Don’t get me wrong, as I am very grateful, but when this dreadful pandemic has calmed down please don’t go back to your old ways.
David Jones
Church Farm Antiques
ATG replies – Different auction houses offer different services. What is the case for almost all of them during lockdown is that fewer consignments were being taken in and fewer sales held. As a result, storage at auction houses was generally not a problem. Indeed, as it was not possible to collect goods, waiving fees was understandable.
As the regular calendar returns and more sales are held, auction houses will need to get sold goods out quickly to make room for the next set of items, just as it was before. Charging for storage has been one way to encourage owners to collect promptly.
Postage and packing certainly varies by auction house. Some firms feel they are simply too small to be able to offer a service, others take pride in offering a high level of delivery service. New business models will emerge from the current (and, we hope, now receding) crisis and those may include new approaches in this area.
Lastly, we should recognise the work of delivery service providers and their staff. Logistics firms play a key role in keeping goods moving and were rightly classified by the government as an essential service during lockdown.
