Auction Houses Charge if reserve price is not met

wilko116

If you put an item into an Auction House for a reserve price of say £500 which is in line with a valuation. If the item does not reach its reserve price do the auction house charge and if so how much!!

martindow

Each auction will operate with its own set of fees. You need to ask them or look at their terms and conditions. Are these on their web site?

hollydays

Is that what the auction house says its worth?
Because if not , let them value it.

RFW

wilko116 wrote: »

If you put an item into an Auction House for a reserve price of say £500 which is in line with a valuation. If the item does not reach its reserve price do the auction house charge and if so how much!!

Some do, some don't. The big auction houses tend to charge a commission on the highest price reached without a sale. So if the last bid is £450, they will rule it as unsold and charge you, what could be 25% of £450. What they will most likely do is ask if you are willing to sell it at £450 after the sale.

It's one of many questions you should ask when putting goods into auction. Others include,
what is the commission?
is it a flat commission charge or are there other charges?
are there any storage or insurance charges?
after the sale how long does it take to get paid?

Road_Hog

wilko116 wrote: »

If you put an item into an Auction House for a reserve price of say £500 which is in line with a valuation. If the item does not reach its reserve price do the auction house charge and if so how much!!

Generally (in my experience) auction houses will charge you whether the item sells or not. If it sells, then a % commission, if it doesn't, then a flat fee.

If they didn't do this, then they would end up with a lot of sellers having a punt at a very high price, with no cost to themselves. Where as if it is going to cost them to auction it, then they'll put a priced to sell on it.

soolin

Road_Hog wrote: »

Generally (in my experience) auction houses will charge you whether the item sells or not. If it sells, then a % commission, if it doesn't, then a flat fee.

If they didn't do this, then they would end up with a lot of sellers having a punt at a very high price, with no cost to themselves. Where as if it is going to cost them to auction it, then they'll put a priced to sell on it.

My closest auction house does not charge at all for unsold items and will either return them or just keep resubmitting them at subsequent auctions. You pay nothing unless it sells.

However, they will only take items they think will sell, they refuse a great deal of things that sellers try to offer. They also refuse reserves that they think are unachievable.

The other two I sell at roghly the same, no charge until sold and will not put a reserve in that they feel cannot be achieved. However both those charge if it doesn't sell after 2 attempts and you want the item back.

RFW

Road_Hog wrote: »

Generally (in my experience) auction houses will charge you whether the item sells or not. If it sells, then a % commission, if it doesn't, then a flat fee.

If they didn't do this, then they would end up with a lot of sellers having a punt at a very high price, with no cost to themselves. Where as if it is going to cost them to auction it, then they'll put a priced to sell on it.

Auction houses won't just accept an item with any reserve though. As Soolin says they'll turn it away. I very rarely accepted any reserves, on the rare occasions we did it was a realistic one. We also never charged. I've never entered anything into an auction with a reserve either. What some will do is "bid on behalf of the vendor", so the vendor will pay the buyer's premium and commission of the highest price it reached. Others will sell on a reserve, not charge and if it is left behind, sell on the next sale with no reserve.
There isn't a one rule fits all with auctioneers, they can and do do what they like. What you'll tend to find is that the bigger the auction house the more they charge and the more they will find to charge for.

soolin

The other thing I should mention is that my experience of selling at auction is with items that I have taken to the house myself. I know they all charge if you expect them to come out and value or if you need help to transport items to the sale room.

I regularly attend 3 auctions, and pop in and out of another couple, virtually none of them have more than a few items per hundred with a reserve. The only one that regularly uses a reserve is a "proper" antique auction that has an online presence and attracts worldwide bidders. A lot of their items have reserves and it is not uncommon for a sale to occur that is subject to seller agreeing to reduce the reserve.

wilko116

Is a painting I am talking about and other paintings by the same artist have been sold for between £400 and £650 each at various auction houses in the past 5 years. So I would probably be looking at an ART Auction Sale rather than just a general Auction sale. This is the reason I am looking at putting a Reserve Price on the item.

soolin

wilko116 wrote: »

Is a painting I am talking about and other paintings by the same artist have been sold for between £400 and £650 each at various auction houses in the past 5 years. So I would probably be looking at an ART Auction Sale rather than just a general Auction sale. This is the reason I am looking at putting a Reserve Price on the item.

all the advice above still stands. Find an auciton house, get them to look at painting and suggest a value, agree a reserve and check their costs before you agree to sell.

Make sure you get it all in writing, what you have agreed, what fixed reserve and what fees applies dependent on a successful sale or not.

Tim_Richmond

I was quoted by an Auction house in Surrey the following charges. 15% commission up £1000 then 10% therafter. Loss and damage warranty 1.5%. Marketing and Internet listings £10 an item (sold or unsold). Catalogue Illustration £10 an item (sold or unsold).A reserve price must be deemed as reasonable by the auction house and agreed by both parties. Do these fees all seem about average.