Buying at Auction

Buyer's Premium

All purchases are subject to a Buyer's Premium of 22% plus VAT (except books where VAT is not applicable). The price you pay will be the hammer price announced by the auctioneer just before the fall of the gavel, plus the buyer’s premium. 

Example - an item with a hammer price of £100

With buyer’s premium of 22% plus VAT totals £126.40 (a book would cost £122.00)

Live Bidding charges

If you bid using our live bidding service or a third-party online platform (e.g. the-saleroom.com) there is an additional % on the hammer price. You will be advised of this before bidding.

The-saleroom.com charge an additional 4.95% plus VAT. You can save money by bidding using our own live bidding service, the charge is 3% plus VAT.

Artist's Resale Right

For some items, Artist's Resale Right may apply - see the next question for more information 

Living artists and the descendants of artists deceased within the last 70 years are entitled to receive a re-sale royalty each time their work is bought or sold. A qualifying individual (including the original artist) must be a national of an EU member state. Any work selling for £1000 or more is subject to an additional charge as laid out below. This charge is payable by the buyer on any eligible lots based on the hammer price. Lots that may incur this charge will be denoted in the catalogue by AR. (For full details of The Artists Resale Right Regulations 2006 see Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 346). The total amount of royalty payable on the sale shall not in any event exceed £12,500.

Portion of the Sale price Percentage amount From £1,000 to £50,000 4%; From £50,000.01 to £200,000 3%; From £200,000.01 to £350,000 1%; From £350,000.01 to £500,000 0.5%; Exceeding £500,000 0.25%

Click here to read our Conditions of Sale for Buyers. Buying at auction offers consumers a different level of protection than purchasing items on the high street and consumers do not have the same rights as in the normal retail environment.   It is our aim to have bidders that are happy with all of their purchases and whilst we strive to achieve this, bidders have to play their part - and make all their enquiries about an item BEFORE bidding. Refunds are only made in limited circumstances in accordance with our Conditions of Sale, professional association guidelines and ultimately UK auction law.

Our Conditions of Sale are the contractual basis for the relationship between Vendor, Auctioneer and Buyer and all parties agree to be bound by the terms contained therein.

We publish all of our sale dates in our annual Sale Calendar. 

You can use our free 'Lot Alerts' service to receive notifications about upcoming items of interest.

By signing up to the Lot Alerts service you will receive an email alert each time we upload the fully illustrated on-line sale catalogue (essentially one email per sale).  We do not share your email details with any third party and you can unsubscribe at any time.

For each auction we have viewing days. These days provide bidders the opportunity to examine the lots in person and satisfy themselves regarding the condition of those lots.  Viewing times for each sale are shown in the catalogue for each sale and the Sale Calendar.  Our friendly and experienced viewing staff are on hand to answer any questions. 

At Clevedon Salerooms we want all bidders to be happy with their purchases.  Every lot sold by Clevedon Salerooms is by definition second-hand and therefore may be subject to varying degrees of wear and tear. 

We strongly recommend potential bidders gather as much information about a lot prior to bidding for it.

In the days leading up  to our regular Antique & Interiors sales we have members of staff dedicated to preparing condition reports and sending additional images as requested by potential bidders.  Bidders are invited to request this information so they can be certain they are making an informed decision when it comes to bidding.  There is no charge for this service so please take advantage of it.  The online version of the Quarterly Specialist Sale Catalogue has pre-prepared condition reports and additional images of each lot available at least ten days prior to the sale.

There are various methods of bidding at auction. Sometimes identical bids may be left by the same methods, or differing methods, so please bear this in mind and check with the auction house if you are unsure.

You can bid in person, on the day.

You can bid by leaving an absentee (commission bid) directly with the auctioneers, these are carried out as cheaply as reserves and competing bids allow.

You can leave online 'autobids' - either through our website or on https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/clevedon-salerooms - but please be aware that a) there is a surcharge (as with live bidding), and b) bids are NOT seen by the auctioneers prior to the lot coming up for sale, so if an existing commission or room bidder bids the same amount as your maximum, their 'visible' bid will take precedence.

You can bid live in real time, using internet bidding (via our own website or https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/clevedon-salerooms - please be aware the both of these methods attract a percentage surcharge which is levied by the operator.

You can bid by telephone, for our Quarterly Sales only.

Further details about each method of bidding is found on our online catalogues.

Results are uploaded to our website during the sale, enabling you  to see if you are successful. All successful purchasers are emailed an invoice at the end of the sale. In the event of two identical absentee bid amounts being left the first bid received will be the successful buyer.

Clevedon Salerooms Vat number is 133 3286 33

• For small, non-breakable items (not containing ceramics or glass) weighing under 2kg we offer a free goodwill packing service (not postal service). You then organise your own courier of choice to collect, and email the delivery label to us as info@clevedonsalerooms.com (please contact us first before booking or using this service).
  We prefer this system to using the nearest Post Office (a six mile round trip from us during work hours, excluding parking and queuing time) - as it is both cheaper for you and quicker for us.
  As we are not professional packers, we would recommend using one of the contacts below:
• Mailboxes on 01225 483777 or email: shipping@mbebath.co.uk
• Dariuse Peterson on 07803 081531 or email dariuse@bar-berry.com
• Post It 4 Me 01258 920180 or email enquiries@postit4me.com
• Silver Arrow post  07580090850 or email silverarrowpost@gmx.co.uk
• Teresa Connor on 07799 077384 or email teresa.connor.packaging@gmail.com

For larger items such as furniture, a quote can be obtained from:

• Alban Shipping 01582 493099 or email info@albanshipping.co.uk
• Martin Bros Removals Ltd 01985 844144 or email orders@martinbrosltd.com
• Benelux Shipping (Wines, Spirits, Cigars etc) 07887 752698 enquiries.beneluxshipping@gmail.com