Auctions and swap meets

Railwayana is BIG business By Geoff Courtney

Buying and selling memorabilia at auction can be an exciting and rewarding experience, as Jack Boskett reveals.

Somewhere in the country there are auctions of railwayana and collectables every month. For many collectors, it is one of the main sources of acquiring items – or selling.

Because of the specialist nature of what is bought and sold, several auction houses now deal solely with railwayana. Other general auction houses now offer occasional sales of railwayrelated items, once or twice per year.

As specialist auctioneers (listed on p30), they will use their professional knowledge and skills to the best advantage of their seller. They will also give an honest appraisal of an item’s worth and are often called upon to deal with probate sales.

With anything between 500 and 700 lots being sold every few months, there is a lot of work to be undertaken before the sale day.

Each item entered is assessed as to its condition for a description to aid the buyer, and then photographed to provide a good and honest representation. Auctioneers also tend to have a good idea regarding an item’s authenticity, and will not knowingly offer non-genuine lots, or will make it clear an item is a reproduction. No one wants to sell items which later turn out not to be genuine due to the risk of reputational damage, especially as there is quite a bit of fake memorabilia sold online.

With the lots categorised and numbered they are listed online, although some auctioneers still

Prospectve buyers inspect totems prior to auction. JACK BOSKETT

produce a catalogue. With this information being published several weeks before the auction, it allows bidders to assess, and consider what they may be prepared to pay for an item.

Prior to the coronavirus restricting public gatherings, sales were often held at venues such as a school or community centre, where the auctioneer will have placed all entered lots on display for prospective bidders to inspect. At present, auctions have been taking place online via the internet using a live bidding process. Since this enforced change, interest in the hobby has not diminished. In fact the opposite has happened – there has been far greater demand, and bidders have paid some eye-watering prices!

Increments

Most lots will be entered with a reserve price, which will be higher than the starting bid. For each lot, the auctioneer’s ‘starting price’ will probably take into consideration any commission bids. These are bids submitted in writing prior to the sale day, with an absent bidder providing a maximum price they are prepared to pay.

Pre-pandemic, an item would attract bids from the audience, commission bids plus a few telephone bids too. Since the virus outbreak, the bids have been a mix of commission, online and telephone.

Generally speaking, bids increment by £10 up to £200, by £20 between £200 and £500, by £50 between £500 and £1000 and £100 increments above £1000, but the auctioneer has the discretion to ask for £50 bids over £1000 if the bidding seems to stall.

If you are new to bidding, it is essential to research your intended lots as to previous prices paid for similar items. Many auction houses list historical results, which act as a guide. Bidding can be fast and furious, and it’s all too easy to get carried away and slip into an unintended bidding war which will simply inflate the price –more so if the lot has several interested bidders.

When the auctioneer’s hammer comes down, the lot is sold for the stated price, but on top of that will be a buyer’s premium. This can vary from 18% right up to 36%, therefore a lot selling for £1000 with 18% premium would actually cost the buyer £1180. The purchaser of the Flying Scotsman nameplate pictured on p10 of this supplement would have paid more than £76,000 with fees!

After the auction, invoices are sent to winning bidders which need to be paid within a set time, and then arrangements can be made for the winning bidder or representative to collect the lots from the auction house storage facility within a pre-defined period... otherwise storage fees will accrue. Vendors are generally paid within 14 days as a rule, minus any fees.

As well as auctions, a number of swap meets are held in various locations, the best known is that held in the station yard at Quorn on the Great Central Railway.

Best described as a car boot sale for railwayana and collectables, you can haggle face-to-face with sellers with no commission rates, and for the early birds there are bargains to be had. The entrance fee is £5 whether buying, selling or just browsing. Gates open at 7.30am, dates for this year are on p30, but beware... the first hour of trading can be frenetic.

Happy bidding! ■