Sensitive valuations and effective pricing are key elements to success at auction

Mar 25, 2024

Watching the Antiques Roadshow recently, I was reminded of the most important question a professional should ask when valuing something: why are you having it valued? This is because valuations will differ depending on the answer.

Let’s consider a diamond ring, for instance. If you want it valued for insurance, you are going to need enough cover to replace it at retail cost. If you want it valued for sale to a dealer, the valuation must consider what a dealer might pay for it, so that they can build in a profit margin for resale. So, the insurance valuation might be as much as four times the resale value to a dealer.

Getting the asking price right is as much a skill at chattels auctions as it is when putting your home on the market: price it too high and you can kill demand but undercook it and you risk giving it away.

Overexposure over a prolonged period tends to raise questions as to the condition of the property on offer. A newly redeveloped house near me has recently gone on the market for around 30 per cent more than I would think is reasonable. This is because it will have been priced according to what the plot cost to buy, what the developer paid to knock it down and create the house that now stands there, and what their projected profit is added on top. No one has shown any interest. After a while, market reality will kick in and it will be re-priced accordingly, but that exposure will cost the owner dear and they may well end up with less than if they had simply pitched it at a more competitive rate in the first place.

It’s the same for chattels auctions. Those prepared to consign items at come-and-get-me estimates very often spark a bidding battle, with lots selling for what they really hoped to get for them, or even higher. Auctioneers will agree a reserve price with you, as a safety net, below which an item cannot be sold, so as a seller you are protected.

The secret to auctions’ enduring appeal is the ability of auctioneers to adapt to change

Feb 23, 2024

Go to most art, antique and design fairs and you will see stands set out like shop windows or room sets. Many of the fairs have ditched the word antique in favour of decorative, design or modern – or they use a completely different word to emphasise exclusivity and luxury.

All this reflects the fact that most people have moved away from the notion of collecting and towards that of decorating and lifestyle enhancement. That means those who sell desirable items must package them in different ways.

Take accessories like scarves, costume jewellery and vintage handbags. They used to be tail-end offerings at general auctions where you would be lucky to scrape together a few pounds from them. Now, though, they enjoy dedicated sales, which bring in new, younger buyers eager to get the look and pick up a rarity usually available only as a modern re-issue. Some of these things remain antiques but have just been re-labeled. It’s a great marketing lesson and shows that whatever you call them, some antiques never really go out of fashion.

It’s a lesson the leading luxury brands themselves have learnt, going as far as to set up their own pre-loved divisions, buying up and reselling their own vintage products.

With social media, pop-ups, drop sales and drop shipping all new phenomena competing for business these days, our industry is obsessed with staying relevant in attracting the next generation of buyers and sellers. Fifty years ago, newly married couples tended to go to auction to buy furniture and decorations for their first home. Then the era of mass consumerism, with its disposable, flatpack furnishings, took over, tastes changed, and the local general weekly auction started to look like a thing of the past.

Well, close to half a century on we’re still here and as relevant today as we have always been. Yes, we have had to adapt, offering more specialist sales, better catalogues, clear costings and, in the advanced technological age, live bidding via the internet.

What hasn’t changed are the twin thrills of finding something special hidden among the day-to-day items and the charged atmosphere of competitive bidding and ultimate victory as the hammer comes down.

A lesson in how to identify the antiques of the future

Jan 29, 2024

One of the most interesting aspects of working in the art, antiques and collectables world today is just how few people realise that they are part of it. Antiques may be things of the past, but it’s an ever-changing world, which means there is a constant supply of ‘new’ antiques, objects that have just become more than 100 years old.

In the end, it is a fairly arbitrary measure; what really matters is the quality of the piece in question. Values can change depending on a range of factors, such as rarity and condition – and, indeed, age – but perhaps the two factors that most alter the general cycle of buying and selling are changing tastes and habits.

Take dining room furniture. Personally, I think a return to having a special room for dinner parties and the like is long overdue, but while larger homes may still accommodate this if they choose, the average new-build house simply does not have the space.

A collector who has proved very successful in identifying trends – perhaps even creating them himself – describes himself as a ‘homesteader’, he has acted like one of the great pioneers of the West in the 19^th century, heading out and staking his claim before seeing if it yields anything of value.

The thing about people like this is they accept that a lot of the time their efforts will yield very little, but it’s all worth it because here and there they hit paydirt.

