Valuations

I know this is off topic but i am dealing with my Late Mothers estate.What i was wondering if anyone had any dealings with local auctions .I am wanting valuations done on jewellery and antiques that have been left in the house as i dont want to throw stuff out if its valuable. In the back of my mind is that i dont want to be ripped off dealing with these people .They are probably all ok but just need a bit of reassurance before i contact these places.

Although I can't help with your issue , my condolences go out to you and your family

I guess that an answer is put stuff that may be valuable in an auction and let the market decide, and other stuff in a car boot sale - bearing in mind the emotional problem of getting rid of your mam's stuff. The other thing to consider is to ask other members of your family if they would like anything so that thay can cherish something that your mam may have cherished.

The jewellers workshop opposite specsavers is good for jewellery valuations.

I understand your concern. You could get two separate auctioneers/valuers to visit or, at the end of the day, auction houses make their money in commissions so they want to sell and achieve good prices for the goods they sell on your behalf. If you know certain items are of significant value, google may be your best friend if you can find previous sale results of similar items. Just a few ideas which might help.

Try H&H; Auction rooms a gentleman called Stephen Farthing will provide any advice you need. Lovely guy. Condolences to you and yours

Make absolutely sure you get three valuations including Bonhams.

Best of luck dealing with it, must be a hard time

I think any/all of the local auction houses will provide a professional service. They're very knowledgable, deal daily with situations like your own, and as has been said, earn their money through commission so are eager to achieve the best prices they can,

Paul Laidlaw has his auction room on Rome Street now ...(he's on the telly) sold a few things last year found him very genuine and helpful.

seesaw50 wrote: Paul Laidlaw has his auction room on Rome Street now ...(he's on the telly) sold a few things last year found him very genuine and helpful.

I was just going to suggest Paul Heys the guy from Morecambe off the the tv Antiques shows sold some stuff for us without asking a lot of awkward questions and in the circumstances was expecting to get screwed with commission and charges but on the day his enthusiasm and skill obtained prices well beyond what we were expecting and the charges etc could only be described as " very reasonable "

Bonhams have a free valuation event at Warwick Hall soon, worth looking into? Not sure exactly when, just saw a banner when passing!

Sorry for your loss.

Edit: Found it - www.bonhams.com/valuation_events/23001/

As above, if you have enough detail about what the items are, I'd recommend a bit of Googling as well as obtaining valuations, especially for potentially higher value items.

If you know what you have and an approximate idea of the value, there is the option of listing the items for sale yourself on eBay or similar to attract a wider audience.

Auctions are inevitably a bit of a lottery depending on how many people are there and who turns up on the day, you only have to watch Bargain Hunt to see that. Some are very poorly attended.

Edited to add, at my local Saturday market there's an "everything £1" stall which is obviously all house clearance stuff bought at auctions. I've bought a number of books from it for 50p or £1 and sold them for £100-£200 on eBay. But the guy on the stall is making a profit at £1 per item on what he paid at auction and the auction house isn't obviously looking closely enough at the items.

Just to add, if you have anything of real value, they are negotiable on the commission they charge.