| Thinking of
buying through our auctions ? |
<<>> |
Thinking of
selling through our auctions ? |
| Our auctions are regular
(usually at least six per year). |
Our auctions are spaced
roughly two months apart, so if material is too late for
one it is not too long to wait for the next. |
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| Our descriptions are
well-known for being accurate and not "over-selling"
material. The percentage of lots which are returned to us
for any reason is tiny (a fraction of one per cent). |
Customers bid confidently for
our lots as we have a good reputation for fair and
accurate descriptions. |
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| The estimates on our lots are
our own estimates, and we are not influenced by the views
or demands of vendors. |
Your material will be treated
in the same even-handed manner as every other vendor. You
do not need to have any knowledge of market prices as we
undertake all valuations ourselves. |
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| Only a tiny proportion of our
lots have reserves. Otherwise we will normally start
bidding at about two-thirds of our estimates. Because we will simply reject any material on which vendors want a reserve which we think is unreasonable, the sales are not cluttered up with lots which are not really up for "open sale to the highest bidder". |
Our customers are able to bid
with confidence, knowing that if they want to buy
something, all they need to do is beat the other bidders.
They don't face the situation where they are willing to
pay a reasonable price but don't get the lot because of a
vendor's unrealistic reserve. |
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| Our charges to buyers are
some of the most reasonable in the business; > Buyer's premium of 10% on hammer prices (vat-inclusive) > No surcharge for use of normal UK debit and credit cards > Lots sent out to absentee bidders are charged just the actual cost of postage [Many other auctioneers charge between 15% and 20% premium, often with vat in addition, a charge of 1% to 3% for use of cards is quite common, and many auctioneers charge a bit extra for packing of postal purchases.] |
Our charges to vendors are
some of the most reasonable in the business; > Vendor commission of 12% (+ vat) > Lot fee of £1.50 per lot (+ vat) > Vendor administration fee of £6.50 per vendor per auction (+ vat) > No fee for illustrations of our choice > No extra charge for insurance [Many other auctioneers charge between 15% and 20% commission (+ vat), most will have a minimum charge per lot which is often between £5 and £20, and it is quite common to be charged an extra fee for illustrations and insurance.] |
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| Catalogues are free to active
customers, either by post or through our website. Any customers who are doing no active bidding (or only a very small amount) can still get catalogues for £1 each, or £9 per annum by post. Access to catalogues online is always free. |
We have a wide circulation of
catalogues; > To our regular postal mailing list who get printed catalogues > To our regular email mailing list, who get directed to the catalogue on our website > To a number of philatelic societies > To selected specialist collectors, dealers, and institutions when there is material suited to their interests |
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| Viewing is available in
our shop during five days in the week prior to the
auction, as well as at the auction venue on the day of the
sale. Absentee bidders can also request further information about lots, or get us to do scans. |
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| The public auction itself is
held in comfortable surroundings at a rugby club near our
shop, with reasonably-priced bar, free car park, and handy
public transport.. |
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| We act almost entirely as
"consignment auctioneers", meaning that our business is
selling material on behalf of other people. Yes, if we
have material we want to sell for ourselves we will use
our own auction, but this accounts for only a very small
proportion of the lots we sell. Remember that some
auctions contain material entirely (or almost entirely)
belonging to the auctioneer. |
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| Our auction
process is deliberately transparent. We publish in each
catalogue the prices at which lots sold in the previous
sale. This is useful information for buyers, and is also
an open record which customers who were in attendance can
check for accuracy. |
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| An average auction will normally have material belonging to perhaps 40 to 60 different vendors, and will regularly consist of one to two tons of auction lots. (Of course, that can be everything from single, scarce, expensive stamps, to large cartons of low-value material.) | Vendors are kept informed of
their property's progress through the sale process. Each
vendor gets a copy of the catalogue send to them in
advance of the sale, along with a Sale Advice Note that
lists their lot numbers. Settlements are then normally
sent out four weeks after the auction date (subject to
payments in to us being received and cleared). The
settlements list the prices realised for each lot, and
shows the calculation of our charges to reach the net
figure. |
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| We are able to handle various
groups of collectables all through our auctions - stamps,
covers, postcards. cigarette & trade cards, coins,
medals, banknotes, and occasionally other areas. |
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| As we run a retail shop as
well as our auctions, we are in daily contact with
collectors and therefore have an excellent insight into
the current market and trends. Many of our customers
frequent both our retail shop and our auctions. |
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| People coming to our shop
(appointments usually necessary) can get good general
advice and a realistic valuation, free of charge, before
deciding whether to sell. See
more information at this link. |
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| Robert Murray is
a full member of both the Scottish Philatelic Trade
Association and the Philatelic Traders Society, the main
stamp trade organisations in Scotland and the U.K. Each of
these trade bodies has a Code of Ethics to which members
must adhere. Should any customer have a complaint that
cannot be settled, they can take it to either of these
organisations. |
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Click the Penny Black to go back to
the beginning (Home Page). | Click here to go to
our site contents page.| Robert
Murray Stamp Shop 5 & 6 Inverleith Gardens Edinburgh Scotland EH3 5PU Tel. 0131 552 1220 or 0131 478 7021 Homepage; www.stamp-shop.com Email; [email protected] |
How to Order Mail Orders are accepted by post, telephone, or email. We accept payments by cash, cheque, debit card, Visa/MasterCard, and some foreign currencies. Basically, we charge [the advertised price of the goods] plus [the actual price of postage] plus [£1 per order handling charge]. Full details can be seen at our How to Order page. |
Our
Retail Shop is our
principal method of business, and is open four days
each week Customers are always, of course, welcome. We carry very wide stocks of the whole world - much, much more than is listed on our website. |
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