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Potteries Auctions’ Switch to Online Auctioning During Covid-19 Has Helped Us Reach New Audiences

Debbie Porter

These Royal Worcester figurines attracted high hammer prices in our June auction. Lot 603, Royal Worcester A Successful Day At The Derby had a hammer price of £400; Lot 597, Royal Worcester The Swing figurine, attracted a final price of £220

As our response to the Covid-19 lockdown we were hit with the most dramatic effect in having to close our in-person auctions at our Silverdale and Cobridge salerooms.  We have always run online auctions and commissioned bids as part of our service, and so our innovation to respond to our new situation was a smooth transition by switching to selling by these online methods only.

None of us could have predicted what would then happen after making this switch, but we have been surprised (in the most pleasantly surprised of ways!) that we’ve seen some really high prices being attained online, in addition to having attracted brand new audiences from across the world, which has been a driver for pushing up the hammer prices on lots.

It is an unprecedented time and the prices being realised at auction are outstanding in several cases and this article gives you just a few examples of lots we’ve sold during lockdown that would’ve ordinarily achieved only a fraction of the hammer price they then went on to achieve.

So if you have been thinking about sending items for auction, then now is absolutely the best time to achieve a high price for your collections and pieces. Read this article on how to get your items valued for auction at our weekly valuation days, or this article on how we carry out house visits for valuations for larger collections as a guide, and then get in touch with us on +44 (0)1782 638100 Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm to talk to us in more detail.

Lot 598 - Royal Worcester Figure The Daughter of Erin, and Lot 601 - Fruit Seller at Appleby Fair, both sold at auction by Potteries Auctions

More Royal Worcester figurines that attracted high hammer prices in our June auction are pictured here. Lot 598, Royal Worcester Figure The Daughter of Erin that had an estimate price of £20-£30 but sold for an amazing £220; Lot 601, Fruit Seller at Appleby Fair was also estimated to sell for £20-£40 but went for £320.

Lot 647, a limited edition Coalport figure Madame De Pompadour, and Lot 648, a limited edition Coalport Marie Antoinette figurine, both sold at auction by Potteries Auctions

Two Coalport figures that sold for great prices are pictured here with Lot 647, a limited edition figure Madame De Pompadour that attracted a hammer price of £360; Lot 648, a limited edition Marie Antoinette figurine, meanwhile fetched £320 at auction.

A pair of Coalport Lady figures sold for £280 in our June sale. 1992 For Your Wedding on the left, and Marie Antoinette on the right.

This pair of Coalport Lady figures sold for £280 in our June sale. 1992 For Your Wedding on the left, and Marie Antoinette on the right.

This collection of home and away strips for Wigan Rugby club fetched £340 at auction with Potteries Auctions

And it’s not just figurines that have done well at auction!  This collection of home and away strips for Wigan Rugby club fetched £340 at auction.

Lot 906 - hundreds of pieces of silver and other costume jewellery items, sold at auction by Potteries Auctions

Lot 906 contained a hundreds of pieces of silver and other costume jewellery items and went for £220.

Lot 951’s hammer price was £320, a 19th Century Imperial Russian Silver on Wood Religious Icon dated 1890

Lot 951’s hammer price was £320, a 19th Century Imperial Russian Silver on Wood Religious Icon dated 1890.

A collection of showbiz memorabilia went for £300 at our auction featured autographs from mid-century show business personalities such as Val Doonican, Cilla Black, Les Dawson and Bobby Crush

A collection of showbiz memorabilia went for £300 at our auction featured autographs from mid-century show business personalities such as Val Doonican, Cilla Black, Les Dawson and Bobby Crush.

So, it is clearly a great time to sell!

If you are interested in bidding at our upcoming sales, dates of the next few scheduled auctions are as follows:

  • Sunday 28 June 2020, with the virtual viewing day on Friday 26 June.
  • Saturday 11 July 2020, with the virtual viewing day on Friday 10 July.
  • Saturday 8 August 2020, with the virtual viewing day on Friday 7 August.
  • Saturday 12 September 2020, with the virtual viewing day on Friday 11 September.

For more details of these and other future auctions, please visit the Auctions page. To find out more about virtual viewings, read this our article on ‘how to bid at our online-only auctions’.