GCR Fortnightly Sales: Catalogue Notes

Bidding Instructions

You can bid via our website, following the instructions. You will need to enter your bidding number and the first half of your email address, as registered with us. If you don't have these available, please email the office as soon as possible and we will provide the details. For further information, or if you have any queries regarding the sale lots, please phone during the first week of the auction.

Bids can be made from 10 a.m. on the first Monday until 5 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the auction; the second Thursday and Friday being dedicated to final bids only. The two highest bidders will qualify to go through to the final bidding for each Lot. If bidding by email, please note that if you do not receive an acknowledgement that your bid has been entered you must assume that we have not received your bid.

The final bidding times are listed below, with a five-minute slot being allocated to each Lot. Final bidders are asked to phone the office at the start of their five-minute slot (if one number is engaged, please ring the other). The onus is on you to contact us and place a bid. If you do not have access to the website to check if you qualify for the final bid, please ring the office on Wednesday afternoon shortly after bidding closes, between 5 and 5:30. After the five-minute slot, the hammer price and the successful bidder's number will be shown on the website.

You can enter a top bid for any item you are interested in; the price shown on the website will be the current win price, not your top bid which will remain in play until a higher bid is received, if this happens.

The lowest bid that will be accepted is the lower estimate shown.

Please be aware that we do not have many staff in the office at the moment, so it is in your interest to bid early.

Most items can be posted and a table of charges will be shown on the website. Alternatively, we are happy to store items, insured, at no charge until restrictions are lifted and they can be collected.

Final Bid Procedure

Final Bid gives you the ability to avoid losing a desirable item when there has been keen bidding from rival participants.

When the bidding closes on Wednesday afternoon, the highest bidder and the immediate underbidder are eligible to take part in final bidding slots on Thursday and Friday (please see timetable below).

There is no requirement to take part in the final bid, it is up to the eligible participants to ring if they wish to take part.

The underbidder, whose bid will be shown on a blue background on their bidding list, should phone 01327 262193 promptly at the beginning of the time slot.

The top bidder, whose bid will be shown on a green background on their bidding list, should phone 01327 263633.

Bidding closes at 17:00 on Wednesday afternoon. After uploading the last bids, the closing prices will be displayed. Top bidders will be indicated by a green background, underbidders will be indicated by a blue background on their on-line bidding lists.

If the underbidder and top bidder elect to take part in the final bid, the underbidder will bid against the top bidder's maximum. If they exceed this maximum bid, the top bidder, who is being held on the other phone line, may then start bidding, the two bidders making alternate bids until one drops out.

If the underbidder takes part but the top bidder does not, the underbidder will simply bid against the top bidder's maximum and either exceed it, or drop out short.

If the top bidder takes part but not the underbidder, they will win the item at the winning price shown.

Exception to the above:
As bids from non-internet bidders must be entered manually by us, the volume of last-minute bids from these participants may mean that we are unable to register them all on the website before the 17:00 closing time. If any of these bids exceed those of the top bidder or underbidder, the top bidder and underbidder will retain their place in the final bid, but the starting price for the bidding will take the late-input bid into account. For example, if the under bid is £200 and the top bid is £280, but a non-internet bid of £240 is received at the last minute, the final bid between the underbidder and the top bidder will start at £250, not the expected £210.

Our intention and expectation is that we will automate the final bid process in due course.

Sale Results

After final bidding on a Lot, the "hammer price", along with the winning bidder's number will be published in the website catalogue and on the bidding lists. It is our intention to upload these results lot-by-lot as final bidding proceeds.

Final Bid Timetable

Sale Entries for Future Auctions

We are happy to accept entries for future sales and will accept items against higher value lots purchased such as, but not restricted to, nameplates. Please phone the office to discuss.

Buyer's Premium

The amount charged for a Lot in this Auction will be the 'Hammer Price' plus 15% Buyer's Premium, on which VAT is charged at the current rate, a total of 18% to add to the Hammer Price.