Buying & Selling

We host monthly specialist auctions of books & works on paper.

Entries are always invited. Please contact us or use our online valuation form and we’ll be delighted to guide you through the process of selling at auction. Our auctions are live online for a full two weeks, enabling collectors around the world to view and bid in good time, and with absolute confidence.

Selling

Selling at auction can be a thrilling experience with determined bidding battles among collectors around the world.

We make selling at auction simple and transparent with no hidden or unexpected fees. You will pay £5+VAT per lot (whether sold or unsold) and 17.5%+VAT commission (with a minimum commission charge of £5+VAT) on sold items. This is simply deducted from the hammer price before we issue payment directly to your account. We will issue your payment 20 working days after the sale, subject to our having received cleared funds from the buyer.

Reserves

Please instruct us at the earliest opportunity if you wish to place a reserve on any item consigned to be sold at auction. Suggested guide prices are based on current market values and our assessment of condition, scarcity and desirability. We recommend that any reserves should be set at 80% of the low estimate. We try to avoid reserves on group lots or single items guided below £200.

Buying

Buying at auction is always exciting, especially when an item is scarce or appearing on the open market for the very first time.

Online – Bid from the comfort of your own home. The moment a catalogue is uploaded, you can register to bid live online through the-saleroom.com (please consult their website for any fees or terms & conditions)

How does a “Timed Auction” work?

Bidding in a Timed Auction is simple and secure. The lots are staggered, so they don’t all end at the same time. However, if someone bids in the final minutes, it will automatically generate a short extension to the end time of that lot (providing counter-bidders with a fair opportunity to come back). This means the sale of that lot won’t close until all bids are in.

Collectors often wait until the very end before bidding, but it’s unnecessary and could result in disappointment if there’s an issue with your internet reception. For this reason, we always recommend entering your maximum bid early, meaning you’ll either be outbid (beyond the highest amount you were willing to pay anyway), or you’ll stay in the lead (within your maximum amount) and win. Your maximum bid is just the highest you’d be prepared to go, so it will only climb towards this figure if others are bidding against you – so there’s obviously a chance of winning it for less!

Our catalogues are online for a full two weeks. Bidding is available from the moment the catalogue goes live until its closing date. This ensures you have ample opportunity to enter a maximum bid, make enquiries, request p&p quotes, and arrange viewings. We schedule our sales to finish from 6pm (UK time), which is designed for the convenience of collectors bidding in different time zones around the world.

Bidding is currently available through The-Saleroom website, which is the major online bidding platform for almost all auctioneers. It’s safe, secure, and reliable. It’s quick & easy to register, and we recommend doing this in good time so you can comfortably enjoy bidding. We will additionally be introducing our own bidding platform on this site in the near future.

Viewing

We’re always very happy to accommodate viewings by request on a first come, first served basis.

All purchases are subject to a buyer’s premium of 25% (plus VAT where applicable), subject to a minimum lot charge of £6+VAT. Any books or works on paper that are exempt from VAT will of course be invoiced as such. NB: The-Saleroom bidding platform carries an online commission charge of 3%+VAT.