So, look about you and ask yourself a few questions. What do you see that will stand the test of the time? Does it have mass appeal? In time, will items associated with this field decline sufficiently to create that vital rarity factor– especially for examples in mint or near new condition? Does it have the potential to create a strong sense of nostalgia? Perhaps have retro or kitsch value? Is it the sort of thing that could be a future design icon or simply a fascinating piece of history? If you want to test your ‘eye’, this is a good way to go about it.

The secret to auctions’ longevity? They are endlessly adaptable

Jan 2, 2024

The most obvious change in auctions since the millennium has been the influence of the internet, first with websites that allowed people to view auction lots prior to sale and gave even quite parochial auctioneers a global audience; then live online bidding, which has been the biggest game changer of all. But go back even earlier and you will find other significant developments.

If you attended an auction in the 1960s, you would rarely have found a detailed catalogue outside the London rooms. Where catalogues were available, estimates were not.

Dealers, I’m sure, would love it if that were still the case, but times have moved on, auction houses have learnt the value of the private buyer, there are more niche specialists than generalists, and quality of service for the private punter has become the watchword. Clear guides to everything from how to bid to what fees are involved make the auction process much simpler for the novice to bidder or seller to understand … and rightly so.

Such changes bring their own challenges, but they show how adaptable auctions have been over the years.

This also extends to what people buy. Time was when the industry was dominated by generalists holding weekly sales of antique furniture, silver, ceramics and glass, together with a selection of Victorian and Edwardian pictures. Today it’s a very different prospect. Auctioneers tend to divide up sales by discipline to create specialist niche offerings in everything from 20th century design to jewellery and accessories.

Trainers used to be restricted to sport; now they have moved beyond fashion items to become expensive collectables, with the likes of Sotheby’s holding specialist sales of them.

Heavy, dark furniture may have hit the buffers, but good solid oak and other, lighter woods transformed into stunning early 20th century pieces at the hands of a well-known master craftsman still command a premium. Antiques are far from over; like everything else, they simply evolve along with people’s taste.

• VALUATION DAYS STARTING FRIDAY 19 JANUARY AND EVERY FRIDAY AT JOHN NICHOLSON’S SALEROOM

  We are inviting you to bring in your jewellery, watches, clocks, pictures, oriental works of art, antiques, vases, porcelain, etc for valuation on any Friday starting on Friday 19 January from 9am-5pm. We will have specialists on hand to assist you. If you have a car or van load or just one piece, do bring it along. Appointments not necessary.

Why a rare Christmas card can make the perfect seasonal gift

Dec 5, 2023

It’s that season again. We have the United States to thank for the modern image of Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, as they call him. That’s also true of greetings cards, which became popular, initially in the United States in the 1880s, thanks to the development of offset lithography, a form of printing.

Britain picked up on the trend early. Hallmark, one of the biggest names in greetings cards, has been around since almost the start, when savvy British makers saw what was happening in the US and started exporting cheaper folded versions there not long before the First World War.

The first Christmas cards were hand-coloured for Sir Henry Cole, founder of the Victoria & Albert Museum, who ordered 1000 in 1843. They depicted a family raising their charged glasses in a toast above a draped banner carrying the words A Merry Christmas. He used half himself and sold the rest for a shilling apiece.

It’s thought around nine or ten survive, and each is valued at around £10,000 today.

Some of the most sought-after Christmas cards today are those designed by well-known artists of the late Victorian and early 20th century periods. Kate Greenaway, who illustrated many of the most popular children’s books of the 1880s and ’90s is a favourite, as is her great rival at the time, Walter Crane.

Perhaps the most desirable cards, though are the early Hold-to-Light cards depicting Father Christmas, or Santa Claus. These were generally die-cut and got their name because if you held them up to the light, the die-cut parts lit up, creating a glowing Christmas scene.

When first produced in the US, in postcard form, these were the preserve of the wealthy as each could cost as much as a day’s wages for a working man. Nowadays while religious or other scenes can be had for as little as around £20, the pick of the Santa cards can cost £400.

Collectors tend to specialize in subject matter, such as comic cards, or anniversary type, such as birthday or Christmas cards. Condition can matter a great deal. If they are unused and have not been stuck in albums with the accompanying sticky tape. And particular printers, such as De La Rue, also tempt collectors.

If you’ve never bid or bought at auction before, how do you make a start?

