County Philatelic Auctions Process		5000+ lots of GB and Foreign stamps every 2-3 months Realistic prices – accurate descriptions – efficient service Backed by 40 years of integrity and fair dealing Right Material - Right price - Write now - Right! County home page Mail bid sales Help and Guidance Contact us

How does a Postal Sale work? © County Philatelic Auctions 1999 View this page in French

We send out a high quality catalogue that describes 5000+ lots of individual stamps, sets, collections, books and covers. This catalogue is also on our website. Each lot has an accurate description and a realistic estimate of its market value. You bid for those lots that interest you by quoting the maximum price you are prepared to pay for each. You may well get the item for less than your maximum.

Example: consider a lot estimated at £10.

· Andrew bids £9, Beth £11 and Charles bids £20 - he wants to be sure he gets it.

· Charles wins because he placed the highest bid. However, he does not pay the full £20, he pays just £11.50 - one step above the next highest bid of £11.

· In the event of 2 equal bids, the first received wins.

· If a lot attracts only one bid, it is sold at the reserve price. Reserves are not at a fixed percentage – generally they are around 90-100% of the estimate.

How do I bid? - It is very simple – look through the auction catalogue and select any lots that interest you, enter the lot Number and the maximum you are prepared to pay for it on the bid form - if in doubt bid the estimated price or a little over. We ensure all lots including collections are good value at our estimate. Please keep to the published bidding steps.

Complete the bid form; post, fax or e-mail it and leave the rest to us. We take telephone bids too.

· A formal bid form is not required - just list clearly the Sale number, Lot numbers and your maximum price for each in UK pounds. Add your name, full postal address, contact phone number (in case of queries), credit card details (number, expiry date and last 3 digits on the signature stripe) and any special mailing instructions.

· To avoid the disappointment of losing an item by one bid step, place a ‘+’ by any bid. This increases that bid by one step (5-10%), but only if necessary to break a tie. Bid on as many lots as you wish. You can specify a total limit so you don’t spend over your budget. We simply stop buying for you when you reach your limit. This limit is based on the ‘hammer’ price, and excludes post and packing costs. See sale guide for details. There is no buyer’s premium.

Except on the clearance section, bids less than 90% of our estimate are not accepted – they waste our time and yours. Because our estimates are low, many lots may have reserves close to or at estimate. As a guide, over the last year the total of all the realisations was within 1½% of the sum of our corresponding estimates. From this we know that overall our estimates are accurate. Most lots realise within plus or minus 10% of our estimates.

· On the Auction day we take your bids with those from hundreds of other bidders and let the computer work out which are successful. We then print detailed invoices, select and pack your lots, charge your card with the amount due and mail your lots to you. Generally we have mailed 95% by the Wednesday following the Sale. For clients known to us, payment can be made by Sterling cheque drawn on a UK Bank.

In the unlikely event that a lot is not correctly described - simply tell us why and return it in its original condition for a full refund.

Right Material - Right price - Write now - Right!

County home page Mail bid sales Help and Guidance Contact us