Selling with Olympia Auctions

ONLINE VALUATIONS

Send us images and our specialist team will give you an initial estimate which we will confirm or adjust if you then decide to bring or send the item to us and we get to examine it closely.

IN PERSON VALUATIONS

Make an appointment and one of our specialists will be delighted to see you between 10am – 5pm at Olympia Auctions, 25 Blythe Road, Kensington Olympia W14 OPD. We will provide a free valuation and talk you through the auction process. We also have drop-in days, 10am - 5pm every Tuesday.

VIDEO CALL VALUATIONS

You can arrange to have a video call with one of our specialists. Click here to contact us.

On your email to us, please specify :

• How you wish to be contacted (Zoom, Teams, WhatsApp, or other)
• The item you wish to discuss
• When would be a suitable time for us to contact you

VALUATION DAYS

Contact us if you would like to discuss holding a fundraising Valuation Day or similar event for your charity. Email antonia.grace@olympiaauctions.com

If you decide to send or bring something to us for sale, we will give you a receipt with an initial estimate and brief description. We will then do further, detailed research, confirm the estimate and give you a detailed description.

We have regular specialist auctions but we’ll need to have your items at least six weeks ahead of the sale date to allow time for research, cataloguing and photography.

We will talk you through and set out in a Sale Agreement all estimates, reserves and sale fees in advance of the auction.

Reserves, the price below which you don’t want to sell, are set at or lower than the low estimate. We recommend that all lots carry a reserve but it can be as low as you like.

Our commission for selling an item is a standard 15% but may be reduced for higher value lots, collections or repeat business. We add an insurance charge for loss or damage of 1% and there is a charge, at cost, for photography to illustrate your item in our profusely illustrated, printed catalogues and on our website.

In some cases, we might recommend a fee for additional research including material examination, paint testing, X-ray fluorescence, thermos-luminescence and microcrystalline metallurgical profiling. But we will talk to you about this before incurring any costs.

We do not operate a lotting fee nor do we have a minimum lot value.

We will let you know the results soon after the auction has ended but you are always welcome to come and watch the auction in person – or online.

Payments, less charges (see above), are made 35 days after the sale, contingent on our receiving full cleared funds for the lots sold.

For further information we recommend that you consult our Conditions of Business.

We are pleased to offer valuations for insurance, probate, family division and tax purposes. Our experienced team offer house contents valuations and a collection management service.

We can also help with heritage planning opportunities for your works of art, including offers in lieu of tax (the Acceptance in Lieu Scheme); tax-free sales to public bodies; conditional exemption of your objects from inheritance tax; and the Cultural Gifts Scheme.

Your item will be included in a fully illustrated online and printed catalogue - we are one of the only auction houses that still believes in the value of printed catalogues. Our sales reach people all over the world through the online auction sites The Saleroom and Invaluable. We run inventive campaigns on social media and if there is an interesting story behind your item, we will alert the media. Using our extensive network, we will inform specialist interest groups and collectors and our experts will spend time talking to everyone who is interested either on the phone or at our private and public views.

We pride ourselves on making time to talk to our clients so whatever your query or whatever you would like to discuss, please call us.

+44  (0)20 7806 5541