Other Vendor Charges
When selling goods at auction it is important to be aware of all charges. The main charge to know about is vendor commission as it is usually the heftiest charge levied by the auction house. There can also be other supplementary charges depending on who you sell with. This article will outline these charges and explain why and when they are applied.
The first charge to be aware of is carriage/collection. If you can transport your item(s) to the auction house yourself this will not apply to you. However, if you are selling a collection of items or a piece of large furniture you will need to pay for this service. The auction house can usually organise collection with their van and their rates will be explained clearly on their website. This usually consists of a charge per mile/per hour and tends to be better value if you are local. If you are from further afield you can either use one of the auction houses recommended carriers or organise collection yourself with a company of your choice. Many haulage companies have an online calculator on their website where it will give you a basic estimate based on the size of the item and the distance travelled. If you select an independent company you will pay for this separately. However, if you deal with the auction house directly they will not charge you immediately but will take the delivery cost away from your proceeds when paying you out. This will be clearly marked on the vendor statement if this is the case.
The next charge is for photography/marketing. The auction house will need to take a photograph of the object(s) for the website and for the printed catalogue (if one is being produced). It takes time to compose and edit the photographs so to cover this the auction house will charge a fixed amount. This is usually around £5-£10+VAT per lot so isn’t much to worry about if your item is worth £1,000, but it can be a healthy chunk if your item is only worth £50-£60. Some auctioneers tier photography charges in line with their marketing strategy and will charge on a sliding scale depending on the size/placement of the photograph in the auction catalogue. A standard lot image may be £5+VAT whilst a full-page image may cost £30+VAT. This is usually in line with the value of the item as it would not be worth promoting an item worth £100 in the catalogue. Because photography is usually for marketing purposes it is becoming increasingly common for auctioneers to charge a ‘marketing’ fee which encompasses photography, catalogue production and other marketing costs that the auctioneer needs to cover. This simplifies the charge for the vendor as all marketing costs are combined instead of being billed separately.
As a bit of extra information, a glossy catalogue will usually cost an auctioneer around £8,000 to produce. Because of the costs associated with catalogue production, it is becoming increasingly rare for auctioneers to produce catalogues, except for high value/status auctions. Instead, they are turning to more modern methods such as email campaigns, social media and their website promotion. These are much cheaper to run which in turn reduces the cost to the vendor.
Next is an unsold charge. If an item doesn’t sell the auctioneer may charge you a small fee. This is to dissuade vendors from consigning low-value lots and also, on the other end of the spectrum, insist on optimistic reserves. This again, is usually around £5-£10+VAT per lot, and is subtracted from the total on your statement.
Another charge you may see is a lotting fee. This is to cover the research time and cataloguing involved in preparing you item for sale. This is often a nominal fee and can be as low as £2+VAT.
Insurance (Damage and Loss Warranty) is another charge you see. Most of the time this is a percentage of the hammer price and will be charged at statement level. For example, you may see an insurance charge as follows: 1%+VAT of the hammer price on all sold lots. For certain sale types you may also be charged for unsold lots eg. 1%+VAT of the mid-estimate on unsold lots. Sometimes you have the option of organising your own insurance. If you have any questions about an auctioneer’s insurance policy or how to organise insurance content them via email or through their website.
This covers the main vendor charges you see at auction houses. You will never see an auctioneer using all of these charges, in most cases, it will be one or two of the charges outlined above. A marketing/photography fee is most common, followed by either an unsold or lotting fee. Please read the ‘how to sell’ guide on the auctioneer’s website for information about their charges. This will usually be outlined in their FAQ’s or terms of sale if you cannot see it on the main ‘selling’ page
