Let us help you decide which auction house to use
Which saleroom suits the work, what each will charge you, and how the terms compare.
There is no best saleroom, only the best one for a particular work. Which house, which department and which sale decide what a work makes at least as much as the work does, and the terms attached to each are negotiable before anything is catalogued. We compare them for you, and you remain the consignor throughout.
What actually decides the house
Four things, in roughly this order. The name on the door is not one of them.
- The work itself
- Category, value and how often the artist comes up. A name traded weekly belongs where its buyers already look; something rarer may need a specialist sale that runs twice a year.
- The department
- Houses are strong in different things, and a strong department means specialists who know the market and buyers who trust their cataloguing. A good work in a weak department is a lot nobody was waiting for.
- The sale calendar
- The right sale may be next month or next spring. Waiting for it usually beats taking the next date available, unless the timing of the money matters more.
- The terms
- Commission, the unsold fee, photography, insurance and the settlement period all differ, and all are negotiable before the work is catalogued. This is where having more than one house interested pays.
The four kinds of saleroom
- The major international houses
- The widest audience and the highest ceiling, and they charge for it. Right for work that can carry an evening or day sale, or a rare edition with competition behind it.
- Specialist salerooms
- Prints, photographs, modern British, design: rooms whose buyers came for that category. Often a better result than a bigger house where the same lot is one of several hundred.
- Regional salerooms
- Lower costs, smaller audiences, and in some categories genuinely better prices. A picture with a regional following can beat its London estimate in the region it is collected.
- Online-only sales
- Quick, cheap to enter and suited to modest work. The ceiling is lower, because an online-only lot rarely finds the second determined bidder that makes a price.
What to compare before you sign
Ask every house the same questions, and compare the answers next to each other rather than one at a time.
The estimate and the reserve
The most important number is the one you can refuse below. An estimate pitched to win the consignment, rather than to sell the work, is the commonest way a good lot becomes an unsold one.
Seller's commission
The published rate is where the conversation starts. How far it moves depends on how much the house wants the work.
The unsold fee
Charged if the lot fails to sell, usually as a percentage of the reserve, and among the first things worth negotiating away.
Photography, cataloguing and insurance
Per-lot charges and cover while the house holds the work. Modest on one lot, less so across a group, and frequently waived on work a house is keen to have.
The settlement period
When the money reaches you after the sale, and only once the buyer has paid. Periods differ between houses and are worth comparing when the dates are otherwise similar.
Selling at auction sets out every charge that comes off a hammer price, and private sales covers the route that avoids the room altogether.
How we compare them for you
From photographs we give you a written valuation with the comparable results behind it, so the range is arguable rather than asserted. We then approach the houses that suit the work — international, specialist or regional — and put the same questions to each: what would you estimate, which sale, what commission, what happens if it does not sell, and when would we be paid.
You see the answers together and choose. We negotiate the terms of the one you pick, and the contract and the remittance stay in your name from consignment to settlement. If none of the answers is good enough, we will say that too, and a valuation still costs you nothing.
Questions about choosing a saleroom
Which auction house is best for selling art?
There is no single best house, only the best house for a particular work. It depends on the category, the value, which department is strong, which sale is next and what terms each will agree. We put the work to the houses that suit it and compare what comes back.
How do I choose an auction house?
Start with what the work is, not with the name on the door. Establish the category and a realistic range, find which houses sell that material regularly and well, then compare estimates, sale dates and terms side by side before agreeing to anything.
Is a London auction house always better than a regional one?
No. London reaches the widest audience and charges accordingly, and for some material that is exactly right. Other work does better where it is collected, and a regional saleroom can return more after costs than a London sale that treats the same lot as a minor entry.
What does an auction house charge a seller?
A commission on the hammer price, plus insurance, cataloguing and photography, and an unsold fee if it does not sell, with VAT on all of them. Selling at auction sets each of those out in full, and most are commercial terms rather than fixed costs.
Can I get estimates from more than one auction house?
Yes, and you should. Estimates differ, sometimes widely, and so do the terms attached to them. Approaching several is also what gives you room to negotiate; it is the part of the job people most often skip.
What does this cost me?
Our fees are typically 0%. On rare occasions we may need to charge a 2.5% to 10% commission where a sale is complex, and because we negotiate reduced seller's rates on your behalf, the overall cost is usually the same or lower than consigning directly.
Whitebank Fine Art is an art advisory and gallery, not an auction house, and is not affiliated with any auction house. Nothing here is investment advice.
