Buyer's and seller's premiums
Auctioneers charge buyers and sellers a percentage of the hammer price - known respectively as the buyer's premium and the seller's premium (the latter is also referred to as vendor's premium, vendor's commission or seller's commission). This fee in the UK is usually also subject to VAT.
Each auctioneer sets its own rates for these premiums. Check their terms and conditions for details.
Cottees premium falls for early 2016
31 December 2015As an introductory offer to their new saleroom near Poole, Cottees will be reducing both their seller’s commission and buyer’s premium to 10% (plus VAT) for the first three months of 2016.
Sotheby’s alter buyer's premium structure
27 January 2015Sotheby's have announced a new buyer’s premium structure in New York. Effective from February 1, the rates will apply as follows:
Ex-chairman of SOFAA damns 2% success fee
28 October 2014The chairman of one of the UK’s most successful provincial auction houses has joined the condemnation of Christie’s new 2% success fee, saying he is appalled by it.
![14-05-30-2144NE03A Umayyad gold Dinar.jpg](/media/1524/14-05-30-2144ne03a-umayyad-gold-dinar.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462558340000000)
New coin auctioneers offering reduced buyer’s premium
30 May 2014A newly established firm of numismatic auctioneers, Wilkes & Curtis, are aiming to break into the marketplace by offering a fixed buyer’s premium of 10%.
Premium levels all square again
16 September 2013Christie’s have announced that from September 30 their main buyer’s premium structure will change to the following:
Rewarding buyers in the saleroom
28 May 2013Anxious to arrest declining saleroom audiences, Bertoia Auctions in Vineland, New Jersey, chose to axe the buyer’s premium for bidders in the room for their sale on March 16.
Bonhams hold firm on premium
11 March 2013Bonhams have announced that they will not be following Christie’s and Sotheby’s in raising buyer’s premium thresholds.
Sotheby’s also raise premium, but go further than Christie’s
01 March 2013Sotheby’s have followed Christie’s in restructuring their buyer’s premiums, but have pushed the thresholds even higher than their rivals in the bid for better yields.
Christie’s bid to squeeze more out of premiums
27 February 2013Christie’s have announced a new buyer’s premium structure that points to a period of heightened competition.
Bonhams to match Christie’s and Sotheby’s on premium
06 June 2011BONHAMS have announced that they will increase their buyer’s premium on September 1.
Bloomsbury cut charges for book sale
04 October 2010BLOOMSBURY Auctions are to reduce their buyer’s premium when offering the Richard Harris collection in two forthcoming sales.
Premium rise at Bloomsbury
10 August 2009Bloomsbury Auctions are to increase their buyer’s premium from 20 to 22 per cent.
Toovey’s raise buyer’s premium
15 June 2009Toovey’s have announced an increase in their buyer’s premium to 22.5% plus VAT. They cite rising running costs as the chief cause for the increase, which comes into effect on June 16-19.
Insurance expert sounds alert over consignment premiums
06 February 2009A LEADING fine art insurer has alerted UK auctioneers that they may be breaking the law in the way they provide insurance cover for items consigned for auction.
Lyon & Turnbull turn the premium system on its head
29 September 2008Lyon & Turnbull are to turn the buyer’s premium system on its head by raising it for top-tier prices but cutting it for lower-priced lots in general sales.
Christie’s raise premium level to match Sotheby’s
27 May 2008Christie’s are to adjust their buyer’s premium thresholds, with effect from June 2, in line with changes announced by Sotheby’s last week.
Sotheby’s make gains but decide to up their premium
19 May 2008CONTEMPORARY art may still be heading skywards, but the imminent buyer’s premium rate increases – and Sotheby’s latest set of results – show that pressure at the margins is as intense as ever.
Details of the premium rise
19 May 2008As of June 1, Sotheby’s auctions in New York and London will be subject to new buyer’s premium thresholds that will hit further buyers of ‘middle range’ art and antiques.
Clarice Cliff collectors defect to the Midlands over buyer’s premium hike
18 December 2007Midlands auctioneers Fieldings and the Clarice Cliff Collectors’ Club (CCCC) are to join forces to hold sales of the avidly collected Art Deco pottery.
