Considering starting up an Auction House Any advice??.

[businessthoughts]

We are considering opening a auction house for furniture, antiques, white goods and electronics in the North East.

Have scoured the internet for further information on Laws, property requirements, Licenses etc.. and come up with very little..

Anyone got any advice?.. Does anyone run an auction house?...

Pitfalls and bonuses of the world of auctions.. let us know.

** At the moment we are looking at a PUBLIC Auction / NOT an online auction **

Thanks in advance.

 

[Matt1959]

auction houses, what a load of robbing barstewards 15% commission from the seller, 10% commission from the buyer and lotting fees on top not to mention buying in of valuable items and bidding up your own stuff what sort of competition is there in your area? Auction houses seem to be taken over and amalgamated constantly but there seems to be lots of small outfits that tick over..

 

[garyk]

Yes something Ive always wanted to do but you need pretty large premises. Theres one in our town thats been running for over 100 years, over 10,000 square feet and the place is brimming week in, week out and I've been attending off and on for over 10 years. They are really behind the times, only introduced registered bidders a couple of years ago (when auction houses on bargain hunt were doing it 10 years ago) coining it with zero competition.

Go for it!

If it was me I would pick somewhere on the edge of town with plenty of parking and access so its easy to get cars/vans in and out.

 

[solarman]

my advice is specialise in something,auctions have a rip off feel about them probably due to fees.Instead try to find out what value you could give to the customer,what do they want?If you could answer this one simple and basic question,you have a business,good luck,
Solarman.

 

[businessthoughts]

Thanks for the messages so far..

Well we dont have 10'000 sqft but about 8'000..

Loads of parking not too far away, there are however 4 auction houses within 12 miles of were we are thinking of starting up, within 2 miles of the city centre though.. so good for the the majority..

other auctions nearby are weekly, fourtnightly and even some monthly.., but i feel some are dated.. and think there is room for a fresh new style in auction house...

Anyone know anything about the legalities.. with premises etc??.. we may hire in an auctioneer or two for the day..

We have a reasonably long lease left on our property.. is it upto council discretion??.. do you need to hold a license?

 

[businessthoughts]

Any Auctioneers using this forum who may be able to advise?

 

[businessthoughts]

looking at the legal probelms of auction houses also.

 

[Vintage06]

Where abouts in the North East?

 

[businessthoughts]

In all honesty at present we would rather not reveal this until i find out some further information and make a final decision on the progress of this.

Do you know anything more about the legalities or any advice you can give on this, do you have any experience in this?

 

[Vintage06]

In all honesty at present we would rather not reveal this until i find out some further information and make a final decision on the progress of this.

Do you know anything more about the legalities or any advice you can give on this, do you have any experience in this?

Not a clue mate. My interest is i have a business in the north-east (Northumberland) and i'm looking for auction houses who occasionally get pressure washer machines up for auction. As i deal in them.

Also for future expansion i could be interested in putting machines up for sale too.

Is your auction house going to be concentrating on the normal public or businesses Or both?

 

[businessthoughts]

Not a clue mate. My interest is i have a business in the north-east (Northumberland) and i'm looking for auction houses who occasionally get pressure washer machines up for auction. As i deal in them.

Also for future expansion i could be interested in putting machines up for sale too.

Is your auction house going to be concentrating on the normal public or businesses Or both?

We are considering both but wouldnt be up and running for a while if we do go ahead with it.

Seems there is very little info about it on the internet for research though.

Will let you know if we do find some advice and get it going though.

 

[Vintage06]

We are considering both but wouldnt be up and running for a while if we do go ahead with it.

Seems there is very little info about it on the internet for research though.

Will let you know if we do find some advice and get it going though.

I don't really know of many auction houses up around our area. I know about the farmers auctions around Northumberland. Other than that i very rarely see any advertised. Occasionally a monthly one, I think its mainly a car auction dominated area.

Could be a good market for you. Best idea would be find local businesses who'd benefit from using your auction house. If you got regular clients using you. It'd make things alot easier.

Good luck and let me know how you get on.

 

[MTI]

We are considering opening a auction house for furniture, antiques, white goods and electronics in the North East.

Have scoured the internet for further information on Laws, property requirements, Licenses etc.. and come up with very little..

Anyone got any advice?.. Does anyone run an auction house?...

Pitfalls and bonuses of the world of auctions.. let us know.

** At the moment we are looking at a PUBLIC Auction / NOT an online auction **

Thanks in advance.

Dont quote me but id imagine that all electrical appliances will need portable appliance testing / PAT testing

 

[businessthoughts]

Dont quote me but id imagine that all electrical appliances will need portable appliance testing / PAT testing

Dont think they do to be honest as alot it seems to be untested items that go through auctions

The whole echoing of "Buyer Beware" springs to mind, posisbly if it is a business that sells the item that may be the case but if it is a private seller i cant imagine it being required.

However someone may be able to prove me wrong. Anyone??

One of the many things to find out about, Thanks for the input though.

 

[Vintage06]

Dont think they do to be honest as alot it seems to be untested items that go through auctions

The whole echoing of "Buyer Beware" springs to mind, posisbly if it is a business that sells the item that may be the case but if it is a private seller i cant imagine it being required.

However someone may be able to prove me wrong. Anyone??

One of the many things to find out about, Thanks for the input though.

Could be a good thing actually PAT testing the items you sell. If someone already had the qualification etc it'd be easy to.

I'm booked up on a course to do it in a couple of months.

 

[Mike W]

Any Auctioneers using this forum who may be able to advise?

Any increase on none?

Going, going....

 

[businessthoughts]

Any increase on none?

Going, going....

LOL.. Nope none so far, lots of pat testers though ;-)

Are you a secret auctioneer by any chance?

 

[Mike W]

LOL.. Nope none so far, lots of pat testers though ;-)

Are you a secret auctioneer by any chance?

No but I know a man who is.

In the office next door to mine is a company called omega auctions. Paul's the owner.

They're relatively new but seem to be doing ok. Not your line of business though. You'll see what they do here - http://www.omegaauctions.co.uk

Best of luck.

Mike

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

Dont think they do to be honest as alot it seems to be untested items that go through auctions

The whole echoing of "Buyer Beware" springs to mind, posisbly if it is a business that sells the item that may be the case but if it is a private seller i cant imagine it being required.

However someone may be able to prove me wrong. Anyone??

One of the many things to find out about, Thanks for the input though.

Wife of an ex-auctioneer - (ie the one that did all the admin/legal/accouting/vat etc)

What do you want to know?

And yes, all electrical items sold at an auction need an electrical certificate. An auction with a good throughput can get these for around £4 per item, normal price is around £7 mark.

Makes the resale of secondhand toasters, kettles, radios, stereos, clock radios etc virtually impossible as they usually sell for less than the cost of the electrical test.

 

[Vintage06]

Makes the resale of secondhand toasters, kettles, radios, stereos, clock radios etc virtually impossible as they usually sell for less than the cost of the electrical test.

Unless you do it yourself

 

[peebles]

Hi,

I haven't a clue, but have you tried BE Enterprising? They are closing at the end of March but they are definitely worth a phone call. They have a load of resources and I would imagine they can answer your questions.

Failing that, maybe get your 30 minute free session with a solicitor?

Good luck with it!

 

[stever22]

Did you start the auction house? If so how is it getting on?