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Has anyone used one of the auction places on the Wirral (not for cars or buildings)?
There seems to be three main ones, Wirral Auction Centre in Wallasey, Kruger Gibbons in Birkenhead and Kingsley Auctions in Hoylake. I've never been to one before and am looking for a recommendation.
Many thanks

It depends what you are selling and how upset you would be if it didnt make what you'd hoped. Id recommend going to an auction and sitting through it , seeing what goes for what . If you have something specialized , for instance an item of the Queen Mary , you would be better using a marine stuff type auction , and a fine arts auction house if you have really good picture or jewellery .
Once you see what things are going for, check out the costs involved if you need the article picked up to be taken to auction, the costs if you need an auctioneer to come out and evaluate your stuff , and then the % cut taken by the auction house when your article is sold.
My friend had the auctioneer round to see what was valuable and what wasnt , ie what to take to auction and what not, when she had to clear a relatives house of random ornaments and old oak furniture . They came and took what they had said was worthwhile , and by the end of the auction , her costs were about £20 more than her auction total. That was an auction place in Stanhope St L'pool not Wirral, but she was upset she hadnt been advised that going to auction with the random stuff, wasnt really financially worthwhile. There again , The newsagent isnt going to advise you that the ciggies he sells are not the best thing for your health.There are exceptions, but most businesses will guide you towards whats good for them.
I dont know what you've got, but if you get the chance to get it to London, you will probably make a lot more money there. Even the charity shops are triple the costs of around here.

My neighbour has been de-cluttering recently and used the one at Wallasey. He reckons they seemed OK.

That auction house in Stanhope St also managed to make me an overall loss in similar circumstances a couple of years ago. Despite beautiful mahogany apparently there is no demand for 'brown' furniture! Added to which the transport costs were high and as well as a high percentage charge there was also a £3 lotting fee for each item.

Years ago it was only the purchaser who paid the percentage charge now they take it from buyer and seller making about 40% on each item. Hence the popularity of sites like this and eBay.

I have only used one once and have to say I felt very much ripped off by them. They did not explain fully about their transport costs (maybe my fault, I should have asked more questions) The total amount raised for all the goods sold was around £1100 and we ultimately ended up with a cheque for just £300 ish once they'd taken all the costs and commission.

All I can suggest is that you ask a lot of questions and get in writing what their fees are.

the one on the dock rd has a minimal £20 charge which means if your stuff does not maje that you will owe them money, there is however the chance to put a reserve on items but then the costs are slightly higher.

Thanks for all your advice. It sounds like it's a bit of a gamble. I have a large painting which my mother wants to get rid of. I've had it lying around in my house for the past six + months meaning to do something with it. Now I'm about to be out of work again, I'm determined to de-clutter. I love Ebay but can't work out how to package it up safely to send so thought an auction place might be best. I had emailed Southerbys in Chester a while ago asking them how I could get it into an auction but they never replied. As it sounds like the local places are best for everyday items so I might take it down to a fine art auction house in Chester. I don't think it's work much but want to get the best price possible.
Many thanks everyone.

Don't Oxfam have an ebay shop in Birkenhead where they sell people's items for them? Might only be for larger items, such as furniture, but you could try giving them a call. I presume they make a small charge for this service.

Perhaps somebody else on here knows for certain? Sorry in advance if I imagined this!

Perhaps try ringing Sotheby's rather than emailing them. Your original email may have got lost amongst their spam mail which could be why they didn't respond.
If you believe the painting might be worth something, I definitely wouldn't take it to an ordinary auction house.
Maybe take it to the Williamson art gallery too, I'm sure they'll have someone who would be able to at least give some info about it.

You do need to check.

My parents house is old (VERY old) and when I was younger my dad asked me to break up some old paintings that were in one of the outhouses to use for kindling.

We'd burnt a few and destroyed the frames on several others before anyone thought to check on them. I won't give the exact value when they were sold at Sotheby's, but each one was new car money.

Do not go near Kingsley Auctions. Go to Chester and get a proper valuation.

It's good to know of an auction house not to go to, thanks Saltytom. I think one of the more specialised houses might be the way to go. It would be lovely if it was worth 'new car money' which would be very handy this Christmas. I'm not in a hurry to sell it but just want a reasonable price, not just give it away and find out that someone then sold it on for thousands
Attached is a picture of it to give some idea of what I'm on about. The artist is Paul Coucheron Aamot.

Whats the name of the painting?
You may get some info in a google search
http://www.findartinfo.com/search/listprices.asp?keyword=99152

Paul Coucheron Aamot is a Norwegian artist, there is another painting of his, very similar, which looks to have been done in the same place just from a different angle that sold for a few hundred pounds at auction.
This seems to be the average for most of his stuff.

Afraid there isn't a name for the painting. I had seen that website and the prices that his previous paintings had sold for which is I why there is a small market for his work if you can just get it to the right venue. Unfortunately the last bit is the problem. Someone has given me the details of an auction house in Wales which might be interested.