Clarice Cliff collectors protest against premium hike
29 October 2007Collectors of Clarice Cliff have voiced their opposition to increased auctioneers’ charges with some refusing to attend Christie’s latest sale of the popular Art Deco pottery.
![the saleroom](/images/Top-Banner-300-x-93px_v2.jpg)
- Adam Partridge London
- Antiques & Fine Art With Asian Art
- 03 Sep 2024 - 10:00 AM
- McTear's
- Antiques & Interiors
- 05 Sep 2024 - 09:30 AM
- Adam Partridge Liverpool
- Photographic & Scientific Equipment With Antiques & Collector's Items
- 05 Sep 2024 - 10:00 AM
- W&H Peacock
- Antique Furniture, Collectables, Selected Toys, Jewellery & Watches
- 06 Sep 2024 - 09:30 AM
- Unique Auctions
- Antiques, Jewellery, Furniture & Collectables
- 07 Sep 2024 - 09:00 AM
- Anthemion Auctions
- Ceramics, Glass, Paintings, Furniture, Books & Sporting
- 11 Sep 2024 - 09:00 AM
![the saleroom](/images/Bottom-Banner-300-x-93px_v2.jpg)
News
-
- Art finance
- Auctions
- Brexit
- Buyer's and seller's premiums
- Coronavirus
- Delivery and Shipping
- Education and Training
- Endangered Species
- Events and conferences
- Industry data
- Insurance
- Internet
- Law, crime and regulation
- Museum acquisitions
- Museum deaccessioning
- Obituaries
- Premises and Property
- Private Sales
- Recruitment
- Restoration
- TV shows
-
- 1818 Auctioneers
- Adam Partridge
- Adam's
- Addisons
- Ader
- Aguttes
- Alastair Gibson Auctions
- Alcala Subastas
- Aldridges
- Amersham Auction Rooms
- Anderson & Garland
- Andrew Smith & Son
- Anthemion
- AntikBar
- Antony Cribb
- Artcurial
- Arthur Johnson & Sons
- Aston's
- Auction Team Breker
- Auctionata
- Auctioneum
- Babuino
- Bainbridge Adam Partridge
- Baldwin's
- Bamfords
- Barbara Kirk
- Barbers
- Batemans
- BBR Auctions
- Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood
- Beaussant Lefèvre
- Bellmans
- Bentley’s
- Biddle & Webb
- Bigwood
- Bishop & Miller
- Bleasdales
- Bloomsbury Auctions
- Boldon Auction Galleries
- Bonhams
- Bonhams Skinner
- Bosleys
- Bourne End Auction Rooms
- Brettells
- Brighton General Auctions
- Brightwells
- Bristol Auction Rooms
- Brown & Co
- Bruun Rasmussen
- Burstow & Hewett
- Byrnes
- C&T
- Cambi Casa d'Aste
- Canterbury Auction Galleries
- Capes Dunn
- Catherine Southon
- Cato Crane
- Chalkwell
- Charles Miller
- Charles Ross Auctioneers
- Charterhouse
- Cheffins
- Chilcotts
- Chippenham Auction Rooms
- Chiswick Auctions
- Chorley's
- Christie's
- Clark & Simpson
- Clars Auction Gallery
- Clevedon Salerooms
- Comic Book Auctions
- Cotswold Auction Company
- Cottees
- Cowans
- Criterion
- Crow’s Auctions Gallery
- Curated Auctions
- Cuttlestones
- Czerny
- David Duggleby
- Dawsons
- Denhams
- Dominic Winter
- Dore & Rees
- Dorotheum
- Doyle New York
- Dreweatts
- Duke's
- Durrants
- Eastbourne Auctions
- Eldreds
- Elmwood’s
- Elstob Auctioneers
- Ewbank's
- Featonby's
- Fellows
- Fieldings
- Fine Art Auction Group
- Fine Art Bourse
- Flints Auctioneers
- Fonsie Mealy
- Forum Auctions
- Frank Marshall
- Freeman's
- Freeman's Hindman
- Gardiner Houlgate
- Gary Don
- George Kidner
- Gerrards Auction Rooms
- Gildings
- Golding Young & Mawer
- Gorringes
- Graham Budd
- Grand Auctions
