How can we help you?

Sellers Guide

How do I start?

Our Seller's Commission is amongst the lowest in the business, and can be as low as 10% + VAT. See below for more information.

We'll start by valuing your items. We can do this for you if you bring them to our location in The Pantiles Arcade, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, or by filling in our online valuation form with full details and clear digital photographs. We occasionally hold valuation days in different locations all over the area and, if you have many items or a house or apartment full of items, we can arrange to visit you.

Brooch Low_What happens next?

We will reply to you with an estimated price range that we expect your item(s) to sell within at auction. Items may be grouped together into a lot, or an item may form a single lot in its own right. We can then agree a 'reserve' for each lot - a minimum price below which the item will not be sold. The reserve cannot be higher than the lower end of the estimate. For example, if we value an item at £300-500, then the reserve must be £300 or less.

A retail opportunity...

If we feel that your item may perform better in a retail environment than in an auction, our reply may at our discretion also include a suggested retail price. If you agree, we will then hand your item to our retail partner Scottish Antiques (The Hoard Ltd). They will describe and photograph it, and will post it for sale on their website. It will also be displayed for sale in our Galleria showrooms at The Pantiles Arcade.

If your item hasn't sold after an agreed period of time, it can then be consigned for sale in our next applicable auction. 

Once we or Scottish Antiques have taken possession of your item, it is fully insured. You will be given a receipt for your item(s), which will include a basic description, further details and a receipt number, as well as your contact details. For more information, see A Retail Opportunity.

What will it cost?

We pride ourselves on our competitively low auction Seller's Commission fees which allow us to give you back more of the hammer price than by selling with other auction houses.

You receive more, because we take less.

All items sold through Mark Hill Auctions are subject to a Lotting Fee of £10 + VAT per lot and the applicable Seller's Commission from the table below, the total of which will be deducted from the hammer price.

Seller's Commission on Hammer Price  
Amounts up to £500 15% + VAT
Amounts in excess of £500 up to and including £2,500 12.5% + VAT
The excess over £2,500 10% + VAT


All items sold through our retail partner Scottish Antiques are subject to the applicable Seller's Commission below, which will be deducted from the selling price.

Items sold for under £1,000 21% + VAT
Items sold for over £1,000 18% + VAT


Photography and insurance are included in all fees, so you will not be charged extra for these services.

LonginesLow_What happens with the auction?

We will take numerous high quality photographs of your item(s) and write a detailed, accurate and precise description and condition report. Together, these will enable bidders to make an easy decision about how much to bid. The item(s) will then be loaded into our auction catalogue and published to the following international online bidding platforms allowing bidders and buyers from all over the world to see and bid on your item(s) online:

In addition, the catalogue containing your lots will be promoted to our existing client base and to Scottish Antiques' client base. We also undertake extensive marketing of auctions to drive interest and raising bidding levels. Some lots will also be promoted on our social media channels.

As our Buyer's Premium rates are also competitively low, bidders bid higher - we take less, so you receive more.

What happens after the auction?

Corgi Toy Low_

The day after the auction has happened, you will receive a 'post sale advice' statement. If you have no email address and the statement must be posted, this will take 3-5 working days to reach you if you are in the UK, longer if you are outside of the UK. This statement will explain how your item performed - whether it sold or did not sell, and what the hammer price is if it did sell.
 
If your item did not sell, we will contact you with options about what could happen next. For example, the item may be released back to you or entered into a later auction. Items that did not sell and that will not be re-entered into a later auction must be collected from our premises within ten working days, otherwise storage fees will apply.
 
If your item did sell, you will be paid the hammer price less our fees direct into your bank account within one calendar month. Please note that we can only arrange payment after the buyer has paid us fully for the lot.
 
Full details can be found in our Terms and Conditions of Business - please click here to read them.
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