Auction guides
Plain-English answers to the questions people ask before, during and after an auction, each with a worked example you can try in the calculator.
Costs and fees
What is a buyer's premium?
The fee an auction house adds to your winning bid, with a worked example and what to check before you bid.
Do you pay VAT on auction fees?
When VAT applies to the premium and the winning bid, what 'inclusive of VAT' means, and whether you can reclaim it.
How to work out your maximum bid
Why you can't simply subtract the fees from your budget, with the formula, worked examples and a resale-margin version.
Why is my auction invoice higher than my bid?
Go through the invoice line by line and find out why the total is more than the hammer price.
What is an online bidding fee?
The extra charge some auction houses add when you bid through an online platform, and what it does to your total.
How to compare auction house fees fairly
Why the lowest premium isn't always the cheapest, and how to compare two houses on the total you'd actually pay.
Buyer's premium table: what £100 to £5,000 really costs
A quick-reference table of total costs at common hammer prices and premium rates, with VAT included.
How to budget for several lots in one sale
Keep a running total across a whole sale, so every bid is sensible and the total still fits your budget.
How much does delivery add to an auction purchase?
Why delivery matters most on lower-priced lots, and what to check before you bid.
Bidding in another currency
How exchange rates change what you pay, and why the rate you see isn't always the rate you get.
Artist's Resale Right explained
The extra charge that can appear on art by living artists, who pays it, and how to include it in your total.
Bidding
What is a reserve price?
The secret minimum the seller will accept, how it relates to the estimate, and what it means for your budget.
Auction estimates: why lots sell above or below them
What an estimate really tells you, and how to turn it into a total you can budget for.
Bid increments explained
How bids rise in steps, why each step costs more than it looks, and how to round your limit down properly.
Commission (absentee) bids explained
How leaving a maximum bid works, what the limit includes, and how to set it so you don't overpay.
Online, phone or in the room: which way should you bid?
The main ways to bid compared on cost, convenience and control, so you pick the right one for the lot.
How to avoid overbidding at auction
Practical ways to stay inside your budget when the bidding gets exciting.
After you win
Won at auction? Payment, collection and storage
What happens after the hammer falls, and what to do about payment, collection and damage.
Item not as described? Your rights when buying at auction
Why rights at auction can be limited, what the law says, and practical steps if a lot isn't what you were told.
Can you cancel a winning bid or return an auction purchase?
Why a winning bid is usually binding, how the 14-day cancellation right works at auction, and what to do if you bid by mistake.
Buying to resell and selling
Buying at auction to resell: how to check the numbers
Work out your real profit, the difference between margin and markup, and the highest bid that still pays.
Selling at auction: what you'll actually receive
The deductions between the hammer price and the money in your account, with a worked example.
Vehicles
Copart UK fees explained
The lot fee, buyer fee tiers, bidding fees and VAT on a Copart UK purchase, with a worked example.
Insurance write-off categories (A, B, S and N) explained
What Cat A, B, S and N mean, why Cat N isn't always minor, and how a category changes your numbers.
General information only, not tax or financial advice. Always confirm fees and terms with the auction house before you bid.