Lucky you – your  bid on some lots at auction and won the bidding. Hopefully you have made notes of the lots you have bought and how much the hammer price was as you may well need this information in next step. Part 8 of my guide to real -life antiques auction is about paying for and collecting your purchases.

Just a few tips here:

• - there will be a limited time to pay for and collect. Be warned some auction houses have a surcharge for lots not collected within a few days.
• - The goods are yours from the fall of the hammer and you are responsible for them so it is in your interest to pay for and collect as soon as you can
• - You can normally pay via cash, debit or credit card. If you want to pay a large sum by cheque you should ask in advance as this ay not be acceptable to the auction house. Most have a surcharge for paying by credit cards ( not by debit cards though)
• - You may have to queue to pay so allow plenty of time
• - Normally after you pay you will be given a receipt with a list of your lots and how much you paid for each. Hang on to this list as it is your proof of purchase. You may need to pass it to a porter who will get your items for you.
• - Make sure you have sufficient packaging, boxes and large enough transport to get your items home. If you are struggling do ask the porters who might be able to help. There would be a charge if they need to arrange transport for you.

Just before my post on bidding live at real life auctions you can watch one of my favourite Antiques auctioneers in action. This is John Gilding from Gildings in Market Harborough selling a clock:

Here is part six of my ten part beginners guide to real life auctions – Registration and comission bids

The auction has been viewed you have researched your potential purchase . The final part of the process before the sale begins is to register with the auction house or leave commission bids with them. The choice is yours however I would normally recommend that you only leave commission bids if you really cannot attend in person.

Registering to Bid

Auction houses will normally operate a bidding by number system. That is you register your name and address with them and they will give you a number to hold up once you are the successful high bidder.  Go to the auction house prepared to register – some require proof of name and address. Some auction houses I know charge a refundable deposit to obtain a bidder number. Allow time to register – I have seen substantial queues at busy sales and you could loose out on early bids whilst waiting for your card. 

If you become a regular at an auction house they may offer you a “Permanent number” this you can keep and use week after week without the need to register each time.

I have seen variations on the number bidding system at smaller auction rooms. You may just have to shout out your name once you have won the lot. One auction I know about employs porters who come to you at the end of each lot with your item and want payment immediately  but this is quite a rare practice.

Comission  Bidding

Instead of partaking in the living bidding in the sale room you can leave a written big with the auction house. Ask for a form, you will need to add your contact details and the number / description of the lots you are interested in . you also put in your maximum bid for the lot.  The auctioneer will submit your bids for you up to this maximum bid. ( Please see part 10 of this guide for a few warnings on commission bidding).

Some larger auction houses now operate a system where you can leave your commission bids though the Internet – you need to see their individual websites for details.

Having viewed the auction in advance you now have the opportunity to carry out further research into items you have seen but want to know more about.

Perhaps you have reference books in the car or have mobile Internet access from you phone so that you can carry out research whilst away  from home?  If you have time there are several sources of good information available:

- Fellow collectors or collectors clubs

Handy for a quick call but other collectors may be seeking out the same items as you and might not always give out the correct information. Be careful what you say to them or you will end up competing for the same items at the auction.

- Reference books and Price Guides

Price guides normally do not give a good indication of what you can expect to  pay at auction. Some have items very overpriced.

- The Internet – the best way to research current values( in my opinion):

• - eBay – use the completed item search and click the price column to sort in price order.
• - Google – take a look at the Google shopping to see fixed prices of items for sale around the Internet
• - Antiques Trade Gazette website – has a large database of prices antiques have reached at auciton over the past few years
• - Specialist websites – Ideal for seeing what Antiques Dealers are charging , normally you can expect to pay less than this at auction

The purpose of this research is to further refine your highest bid price on the items you have viewed at the auction. Here is an example of a piece I bought at auction after researching it. This round tile does not have manufactured markings however I have many reference works on Tiles and was able to find this exact item in a book and determine that it is a mid 19th century Tile Plaque made in Poole.

Early Poole Tile bought at auction

Ok, you’ve followed my tips so far and have arrived to view your chosen auction with plenty of time and with the right equipment with you.  The purpose of viewing is to establish which lots you want to buy and how much you are prepared to pay for them. This is how I approach the viewing :

- Find lot one and work  up from there. This ensures that you dont miss out on anything and that you have all the lots you want to bid on in the right order when it comes to the actual sale.

1. - Assuming that there are hundreds of items in the auciton you are only going to be interested in buying a small %. I quickly glance at each lot in turn passing over ones which are not of interest to me.
2. - When I find a lot of interest I examine it in detail looking for : what is it? How old is it? Any damage or restoration? Any manufacture information? This enables me to work out if it would be of interest to my customers and if I am interested in buying that lot. If I have any outstanding questions about the item I write down notes so that I can do further research when I get home,
3. - I work out the maximum price I am willing to pay for the lot. Remember you will have commission to pay on top of the price you win any lot at. You will need to ask each auction house individually what the commission is. The maximum price you bid will need to take this commission into account.
4. - move onto the next lot and repeat the process until the entire auction has been viewed

There are a few points to remember:

• - The auction house staff are there to help you, if you cant find a lot or need to know more about it do ask. You may not always get the help you need but its worth a try
• - Find out how many lots per hour the auction sale proceeds at. This will  help you establish how long you will be at the auction and what time you need to turn up at the sale.
• - Auction lots can sometimes be quite large and there may only be one or two items in the lot which interest you. If you buy a very large lot the auction house will normally expect that you take it all away not just the items you want. Do ask the auction house staff they may be prepared to help with the disposal of unwanted part lots but normally not.

What do I need to take with me to a real life auction? 

I would say as an absolute minimum you need:

- a pen

- a copy of the catalogue or a note book ( or you may buy a catalogue at the auction house)

- proof of identity which is needed at some auction houses before you can register (see part 6)

- means to pay for your purchases ( check the auctioneers website to see what is acceptable)

- packaging material to protect your purchases on your way home

Victorian glass dump

Depending on the types of antiques you are going to buy you may also want:

- a loup or magnifying glass

- a set of digital weighing sales ( for gold)

- a tape measure ( will the furniture fit in my house?)

- an electronic diamond tester

- an ultraviolet pencil light to test for ceramic restoration

- Reference Books ( keep these in the car it is really un-cool to be seen referring to them in the auction room)

And, In my case I also need to remember my glasses as I can see the details clearly enough without them!