Nov 6, 2023

You’ll be pleased to know that there are several ways to catch the auctioneer’s attention without having to sit in front of them. The first is leaving what is called a commission or absentee bid. You can pick up the relevant form at the viewing for the sale, fill it in with the maximum you are prepared to pay and register it with the auction house. The auctioneer will then bid on your behalf against other bidders up to the maximum. However, if other bidders give up earlier, you may well get the item for less. For slightly more valuable lots, you may be able to bid over the phone. Again, you need to register before the sale – usually at least 24 hours in advance – and can then bid live on the phone via a member of staff. Make sure you answer the phone when they call you to bid.

Finally, you can bid via the internet, either directly with the auction house or, more usually, via one of the live bidding platforms. Check them out early to understand the process.

I’d still advise visiting the saleroom if you can. A recent buyer at one of our jewellery sales was a first-time bidder who had enjoyed the experience so much that he has now started coming to other sales at Fernhurst.

He is one of those people who likes to come prepared, so he had checked our website for everything from buying conditions, including any fees, to bidding methods. With all this in mind he said that although he had been slightly nervous to start with when it came to bidding, his confidence rose as he had set himself a limit and knew he would not go beyond it. Best of all, he said, was the thrill of securing the lot against competition from other bidders, one of whom was in the room, while others were on the internet.

His experience reinforces two key lessons for auctioneers: have a clear and informative website and make sure you give a warm welcome and excellent service if you want them to keep coming back.

Treasures from ancient Asian cultures can help recapture the spirit of those who created them

Oct 8, 2023

Until the end of October, numerous events celebrate the biggest festival of Asian art in the UK. Centred on the three-week Asian Art in London programme of auctions, gallery exhibitions and museum shows, the focus is on Contemporary and traditional art from China, Japan, India, Cambodia, Vietnam and Korea.

I can’t think of a better opportunity to acquaint yourself with the marvels of this rich Far Eastern heritage, a significant proportion of it pre-dating even the Roman period.

We celebrate these historic traditions in our monthly auctions of Oriental and Islamic works of art, whose catalogues present a microcosm of the art and craftsmanship of the many cultures who come under this banner.

Often, we think of ancient cultures in places such as Egypt, but China was just as developed at the time. Think about the Han (Warring States, c.475-221BC) or Tang dynasties (618-907) with their extraordinary creations in pottery and bronze, a surprising number of which survive today in fine condition.

India and its rich tradition are also part of this mix. I was reminded of this when admiring one of the highlights of our October 17 sale: a fine, possibly 12th century north Indian carved yellow stone torso of a female deity, whose torso is well decorated with beads and jewellery.

Equally impressive was a marvellous piece of Hu porcelain in our timed online auction that ended on October 2: a blue, white and underglaze red porcelain twin-handle vase, decorated with a dragon and the flaming pearl of wisdom. It was a reminder that many of these ancient treasures can be had for reasonable sums. The estimate in this case was just £500-700.

For me, what brings these pieces alive is not just the highly accomplished work that went into creating them, but the thought of the people behind them. Where and how did they live? How did they acquire their skills? What were they like as people? Did they have families and what were the things they dreamed of and worried about? Think of these questions next time your eyes settle on a striking piece of ancient art.

Looking to the next generation in this wonderful world of selling and collecting

Sep 10, 2023

Students have headed back to college, pupils to schools, but there are also a lot of new graduates and school leavers looking to their careers now. Should they consider becoming auctioneers?

Having started at the bottom and worked my up, I have no regrets. I still think the best way in is the traditional one: starting as a porter at one of the larger auction houses, graduating to cataloguing and developing specialist knowledge in your chosen field while studying for a fine arts valuation qualification. There aren’t many courses left around the country, but they are worth doing if this game is for you.

I have also been impressed with the focus and determination of many in their teens and early twenties who have already harnessed the internet to create micro businesses involving buying, selling and collecting. The internet has created new opportunities, such a drop-sales, which simply did not exist before because there was no way of conducting them. Generation Z may be concerned with disciplines that have not played a part in our collecting tradition up till now – trainers, video games and the like – but they still follow the same patterns and rules as art and antique disciplines: rarity, condition etc.

Best of all, this younger generation has not sat in a classroom to be taught this, but has explored this world for itself and understandably has become enthusiastic about it, both because it can be profitable and because it affords the professional a large degree of autonomy.

A lot of the auction business has already gone online and I have no doubt that more will in future. However, I also believe that there will always be brick-and-mortar salerooms for people to visit, view and handle the goods first, particularly at the top end of the market where prices run into the millions. We sell via both channels.

Auctioneering as a career still holds a lot of promise and the chances of setting up your own business and working for yourself in the long term are greater than in most other industries. It’s something you might want to have a think about.