Excalibur Auctions

Specialist Auctioneers

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How We Work

How do I buy From the Auction?

There are several ways to buy items

1  Join us live in the auction sale room on sale day. You will be asked to register to bid (this involves filling in a form with your basic contact details and providing us with a form of ID such as Driving Licence) We will then give you a ‘paddle’.Excalibur Auctions, bidding, buying, paddle

NB Don’t worry you can’t accidentally bid by scratching your nose!

We only accept a raised paddle as a bid.

2  If you can’t be with us on sale day you can place an absentee or commission bid – this is where you fill in a form with the maximum bid you want to place on an item and we bid up to that amount for you.  We try and get it as cheaply for you as possible and bid up to your maximum.

3  If you want more control over your absentee bidding and are bidding on items with an estimate of £50 or more then we will book a telephone bid for you.  We phone you and have you on the end of the phone line during the bidding and you place your bid with us as your go between to the auctioneer.

4  If none of the above are an option due to distance or other commitments then you can bid online. We usually use two online bidding platforms the-saleroom.com and invaluable.com Both of these platforms allow you to follow the action online from the comfort of your home and bid using their software. Not quite as exciting as being in the saleroom but a very convenient way of buying at auction.

How to Sell:

Whether you have something to sell at auction for the first time, or are an experienced seller, we’ve put together this step by step guide about how we work.  We aim to make the whole process as straightforward and hassle free as possible – whilst ensuring that you get the best possible price for your items.

If you have something that you would like to sell, please get in touch with us, either using our contact form or by calling us on 44 (0) 20 3633 0913

  1. After that initial conversation we will ask you, if possible, to send us some photographs of what you would like to sell.
  2. One of our specialists will then evaluate your items and give a rough idea of selling price based on the photos
  3. Often a specialist can visit you to evaluate your collection in the comfort of your own home – in some cases you won’t need to send photos because we will come to you.
  4. If you decide you want to go ahead and we don’t need to visit you then you can post your items to us at our Amersham address.  Please fill in the Lot Entry Form and enclose it with your items.  We recommend taking photographs of the items before posting and of the packaging as well as obtaining insurance for valuable contents.

At this point we will explain to you our terms and conditions, fee structures and the next auction dates.   There is no pressure to commit there and then – we know that often conversations need to be had with other involved parties or family members.

If and when terms are agreed then we take away your items to be catalogued, researched and photographed.  We then advertise and promote the sale and the individual items.

Commission

Commission is charged to sellers calculated per lot, as follows:
• Vendor’s commission  18%*
• Insurance 1%*
• Internet and marketing charge FREE
• Lotting Charge (research, cataloguing, photographing)  £1.50 per lot*
• All charges are plus VAT

Please note that although we don’t produce printed catalogues for our sales, we do send out a full colour pdf catalogue featuring a colour photograph of every lot FREE of charge

*Rates negotiable for high value lots and collections

At the auction

On the day of the auction buyers can join us live in the room or bid via one of the worldwide online bidding platforms.  You are welcome to join us in the room if you’d like to.

Transfer of funds

28 Working Days (or thereabouts) after the sale we pay you directly into your bank account, any unsold items can be returned to you at this stage, or held by us for re-entry in a later sale.