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How to buy at a UK auction: a step-by-step guide

By · Published · Last reviewed · 8 min read

To buy at a UK auction: find a sale, read the auction house’s terms, register to bid (usually with ID and a payment card), inspect the lot or ask for a condition report, set a maximum that allows for buyer’s premium and VAT, then bid in the room, online, by phone or by absentee bid. If you win, pay and collect within the house’s deadlines.

Step 1: How do I find an auction?

Start with what you want to buy and where you can collect from. On Auction Eagle you can browse all upcoming UK auctions, see auctions this week, filter by category (for example furniture, jewellery or coins and banknotes) or by region (for example Devon or West Yorkshire), and look up salerooms in the auction house directory. Each listing links to the house’s catalogue on the platform it uses, which is where you register and bid.

Catalogues usually go online a week or two before a sale. Woolley & Wallis, for example, says its specialist catalogues are “available online about two weeks before the sale”. Following a house or saving a search means you hear about new sales early, which matters for viewing and registration.

Step 2: What should I read before bidding?

Every auction house publishes conditions of sale, and they form the contract if you win. Look for:

  • Buyer’s premium and VAT, and any extra charge for bidding online. Rates vary widely; our auction fees guide has examples from 5% plus VAT to 30%.
  • Payment deadline and accepted methods. Tennants, for example, asks for payment within 14 days of the sale.
  • Collection deadline and storage charges. Tennants requires collection within seven days and then charges for storage.
  • Lot symbols for VAT on the hammer price, Artist’s Resale Right, or export restrictions such as CITES.
  • The house’s position on misdescription, condition and returns.

Step 3: How do I register to bid?

You must register before you can bid, whether in the room or online, and online registrations are approved by the auction house rather than the platform. What to expect:

  • In the room. At Tennants, once you have an account you register for each sale and are “issued with a bidding paddle”.
  • Identity checks. Auction houses are subject to anti-money laundering rules. Tennants says buyers “may therefore be required to provide two forms of identification”, such as a passport or driving licence plus a recent utility bill. Dore & Rees Motoring’s car sale terms say “all bidders will be requested to provide a copy of identification… and proof of address” to register.
  • Easylive Auction. You create an account and add a payment card, which Easylive checks “by making a small transaction (i.e. 78p) and cancelling it straight away”. You then press “Register to Bid” on each auction and choose Free or Flat Fee registration. Until the house approves you, the status shows “Pending Approval”.
  • the-saleroom. You create an account and click “Sign up to bid” for each auction; the-saleroom notes that it “can take time for the auctioneer to approve your registration”.
  • BidSpirit. You open a free account, then ask each house for approval. BidSpirit calls this “a one-time process”: once approved by a house you can bid in all its future sales. It says approval “usually… takes 24 hours”.

Register at least a day before the sale. Our comparison of UK online auction sites covers the differences in more detail.

Step 4: How do I check what I am buying?

View in person if you can. Most houses hold viewing days before a sale, and some commercial sales offer only a short viewing window or none for some lots. Tennants says “All lots are available on public view ahead of an auction and we encourage prospective buyers to inspect an item in person where possible.”

Ask for a condition report. If you cannot view, request a condition report and extra photographs, ideally well before the sale: Tennants asks for requests “preferably at least 48 hours before the Day of Sale”. Read reports carefully. Tennants warns that “the absence of a Condition Report from a lot does not mean that the lot is in perfect condition”, and that its reports are “prepared with the naked eye unless otherwise stated”. On Easylive you can use the “Ask a Question” button on a lot page; on BidSpirit, “Make an inquiry about this item”. Our blog explains what a condition report covers.

Read the description wording. Many houses explain their cataloguing terms in their conditions of sale, and estimates are guides, not valuations. See how auction estimates work and what a reserve price is.

Step 5: How much should I bid?

Your bid is the hammer price, not what you will pay. Decide your total budget, then work back to a maximum bid. As a rule of thumb, divide your budget by 1 plus the total add-on rate. With a 24% premium plus VAT (28.8%) and Easylive’s 3% plus VAT online fee (3.6%), add-ons total 32.4%, so a £300 budget allows a top bid of about £226. Add delivery separately. Tennants reminds absentee bidders to give “the maximum hammer price you are prepared to pay, remembering to take into account the buyer’s premium and any taxes and charges payable on top of the hammer price”.

