Absentee (Commission) Bids

We will be pleased to execute bids on your behalf if you are unable to attend the sale in person.  Buyers are advised to check the day after the sale to see whether they have been successful.  All bids must be received by 10am on sale day otherwise they might not be placed.  A bidding form can be printed out from here and faxed to us on 01243 532299 or you can telephone us and give the bid over the phone to a member of our staff.  If you intend emailing a bid through, please check to see we have replied with confirmation of its receipt, or call us to check we have received it.  We do operate a Spam Filter on our email system which is only checked once a day and your email may not find its way to us in time.

Telephone Bidding

If you are unable to attend, we will be pleased to facilitate telephone bids on those lots with a minimum published estimate of £500.  Since lines are limited, please make arrangements for this service well in advance.  Telephone bids are accepted on a 'first come first served basis'.

At Henry Adams, we make the entire process of buying and selling at auction as easy and as flexible as possible, both for the regular experienced buyer and for the first time or novice buyer.

In what follows you will find a guide which hopefully explains how it all works.  If, however, you would like any further information or clarification then please do not hesitate to contact us, either by telephone or email.

Attending a Sale in Person

If you are intending to bid on an item, the first thing you need to do when you arrive is register at the Auction Office in order to collect a bidding number.  This should be done either before the start of the sale or in good time before the item you are interested in comes up for sale.

Once the sale is in progress, to bid on an item you clearly hold up your bidding number in clear view of the auctioneer.  If you are successful you winning number will be announced by the auctioneer.

Once you have finished bidding for items, make your way back to the Auction Office to pay for your items.

Payment

Buyers are reminded that a premium of 20% plus VAT is payable on the hammer price for lots in our sales.  We accept the following methods of payment:

Cash
Cheque (supported by guarantee card)
Bankers' Draft/Building Society Cheque
Debit Cards - Maestro/Switch/Delta
Credit Cards - Visa/Mastercard*

* A surcharge of 2% plus VAT is applied if you pay by this method.  No charge is made for payment by a Debit Card

Collection of Goods

Goods cannot be removed by buyers until they have paid in full.  A charge is made for goods still remaining uncollected 10 days after the sale.

If you are unable to collect goods in person we recommend Mailboxes collection, packing and delivery service. They can be contacted on 02392 823800.  We do not operate a post and packing service ourselves.