1. What types of items do you accept for your auctions?
We’d like to say we sell only Rembrandts, Van Goghs, Tiffany lamps and original Remington bronzes, but that’s not quite the truth. While we do get a good amount of high-end items (paintings for $120,000 and $136,000, and a rare Chinese screen for $230,000), we sell a huge variety of antiques and collectibles, mostly medium to high end. These include Chinese antiques, antique furniture, Oriental rugs, 50s/60s/70s mid-century modern furniture, ornate lighting fixtures and mirrors, figurines, lamps, pottery, porcelain, art glass, Depression glass, carnival glass, stemware, perfumes, Oriental items, antique jewelry, gold jewelry (antique and contemporary), costume jewelry, Bakelite, collectible pens, pocket watches, good-quality or antique wristwatches, bronzes, oil paintings, prints, sculpture, ephemera, stamps, first-edition and other collectible books, advertising items, old toys and dolls, antique or high-quality cameras, crocks, floor lamps, garden statuary and architectural items, stained and leaded glass windows, tapestries, fancywork, and the occasional automobile.
Many of the items we auction come from estates, collections, people who are moving, people who are divorcing, people who need a little more space and a little less stuff, and people who love to find treasures and sell them for more than they paid. We like to sell items that are desirable, that get people excited, not junk. There is sometimes a fine line between a desirable collectible and junk; if you’re not sure which you have, let us know and we’ll help you determine what you’ve got and what it’s worth. Our team has been dealing with estate goods for 30, 40 and 50 years.
2. What are your commission rates?
In general, our standard rates are:
| Hammer price per item | Commission |
|---|---|
| $4,000 or more | 12.5% |
| $1,000 to $3,999.99 | 17.5% |
| $500 to $999.99 | 22.5% |
| $145.45 to $499.99 | 27.5% |
| Under $145.45, or unsold | $40 flat fee |
Sample consignment:
| Item | Sold for | Rate | Commission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small oil painting by Edwin Harris | $5,500 | 12.5% | $687.50 |
| White jade antique Chinese carving | $1,100 | 17.5% | $192.50 |
| Large reproduction bronze on marble, woman with cherub | $600 | 22.5% | $135.00 |
| 4 x 6 Oriental rug | $180 | 27.5% | $49.50 |
| Box lot of miscellaneous items | $90 | flat | $40.00 |
| Total sold | $7,470 | $1,104.50 | |
| Your check after commissions | $6,365.50 | ||
The lesson: bring the items of better worth to auction and your overall commission rate comes down. If most of your items are of little worth, they may not be worth auctioning at all, and for your sake and ours we might pass on them. If you need guidance on whether an item has value, phone us or stop by with it. We will advise you to the best of our ability, and if you have a good number of items, yes, we do make house calls.
If you don’t think an item or grouping will bring $100 easily, keep adding similar items to the lot to enhance it. When it comes to making lots for auction, the more the merrier: the more nice items grouped together, the merrier the consignor when the check arrives.
Auction results can be somewhat unpredictable, but your items will bring fair market value on the day they are sold. The internet is the great equalizer: high-quality items bring good money wherever they are auctioned, provided they are marketed well on a worldwide platform. Some things bring more than you expect, some less, but the vast majority of our clients are very pleased with the results and with the speed of payment. Your items are usually brought to auction within two to five weeks, and your check is ready about eight days after the sale; you can pick it up in person on settlement day. Very few auction houses in our area pay out that quickly. Most require your item to wait for a specialty-theme auction (up to two or three months) and then mail your check a month after that.
The rates above are our standard commission rates; they may differ for different situations and clients.
3. When can I bring in consignments?
We are open for consignments during the week after the previous auction only, Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Please call ahead at (773) 465-3300, or text photos to 224-465-3686, before bringing items in. We want to make sure your items are right for the auction so you don’t waste time and effort bringing in things we know will not sell.
Bringing your items in as early as possible works in your favor: it gives us time to list and advertise the highest-quality pieces as soon as possible and gives them the best chance at the best price. We list the highest-value items first, because those pieces make the biggest difference to your consignment. If you bring in a high-quality piece and do not see it listed within a week or so, feel free to call and remind us; there is a lot to sell, and occasionally a good item gets buried in the volume.