Bids also go up in set increments. Tennants publishes its scale in its timed-auction guide (for example, £10 steps from £10 to £200 and £50 steps from £500 to £1,000), so a maximum between two steps may not be used in full.

Step 6: How do I bid: live, timed, absentee or phone?

  • In the room. Raise your paddle clearly when the auctioneer is taking bids on your lot.
  • Live online. You follow the sale through a bidding console and click to bid. Easylive advises using “the information on screen as your cue to bid rather than use the voice of the auctioneer”, as sound can lag behind.
  • Timed online. Each lot closes at a set time, usually with an extension if bids arrive at the end. Read our guide to timed auction rules.
  • Absentee (commission) bids. You leave a maximum and the house or system bids for you, as cheaply as possible. At Tennants, absentee bids left online carry no internet surcharge and can be placed “up to 30 minutes before the auction starts”; if identical bids are submitted, “the person who bid first will take precedence”. BidSpirit notes that some houses give priority to an equal bid in the room. More in how absentee and commission bids work.
  • By telephone. Some houses offer phone bidding for higher-value lots; Tennants offers it for lots with a lower estimate over £500 in Fine Art sales and £200 in other sales, booked by the day before.

Step 7: What happens when I win?

A sale at auction is binding once the auctioneer closes it. Under section 57 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, “a sale by auction is complete when the auctioneer announces its completion by the fall of the hammer, or in other customary manner; and until the announcement is made any bidder may retract his bid.” Easylive puts it plainly: “as soon as the hammer comes down a contract is formed between you and the auctioneer”. You will usually get an email and then an invoice from the house; on BidSpirit, won lots appear under “My won items”.

Step 8: How do payment, collection and shipping work?

Pay the auction house, not the platform. Easylive says “you will be required to pay the auction house directly”; BidSpirit says payment “is done directly to the auction houses”. Methods vary. Tennants accepts cards, bank transfer and cash up to £6,000, but limits card payments where the cardholder is not present to £500, and says goods cannot be collected until cheques or transfers have cleared.

Collect on time. Deadlines are often a week or less. Tennants requires collection or transport “within seven days of the sale”, after which it charges a £5 plus VAT handling fee and £5 plus VAT per lot per day. H J Pugh & Co’s sales state “collection within 7 days of auction”.

Arrange shipping early. Some houses pack and post in-house, others recommend carriers and some do not ship at all. Easylive recommends contacting the house before you buy if you have questions, “as some auction houses do not supply a packing and shipping service”. Large items need two people or a specialist carrier. Our blog covers how to collect or ship items bought at auction.

What rights do I have after buying?

Fewer than in a shop. The 14-day cancellation right for distance and off-premises purchases does not apply to “contracts concluded at a public auction” (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28). The regulations define a public auction as one where consumers “attend or are given the possibility to attend in person”, so whether a purely online sale counts can depend on its format. Separately, under section 2(5) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a buyer of second-hand goods at a public auction that individuals can attend in person is not treated as a consumer for most of the Act’s goods rights.

In practice, your main protection is the house’s own terms on misdescription, and your own checks before bidding. Easylive’s FAQ sums up the usual position: “you have no right to return the item unless the item has been incorrectly described.” If something is wrong, contact the auction house promptly and in writing. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

How do I buy something at auction in the UK?

Find a sale, read the auction house's terms, register to bid (usually with ID and a payment card), check the lot by viewing it or asking for a condition report, set your maximum including buyer's premium and VAT, bid live, by absentee bid or in a timed sale, then pay and collect within the deadlines.

Do I have to pay buyer's premium?

Yes, if you win a lot. The buyer's premium is a percentage of the hammer price set by each auction house, and VAT is normally added to it. Online bidding can add a further surcharge. The rates are printed in each sale's terms, so check them before you bid.

Can I return something I bought at auction?

Usually only if it was materially misdescribed. Contracts concluded at a public auction are excluded from the 14-day cancellation right in the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, and auction terms commonly sell lots as seen. Read the house's terms on misdescription before you bid.

Do I need to view an item before bidding?

It is not compulsory, but it is the best protection you have. If you cannot attend the viewing, ask the auction house for a condition report and extra photographs. Tennants, for example, notes that the absence of a condition report does not mean a lot is in perfect condition.

How long do I have to pay and collect after an auction?

It depends on the house. Tennants asks for payment within 14 days and collection within seven days, after which storage charges apply. Other salerooms set shorter or longer windows, so check the terms before bidding and plan transport for large items.