Auctions

[browndmb]

Having won a £50,voucher to spend at an auction and never having been to one I was wondering and hoping that someone out there can give me a heads up as to how this works.

[emeritus]

Is this one of those Pop up Auctions in a local Church Hall or similar. If so I would be very careful.

[Retrochic]

go take a look make a note of the lot number and register at the desk for a bidding number.when it comes up bid to what you think its worth by raising your hand and stopping when its reached as much as you think its worth. Remember though, most auctions have a 'buyers premium' of at least 15% which they add on to your bill -so if you win something for £50 you will actually have to pay £57.50 plus vat on the fees.

[Buenchico]

Check when the viewing times are for the auction. Some auctions have viewing days prior to the sale, others only allow you to see the goods on sale for a couple of hours before selling commences. Some auction houses allow you to continue viewing items during the actual sale, whereas others make it difficult (or even impossible) to do so.

Find out whether bidders are required to register beforehand. It's common practice in many auction rooms to require bidders to provide their names and addresses, prior to the start of the sale, to be allocated a bidder's number. However some auctions don't have such a requirement.

IMPORTANT!
Find out whether there's a 'buyers' premium' at the auction house. Some (indeed many) auctioneers make their money by charging BOTH sellers AND buyers for their services. You might, for example, find that there's a buyers' premium of 10% + VAT. (VAT is normally only charged on the buyers' premium, not on the actual item being sold. The only exception would be if the item was new and formed part of trade stocks, such as items sold off when a shop closes down).

So a 10% buyers' premium, with VAT on top of it, means that you'll pay a total of 12% more than what you actually bid for the item. (e.g. if you successfully bid £20 you'll actually have to pay £22.40).

Remember that all items sold at an auction house are sold 'as seen'. It's up to you to determine their condition. (If it's an electrical item, such as a radio or TV set, it will be sold with an electrical safety 'pass' sticker on it but that only means that it won't kill you; it doesn't guarantee that it's actually working!)

When it comes to bidding, simply raise your hand to bid. (Don't worry about accidentally nodding, scratching your head or blowing your nose and having that accepted as a bid. That only happens in fiction; auctioneers aren't stupid!). If you're successful, give your bidder's number (or your name if registration wasn't required) to the auctioneer.

Make your payment at the office. Some auctions allow you to collect goods you've paid for straight away; with others you might have to wait until the auction (or part of it) has ended.

Many auction houses have advice and information for buyers on their websites. Take a look to see what you can find out in advance.

Lastly: Have fun! A visit to an auction house can make a great day out (even if you're not bidding), especially if the auctioneer 'is a bit of a character' (as many of them are!).

[yogi-bear]

If you see orange face aka David Dickinson there, could you please give him a slap with a wet fish, for me, browny....ta :-)