Buying and selling at auction can be a profitable business if you know what to look for.
Here Julian Thomson, managing director of Anderson & Garland, one of the leading auction houses outside of London, explains how it works and shares his top tips for success.
Tell us about Anderson & Garland Auctioneers and its history
Based in Newcastle, Anderson & Garland is the regions oldest auction house, established in 1840. We principally cover the North of England and Scottish Borders, but our specialists are often found further afield visiting clients. We sell a wide range of Art, Antiques, Silver, Jewellery and Collectables, from the ancient to the very modern.
What are the benefits of auctioneering and how has the industry changed in the last few years?
To put it succinctly, for the seller items are open to competitive bidding, which means that they often fetch much higher prices than expected. For buyers, if you are the highest bidder you could secure an item at lower price than you were prepared to bid up to.
The industry has changed quite a bit. Most larger regional auction houses like ourselves have relocated to state of the art, purpose built premises on the outskirts of town that can offer plenty of free parking, an abundance of gallery space and modern storage facilities. We were one of the first auction houses in the UK to adopt live online bidding back in 2005. We now sell over 60% of items offered to online bidders. Our auctions attract thousands of enquiries and bids from a truly international audience.
What type of items can people consign for auction and is it simple to do?
We welcome a wide range of items of all ages, from Art, Ceramics, Silver, Jewellery, Furniture and Clocks, through to Collectors items such as Toys, Watches, Musical Instruments and Comics. Consigning items for an auction is easy. We offer a free valuation service at our offices, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm and selected Saturday mornings. Simply book an appointment with one of our specialists and if you decide to sell the items well take care of the rest.
For larger collections free home visits are available. We also specialise in estate and house clearances guiding you through the whole process leaving the property in a broom clean condition.
Tell us about the most exciting and notable lots youve sold
There are a few! For example a Lalique vase found in a house near Morpeth sold for £280,000. An oil painting of Roundhay Park in Leeds by Victorian artist Atkinson Grimshaw was discovered in a terraced house in Jesmond and this sold for £202,000.
Fittings from the SS Olympic, sister ship of the Titanic, discovered in a barn near Berwick sold for £50,000.
Three things that you would like people to know about auctions
Firstly, in days gone by, auctions were often perceived as the exclusive preserve of dealers or seasoned collectors. Today this couldnt be further from reality. Buyers are much more diverse and can bid in a number of ways. Some still prefer to turn up in person and bid or leave a commission bid. Increasingly however, customers prefer the convenience and anonymity of watching the live stream of our auctions from their office or home and buying through our live bidding platform.
Secondly, selling at auction is the best way to achieve the highest price for your items. Were working for you as your agents, so we do not buy anything. In a constantly evolving collectables market, you may just have a hidden gem waiting to be found, which wouldnt necessarily come to light if sold privately to a friend or dealer.
Finally antiques are green! It is estimated that buying a new chest of drawers from a retailer results in a carbon footprint 16 times higher than buying its classic antique equivalent. Furthermore buying second hand items at auction is usually much cheaper, so saves you money.