- Great Western Auctions
- Greenslade Taylor Hunt
- Gros & Delettrez
- H&H Classics
- Halls Fine Art
- Hampstead Auctions
- Hannam’s
- Hansons
- Harper Field
- Hartleys
- Henry Adams
- Henry Aldridge & Son
- Heritage Auctions
- Hermann Historica
- High Road Auctions
- Hindman
- Holloways
- Holt's
- Hôtel Drouot
- Hotlotz
- Humbert & Ellis
- Hutchinson Scott
- Jacobs & Hunt
- John Nicholson
- John Pye Auctions
- Jones & Jacob
- JS Fine Art
- Jubilee Auction Rooms
- Juliens
- Kerry Taylor
- KettererKunst
- Keys
- Kidson-Trigg
- Kinghams
- Kings Russell
- Knights Auctions
- Knowle Auction Rooms
- Koller
- Lacy Scott & Knight
- Laidlaw
- Lawrences of Bletchingley
- Lawrences of Crewkerne
- Lay’s Auctioneers
- Lempertz
- Leonard Joel
- Lindsay Burns
- Littleton
- Lockdales
- Locke & England
- London Auctions
- Lots Road Auctions
- Louis Taylor
- Lyon & Turnbull
- MacDougall's
- Mallams
- Mander
- Marlows of Stafford
- Martel Maides
- Maxwells
- McTear's
- Mellors & Kirk
- Michael Bowman
- Millon
- Minster Auctions
- Mitchells
- Moore Allen & Innocent
- Morphets
- Morton & Eden
- Mossgreen
- Mulberry Bank Auctions
- Mullock Jones
- Nagel
- Nesbits
- Netherhampton Salerooms
- Nicholas Mellors
- Nigel Ward
- Noble Investments
- Noonans
- Olympia Auctions
- Omega Auctions
- Onslows
- Osenat
- Paddle8
- Parker Fine Art Auctions
- Paul Beighton Saleroom
- PBA Galleries
- Peter Francis
- Philip Serrell
- Phillips
- Piasa
- Pierre Bergé & Associes
- Piers Motley
- Plymouth Auction Rooms
- Potter & Potter
- Potteries Auctions
- Rago Auctions
- Railtons
- Ramsay Cornish
- Reeman Dansie
- Rendells
- Richard Edmonds Auctions
- Richard Winterton
- Ritchies
- RM Sotheby’s
- Rogers Jones
- Roma Numismatics
- Roseberys
- Ross’s of Belfast
- Rowley's
- Rushbrooks
- Ryedale
- Semley
- Sheffield Auction Gallery
- Sheppard’s
- Silverwoods
- Sloane Street Auctions
- Sotheby's
- Sovereign Rarities
- Special Auction Services
- Spicers
- Spink
- St Jamess Auctions
- Staceys
- Stanley Gibbons Group
- Sterling Vault Auctioneers
- StockholmsAuktionsverk
- Stride & Son
- Summers Place Auctions
- Swan Fine Art Auctioneers
- Swann
- Sworders
- Tajan
- Tamlyns
- Tayler and Fletcher
- Taylor's Auctions
- Tennants
- The Pedestal
- Thimbleby & Shorland
- Thomas Del Mar
- Thomas N Miller
- Thomas R Callan
- Thomas Watson
- Thomaston Place
- Thomson Roddick & Medcalf
- Thomson Roddick Scottish Auctions
- Timeline
- Toovey's
- Trevanion
- Truro Auction Centre
- TW Gaze
- Unique Auctions
- Vectis
- Veritas
- W&H Peacock
- Wallis and Wallis
- Warren & Wignall
- Watches of Knightsbridge
- Wellers
- Wessex Auction Rooms
- Whitton & Laing
- Whittons
- Whytes
- Wilkes & Curtis
- Wilkinson's Auctioneers
- William George & Co
- Wilson55
- Woolley & Wallis
- Wotton Auction Rooms
- Wright Marshall
-
- 1stdibs
- Advertising Standards Authority
- Antiquarian Booksellers Association
- Antique Young Guns
- Antiquities Dealers’ Association
- Art Business Conference
- Art Fund
- Art Loss Register
- Art Recovery International
- Art UK
- Arts Council England
- Assay Office
- Auction Technology Group
- BADA
- BAMF
- CADA
- CINOA
- Company of Arts Scholars
- DACS
- DEFRA
- DMG
- EBay
- Hiscox
