Before you can place any bids, you will need to register for an account with us. You can do this either in person with our friendly reception team or online. You will need to supply your contact information, credit/debit card details as well as proof of your identification.

Our team are on hand to register in-person bidders on sale day, please ensure that you bring your ID with you every time. Once registered, you will be allocated a paddle number for the auction; please note that the number is only relevant for the day.

During the auction, if you would like to bid on an item, raise the paddle and your bid will be placed into the sale. Other bidders (both online and offline) may be competing against you on the item, the auctioneer will accept bids until only one bidder remains.

You can place bids directly on our website lotsroad.com or via a third-party bidding platform e.g. Auctionet or the Saleroom. Simply login into your account and select the auction that you would like to bid in.

To bid in a live auction, when your lot is announced and bidding commences, click on the bid button until you have reached your top limit or until you have won your item. The platform you are using will advise if you are the winning bidder, the auctioneer is likely to call out the competing paddle numbers prior to the gavel going down if there has been strong interest in an item.

There are additional surcharges for online bidding which are an additional 3% + VAT on the hammer via lotsroad.com and 4.95% + VAT via the Saleroom.

Please be advised that you cannot purchase an item prior to the auction.

If you can’t bid on the day you can leave ‘Absentee Bids’, you can do this by clicking on your chosen lot and selecting ‘Absentee Bid’. This enables you to leave a maximum amount that the auctioneering team can bid up to on your behalf, until either the item has been won or your threshold has been reached.

If two bids of equal value are received ahead of the sale, preference is given to the bid that arrived first. Absentee Bids can be placed up to 10 minutes before the lot comes up. There are no additional charges incurred to use this bidding method.

Please be advised that a lot will not be sold for less than 50% of the highest Absentee Bid, for example, a £300 ‘Absentee Bid’ will not be sold for less than £150.

Absentee bids cannot be cancelled once entered into our system.

To use the Autobid function, select the lot and submit your maximum amount. Bids will then be placed automatically on your behalf during the live sale, until the item is won, or your maximum threshold has been reached. The auctioneer will not be aware of your maximum bid. Please note that you can’t amend or cancel an Autobid once it has been submitted into a live auction. For forthcoming sales, you can check on any of your Autobids in your account section with the option to amend or delete bids.

Please contact our team in advance of the auction to request the telephone bid service, this should be arranged no later than 10am on the day of the sale.

During the live auction, a clerk will contact the bidder approximately 5 lots ahead of their item, this ensures there is sufficient time to check the phone signal and take details of the bids in the event of a communication failure. When the lot comes up, bids will be submitted on your behalf until the item is won or your maximum threshold has been reached. Telephone bids will incur a 3% (+VAT) surcharge.

Please be advised that items coming through auction are almost always second hand, and as such may carry minor imperfections and restorations. We always recommend bidders inspect the item in person prior to purchasing. If you can’t physically attend, you can request a ‘condition report’ and one of our friendly team will come back to you with detailed information.

An item marked as subject to Artists Resale Rights (Droit de Suite) means a royalty charge for the artist will be applied. This affects artworks of living artists and to those who have died in the last 70 years, from applicable countries. An artwork must sell for over £1,000 to qualify and is charged at 4% of the hammer price. For further information please visit DACS and ACS. Lots Road Auctions will collect the royalty from the buyer, at the point of payment, for any qualifying works of art.

Several countries prohibit the importation of items containing materials from endangered species, including rhino horn, ivory, animal skin, coral and tortoiseshell. If you are interested in bidding on a lot containing these materials and you wish to export, please ensure you are aware of the relevant customs regulations prior to bidding. It is the buyers’ sole responsibility to obtain any relevant export or import licences.

All payments and collections are required to be made no later than five days following the auction. Please note that failure to collect items within this timeframe maybe subject to storage charges. Successful bidders will receive an invoice after the auction along with the details on how to pay for your items.

We do not accept American Express or cheques.

Please be advised that we do not offer a packing service or carry supplies of packaging materials e.g. bubble wrap. We recommend that all in-person collectors bring suitable materials with them to ensure the safe transportation of their goods.

Auctionet have a built-in delivery service, allowing you to obtain a quotation and select delivery prior to paying for your won lot.

We also have a selection of recommended carriers and delivery services, which are as follows:

• Callaghan & Newbury I [email protected] I Bill Callaghan 07903 299810 I Terry Newbury 07794 751445
• The Packengers I [email protected] I 020 3154 4360
• Hedley’s Worldwide I hedleyshumpers.com I 020 8965 8733
• Davies Turner International I daviesturner.com I 01322 277558
• Anglo Pacific World Movers I anglopacific.co.uk I 020 8965 1234
• Brothers STS I brothers-sts.co.uk I 01708 607900
• Trans-Portugal Removals I trans-Portugal.co.uk I 020 8807 6677
• Andrews Shipping I andrewsshipping.co.uk I 020 8805 5588
• Mondial Forwarding (Greece/Cyprus) I mondialtransport.co.uk I 020 8805 3344
• Mail Boxes Etc.I mbechelsea.co.uk I [email protected] I 020 7352 6344
• Alban Shipping I albanshipping.co.uk I 08006 125060
• E.B Removals and Storage (Ireland) I [email protected] I 07831 673 525
• Special Piano Removal (Gordon) I 07956 489223
• S & E Removals I 020 8424 2158