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Should I sell my collection to dealers or is it best to sell my collection at auction?

Debbie Porter

If you are thinking of selling a collection to a dealer, think about the benefits of selling your collection at auction instead, where you stand to gain better prices.

Selling a collection by auction is a really good way to sell a large collection you might have, where you will benefit greatly from selling rare items and you will get top prices for them. This is normally more than what a dealer could pay as you will be selling to the end user and cutting out the middle man who also needs to make a profit by selling your items on to his or her customers at a marked up price.

An additional benefit of selling at auction is that once the hammer comes down on a piece from your collection there will be many disappointed bidders who didn’t get what they came for.  These collectors will then go and bid for other items in the collection resulting in higher prices for the more common items.  This is something we see all the time a greatly increases the yield you can get from bringing collections to auction with us.

A collection of Royal Doulton floral Bird and Adderley Butterfly models, sold by Potteries Auctions

A collection of Royal Doulton floral Bird and Adderley Butterfly models, recently sold at our March 2020 Two Day Auction of Rare 20th Century British Pottery, collectors items, jewellery, & antiques.

A collection of carriage clocks that came to auction and that are always popular with auction crowds, sold by Potteries Auctions

A collection of carriage clocks that came to auction and that are always popular with auction crowds. 

This large collection of Royal Albert and similar floral decorated wall plates, sold for an impressive £150 by Potteries Auctions

This large collection of Royal Albert and similar floral decorated wall plates sold for an impressive £150 at our online live action last month.

Royal Doulton World War I General character jugs, sold by Potteries Auctions

A recent collection we have dealt with was a set of large Royal Doulton character jugs. Dealers had offered the owner of the collection £100 each for the set, which were Royal Doulton World War I’s great generals.  We know from experience that these would sell to collectors for £200-£300 each, and so you can see quite clearly, that for these rarer items it makes sense to sell at auction to gain the highest price possible.  In this way you are able to maximize the value of the collection.

Selling at Auction

If you have collectible pieces you’re looking to sell, Call 01782 638100 or emailenquiries@potteriesauctions.com to book a valuation appointment to attend one of our Tuesday valuation days. We also provide valuations via WhatsApp, simply send some clear photographs of your items via the app to 07864 667940. Additionally, we can send you links to our catalogues via WhatsApp–message the above number via the app and ask to receive our catalogues. Make sure you are subscribed to our email newsletters, too!