- LAPADA
- Lot-tissimo
- National Trust
- NAVA
- Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association
- RICS
- Society of London Art Dealers
- SOFAA
- the saleroom
- Triple-A Auctioneers
-
- Adams Antiques Fairs
- Affordable Art Fair
- Alexandra Palace fair
- Antiques Centres
- Antiques Dealers Fair Limited
- Ardingly Fair
- Armchair Art Fair
- Art & Antiques for Everyone Fair
- Art Antiques London
- Art, Antiques & Interiors Expo
- Arthur Swallow Fairs
- Bath Decorative Antiques Fair
- Battersea Decorative Fair
- Bermondsey Market
- Book Fairs
- BRAFA
- British Art Fair
- Brussels Fairs
- CADA Fair
- Car Boot Fairs
- Clarion Events
- Continuity Fairs
- Cooper Events
- Ephemera fairs
- Fine Art Asia
- Fine Arts Paris
- Firsts
- Florida Fairs
- French Fairs
- Frieze
- Frieze Masters
- Galloway Antiques Fairs
- Harrogate Fairs
- Hatton Garden
- Haughton Fairs
- Hong Kong Fairs
- IACF
- Jaguar Fairs
- LAPADA Fair
- Lincolnshire Antiques and Home Show
- London Original Print Fair
- Masterpiece
- Miami Fairs
- Midcentury Modern
- Modern British Art Fair
- NEC Birmingham
- New York Fairs
- Newark Fair
- Newbury Antiques and Collectors Fair
- Olympia Fair
- PAD London
- Palm Beach Fairs
- Paris Biennale
- Paris Fairs
- Paris Parcours
- Paris Tableau
- Penman Fairs
- Philadelphia Fairs
- Photography fairs
- Regional Fairs
- Salon du Dessin
- Sandown Park Racecourse Fair
- Showground Fairs
- Swinderby Fair
- TEFAF
- The Open Art Fair
- The Treasure House Fair
- Winter Antiques Show
- Works on Paper Fair
-
- Alfred Taubman
- Bendor Grosvenor
- Bill Ruprecht
- Charles Hanson
- Charlie Ross
- Cornelius Gurlitt
- David Lester
- Ed Dolman
- Eric Knowles
- François Pinault
- Ingrid Nilson
- Lennox Cato
- Lord Ashcroft
- Marco Forgione
- Mark Law
- Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Thani
- Simon de Pury
- Sue Ede
- Tad Smith
- Tim Goodman
- Victoria Borwick
-
- Abbott and Holder
- Agnews
- Alastair Dickenson
- Andrew Sim
- Blairman
- Carter Marsh
- Colnaghi
- Daniel Katz
- Dickinson
- Fabrizio Moretti
- Ian Towning
- Johnny Van Haeften
- London Silver Vaults
- Mallett
- Mark Weiss
- Partridge Fine Art
- Petworth Antiques Dealers
- Philip Mould
- Pimlico Road Dealers
- Richard Green
- Robert Young
- Roger Keverne
- Rupert Maas
- SJ Phillips
- Wartski
-
- A Lawyer Writes
- Around the Auction Houses
- Art Market
- Auction Reports
- Bid Barometer
- Books and Works on Paper
- Dealers' Diary
- Fairs, Markets, Shops and Centres
- Features
- Front Page and News
- International (print edition)
- Interviews
- Letters to the Editor
- News in Brief
- Obituaries (print edition)
- Opinion
- Pick of the Week
- Precious Metals Prices
- Previews
- Soapbox
- Special Reports
- Then & Now
Categories
-
- Arms, Armour & Militaria
- Bank notes
- Books & Periodicals
- Cameras & Camera Equipment
- Classic Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia
- Coins
- Collectables
- Entertainment Memorabilia
- Kitchenalia
- Maps
- Models, Toys, Dolls & Games
- Musical Instruments & Memorabilia
- Scientific Instruments
- Sporting Memorabilia & Equipment
- Stamps
- Taxidermy & Natural History
- Tools
- Wines & Spirits
- Writing Instruments