They offer a door to door UK delivery service and can also ship to most International Airports for clients to arrange collection at their convenience.

We are unable to transport ivory abroad, outside of the UK mainland. This is due to increased regulations, challenges regarding CITIES documentation and some of the larger shipping carriers no longer accepting ivory items anymore. We can recommend Mail Boxes Etc. Romford who may be able to assist you – please click here for their details.

We are unable to deliver purchased items to private residential addresses in Russia; all personal effects are banned from import to Russia from the UK.  However, business and commercial imports are currently allowed; when sending business or commercial items to Russia, note that some products are strictly prohibited, where you’ll need special permission.

    

General Enquiries

Our regular opening times are Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, with viewings for auctions by appointment. Please see our sales calendar for specific dates/times.  To book an appointment page please click here: https://www.sworder.co.uk/appointments/

Simply fill in your details in our Online Registration FormYou will receive an email with a link to verify your email address so don’t forget to check your inbox! Once your email address has been verified you are good to go.

Please check that you are entering your username and password correctly. If you have forgotten your password you can re-set this by clicking the Forgotten Your Password? link.

If you continue to experience problems with your account please call us on 01279 817778.

Absolutely. Once you have registered an account on our website you can set your email preferences so that you only receive emails about sales that are relevant to you. Please go to 'My Account' in the top right corner of the screen (this will appear as your name) and then ‘Account Settings’ to set/refine your preferences.

Catalogue subscriptions can be arranged in person, over the phone, or via email. Fill out one of our Catalogue Subscription Forms or contact Victoria Emmings on 01279 817778 or by email victoriaemmings@sworder.co.uk 

    

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