Auction House Charges

[mellieha]

I can't believe what Auction Houses charge. Sheffield Auction Gallery charged me £10 for putting one programme in an envelope! Postage extra! Republic of Ireland auctioneers are even worse in my experience!

[Auchinleckian]

Do your homework first before bidding and ask what the charges are. If they're too expensive try and negotiate, if they don't move on the issue don't bid. Sportingold are excellent in this respect. Won one lot of modern Chelsea homes a while back and because Chris knew they were heavy and the post would be excessive he called me to say he was visiting Scotland and if I met him at the Gretna services to pick them up they'd be post free.

It's things like that which make the hobby enjoyable.

[Rafehod]

The Republic or Ireland are of course more expensive due to them being classed as Europe. Yes some auction postage services seem excessive however they will mostly send items using signed for services and fully insured which adds to the cost plus they have staff costs to take into account, yes it may not take them long but why should they do it for nothing just to save you money, if you want a service you pay for it simple, otherwise don't bother if you are not happy with it. Problem is some people expect to be charged the cost of a stamp with no thought of actual costs to the people or businesses sending them.

I too have had auction houses deliver items to me for nothing as they were in my area doing valuations. If you are a regular customer and build up a relationship with them most of them are only happy to help.

People who want stuff for nothing all the time will live a life of dissapointment

[martino]

Auchinleckian wrote:

Do your homework first before bidding and ask what the charges are. If they're too expensive try and negotiate, if they don't move on the issue don't bid. Sportingold are excellent in this respect. Won one lot of modern Chelsea homes a while back and because Chris knew they were heavy and the post would be excessive he called me to say he was visiting Scotland and if I met him at the Gretna services to pick them up they'd be post free. It's things like that which make the hobby enjoyable.

Totally agree, Chris will always go the extra mile(s).

Another option is to ask if another Forum member who lives locally will collect from the Auction House and for them to forward on in return for reimbursement of petrol costs.

I am sure we have a good geographical spread and that the vast majority of forum members would do their best to help.

[Tynie Topics]

Rafehod wrote:

The Republic or Ireland are of course more expensive due to them being classed as Europe. Yes some auction postage services seem excessive however they will mostly send items using signed for services and fully insured which adds to the cost plus they have staff costs to take into account, yes it may not take them long but why should they do it for nothing just to save you money, if you want a service you pay for it simple, otherwise don't bother if you are not happy with it. Problem is some people expect to be charged the cost of a stamp with no thought of actual costs to the people or businesses sending them. I too have had auction houses deliver items to me for nothing as they were in my area doing valuations. If you are a regular customer and build up a relationship with them most of them are only happy to help. People who want stuff for nothing all the time will live a life of dissapointment

Hmmm…….given the fact that the Auction House makes considerable profit from both the vendor and the buyer, is it actually too much to ask that the Auction House does not try to rip you off on postage charges? I don’t think anyone is asking items to be sent for free, however the profit should be in the commission, not the postage and packing costs.

Here’s an idea though, the Auction House sends items for free upto a certain weight, taking the cost out of their commission, bulkier/heavier items to be sent at cost.

Unscrupulous sellers on ebay are rightly criticised for trying to make profit out of postal charges, why should Auction Houses be exempt from the same criticism……..
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[mellieha]

My main gripe was being charged £10 for simply taking 2 minutes to put a programme in an envelope. That's pushing it in my book. Obviously the buyer has to pay fair charges such as commission, v.a.t. and postage. I can recommend Ipost for collection and delivery by the way. I used one courier company who stole one of the programmes they delivered to me!

[Rafehod]

[quote= Here’s an idea though, the Auction House sends items for free upto a certain weight, taking the cost out of their commission, bulkier/heavier items to be sent at cost.

Unscrupulous sellers on ebay are rightly criticised for trying to make profit out of postal charges, why should Auction Houses be exempt from the same criticism……..[/quote]

Auction houses are never going to do that, why should they, they are already offering a service by allowing internet bidders to bid on their auctions rather than galloping all over the country attending, yes they get better returns for the products they sell for doing this but the difference is not that much. If you choose to buy this way then you use the service they provide, it is as simple as that and if you are not happy then don't do it and come on and whinge later.

With regards to Ebay sellers, I have said before when you purchase an item on that site, the prices are transparent in black and white in front of you before you commit to buy. If you are not happy with the cost charged (lets face it most people know the prices of postage) then why enter the contract.......and again whinge on here later.

People who whine on about costs only have themselves to blame. It is not the sellers fault you entered into the contract......ITS YOURS!!!!

Take responsibility for your own actions and stop blaming others

[Tynie Topics]

Rafehod wrote:

Auction houses are never going to do that, why should they, they are already offering a service by allowing internet bidders to bid on their auctions rather than galloping all over the country attending, yes they get better returns for the products they sell for doing this but the difference is not that much. If you choose to buy this way then you use the service they provide, it is as simple as that and if you are not happy then don't do it and come on and whinge later. With regards to Ebay sellers, I have said before when you purchase an item on that site, the prices are transparent in black and white in front of you before you commit to buy. If you are not happy with the cost charged (lets face it most people know the prices of postage) then why enter the contract.......and again whinge on here later. People who whine on about costs only have themselves to blame. It is not the sellers fault you entered into the contract......ITS YOURS!!!! Take responsibility for your own actions and stop blaming others

Dear God, you're a right bundle of laughs, calm down, it's only an internet forum......

I am pointing out that perhaps Auctions Houses could improve their service to clients in this area, perhaps starting with not making a profit on postage and packing charges and instead stick to charging the cost incurred, not cost plus margin.

Would you agree that may be a good move, it may even encourage more customers if they were totally transparent in this regard, which not all of them are.

£10 + postage costs, to post one programme as exampled above is a rip-off. It has nothing to do with taking responsibility for your actions for goodness sake, it's highlighting an aspect of dealing with Auctions Houses which can leave a sour taste in the mouth.

They're not getting good publicity as it is at the moment.
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