Selling at Auction

Whether you are looking to sell a single item, the contents of a house or an entire business worth of assets, we are on hand to assist you in putting your items up for auction.

Suitable items

Across the W&H Peacock, Locke & England and Southams family, we sell a huge variety of items at auction ranging from jewellery and watches to garage tools and equipment; coins and medals to timber and building supplies; vintage toys and collectables to retail products; sporting goods and militaria to electrical and plumbing supplies.

In order to comply with current regulations and to maintain the quality of our sales, there are certain items which we cannot accept for sale. These include soft furnishings which do not have a current fire label, certain exercise and safety equipment, cots and prams, and items constructed of ivory. For more detail on restrictions see the lot guidance page.

If bringing in items capable of holding personal data, it is your responsibility as vendor to ensure appropriate action has been taken to wipe any personal information prior to entry.

If you would like advice or a valuation prior to consigning your items for sale, please contact the relevant department with photographs. For smaller items, we hold regular valuation days.

We often deal with clients who have large stocks of items they wish to sell. In order to sell these assets most effectively, we will often hold timed online auctions at the vendor's business premises. If you think this would be the most suitable option for you, then please get in touch with our commercial department.

Delivery or collection

Entries are accepted every week at the following times:

Bedford Auction Centre
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 8.30am – 5pm

St Neots Auction Centre
Friday, Saturday and Monday 8.30am – 5pm

Leamington Spa Auction Centre
Friday, Monday and Tuesday 8.30am – 5pm

Southams Administration Office
Tuesday to Friday (excluding sale weeks) 9am – 5pm

It’s important to speak to one of the saleroom staff before you start unloading, as they can assist with valuation advice, unloading, completion of entry forms and any other questions. We do reserve the right to refuse lots which are un-saleable or unsuitable for auction.

If you are unable to deliver goods yourself, our in-house collection service may also be of interest to you.

Registration

All customers require a client registration number before buying or selling in any of our auction rooms.

There is a one off £5.00 charge for a client registration card which can be used at any W&H Peacock, Locke & England or Southams auction when you buy or sell. (If you are looking to purchase in a licensed section of a Southams auction please mention this at point of registration).

You will be required to provide basic information – your name, address, telephone number and email along with one proof of identification such as photo driving licence or a utility bill dated within last 3 months. Please note a passport is not a proof of address.

Download a registration form here.

Entry details

Each saleroom has a simple entry form which will need completing, this includes your client details, basic information about the lots consigned and reserves. Please note that reserves are only accepted at the discretion of the saleroom staff and it is therefore important you discuss these with us at the time of entry so we can advise you of realistic sale prices based on the current market.

Download entry forms here.

Once you have completed your paperwork, it is important to ensure that your items are clearly labelled with your client reference number. Failure to do this will lead to problems obtaining payment for your goods following the sale.

Auction preparation

Once your items have been consigned, our saleroom staff will photograph and catalogue your items ready for auction. All entries appear in our text catalogues with full colour photos of every lot on our website and the relevant online bidding platforms for each sale.

The saleroom is then opened for viewing prior to the auction taking place, times of which are advertised on the relevant auction listing on our website.

Receiving payment

Once we have received cleared funds from the buyer, you can receive payment for lots entered in the following ways:

 

For W&H Peacock sales:

• Bank transfer direct to your account - If not provided at the point of registration, please print and complete a bank transfer form and drop it into us to verify it with you and update your record for future selling.
• Cash from Bedford or St Neots office - You must bring photo ID with you and we request customers collecting more than £2,000 to speak to us in advance. Proceeds for specialist sales cannot be collected on the sale day itself.

For Locke & England or Southams sales:

• Bank transfer direct to your account - If not provided at the point of registration, please print and complete a bank transfer form and drop it into us to verify it with you and update your record for future selling.

 

Processing times for payment by bank transfer are usually ten days following a weekly sale or four weeks following a specialist sale.

Please note, as we act as agent, payments can only be made to the seller after the buyer has paid and we cannot be held responsible if your buyer does not pay. We pursue payment in such instances, however should a purchaser ultimately default on payment, the sale is cancelled and we will re-offer the lot in the next appropriate sale. Rest assured action is taken against defaulting purchasers to ban them from buying in future sales.

Unsold lots

Lots that are unsold at the first attempt may be re-catalogued for sale a second time and without reserve. Customers preferring to collect their unsold items are asked to do so no later than 12 noon two days after the sale. Lots failing to attract a bid and not collected may be deemed abandoned and disposed of accordingly.

Sellers fees

 

 

The above provides you with the key information you need to know in order to grasp the basics of selling at auction. We encourage customers to carefully read the full auctioneers’ conditions of sale prior to selling with us.