Bonhams in London.
The latest of the London auction houses to increase its fees was Bonhams, which changed both the percentages of its premium structure and thresholds across which they apply in mid-May.
It now charges buyers 28% of the hammer price up to £40,000 and 27% on bids above this level up to £800,000.
A buyer’s premium comparison table between Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams and Phillips.
A 21% premium then applies for bids up to £4.5m, while the 14.5% charge that kicks in above this amount is unchanged.
Effectively this means an extra 1% premium is charged on the vast bulk of the lots sold at Bonhams.
The changes apply to sales in the UK, France, Belgium and at Bonhams Skinner in the US which all have a new structure starting with the 28% fee but with the thresholds varying by currency.
Bruun Rasmussen in Denmark, which is now owned by Bonhams, appears to have a separate buyer’s premium structure (currently charging a single 25.6% fee on the hammer price).
These changes follow Sotheby’s adjusting its buyer’s premium in February, followed by Phillips in March and then Christie’s in April (see ATG No 2593).
