Hardy Antiques - Selling at auction A beginners guide

Selling at auction A beginners guide

This is the third in the loose series 'where to sell your stuff'. You tried the local dealers and had no luck with them. You've looked at the idea of eBay and the other internet options and chosen not to go down that route (don't blame you!). So what's left? Its time to look at your local(ish) auction house.
I don't know what you've heard about auctions, but I think they have a lot of advantages. Number one is that this time they do all the work for you, which makes then the diametric opposite of eBay. So let's look at the good bits first and then, in another post, the other things you need to be aware of.
There are dealers who trade by buying items at one auction and placing them into another. Indeed I do that myself, and I'm not talking about re-entering things I've not been able to sell although I do that too, but things I have bought at one place specifically to enter somewhere else with a view to making a profit. It works (mostly), and shows that auctions differ: they have their strengths and indeed their weaknesses. This illustrates that choice is important when it comes to selling at auction (slight aside: and what a much more logical and realistic TV show that would make than the ridiculously back-to-front Bargain Hunt).
I would like to think you've read (and, of course, thoroughly enjoyed) my post here about selling your stuff. Much of what I say about choosing your dealer also applies to choosing your auction house. The main barrier to this though is that it requires the seller to be really objective about the items they are selling. And it seems that this is almost impossible for most people. They simply can't be dispassionate, especially if there is some kind of family link.
The main thing that crops up time after time is that you, or Dad, or Granny, paid thousands for something ages ago. But fashions change, often quickly and drastically, and just because something was worth a substantial amount a few or more years ago does not mean it is worth anything like that now.
You can also look at in another way: the money tied up in a piece you don't like isn't really money. Its just a thing. And you've decided its got to go, so really, whatever you get for it is better than the nothing it represents in your bank account right now. Is the space and the lack of clutter that selling it offers worth more than the (vanishingly) remote possibility of it making your family fortune in years to come.
So what are the choices? There exists a wide range of auction houses, from the narrow top of the pyramid represented by the top international houses like Christies and Sothebys, down in size (and cost) through the middle ranks to the small ones in church and village halls. You can define them by their catchment area. The top ones draw sellers from all over the world, to sell the very best of the best. The next layer down draw from much of the country because of a reputation they have built, and certainly from a large region covering several counties. Then it goes on down the scale, drawing stock from the county, the area and eventually just locally. These latter are the ones for the box full of old drawer contents from Gran's desk. You won't find many of these smaller guys on the interwebs, try the local paper.
But if Gran's desk is a nice Victorian pedestal one, like this,

Pedestal 903 for web004.jpg then I'd consider a middle ranking auction house near you. There are various ways to find them, but the internet is a good a place as any. You'll find many of them host live internet sales nowadays and that can be good for sellers. Many of them are finding that more people 'attend' online than actually show up on the day. But don't restrict yourself to auctions on the web. I use a sale room that holds general sales 'off web', yet their prices are stronger than many internet auctions because they have built a strong and loyal following of buyers.
And that's the next thing to look at; types of sales. Middle ranking auction houses will combine a mix of general and less frequent specialist sales: silver, paintings, oriental, etc., while the local houses rely on regular general only auctions.
If you've taken your stuff to someone like me, you've probably been given you a clue as to what kind of auction house you're looking for, if not an actual name. And the process of showing the auctioneers what you've got is much the same as selling to a dealer and I've already discussed that, so rather than repeat it all again, why not pop back to the original post, here, and bear in mind that the same 'rules' apply. The thing most auction houses also do is 'valuation days'. On these you can just show up with your stuff, at other times you'll need to ring them first for an appointment. Some very local houses only take in on certain days. Check first before making a wasted trip.
Having then decided on your auction house, there are some things you should know about, including fees. But I think that's enough for one post, so I'll look at those in the next one.

(You can find your way over there by click the 'next' button below, or here - they'll both do it)

And, you can tell me where I've gone wrong over on Facebook

26/05/2016 Posted by Paul Hardy Tags: antiques, selling, auction

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