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Selling at Bonhams & Butterfields
Bonhams & Butterfields can help you every step of the way when you are ready to sell art, antiques, and collectible items at auction. Our regional offices and representatives throughout the US are available to service all your needs. For more information, contact client services at info.us@bonhams.com or call us at (800) 223-2854, Extension 3550. We have organized the selling process, called consignment at Bonhams & Butterfields, into the following steps:
Appraisals
The first step in the auction process is to determine the auction value of your property. Bonhams & Butterfields' world-renowned specialists will evaluate your special items at no charge and in complete confidence. You can obtain an auction estimate in many ways:
Auction Appraisal Events
Attend one of our Auction Appraisal Events held regularly at our galleries in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles and in other major metropolitan areas. You may bring up to five (5) items with you for our various appraisers to evaluate. Be sure to check our Valuation Dates to see when the next appraisal clinic will be in your area.
Appraisal Appointments
Bonhams & Butterfields specialists conduct insurance and fair market value appraisals for private collectors, corporations, museums, fiduciaries and government entities on a daily basis. Insurance appraisals, used for insurance purposes, reflect the cost of replacing property in today's retail market. Fair market value appraisals are used for estate, tax, and family division purposes and reflect prices paid by a willing buyer to a willing seller. An auction estimate reflects our expert opinion as to what amount an individual item may be expected to sell for in a specific sale on a specific date. This estimate, expressed in a low/high range of dollar amounts, is reached after the specialist compares prices realized for similar items in recent auctions and other sales venues. Other factors that guide the setting of estimates include the condition, rarity, provenance and market potential of the item. Estimates are not guarantees that the object will sell within the published range, but are intended to provide general guidelines for buyers and sellers and to stimulate competitive bidding.
Schedule an appointment
For San Francisco appointments, please contact Madeline Garcia at appointments.us@bonhams.com or call (800) 223-2854 ext. 3218.
For Los Angeles appointments, please contact Rachel Curry at rachel.curry@bonhams.com or call (323) 436-5586
For New York appointments, please contact Joanne Barber at jo.barber@bonhams.com or call (212) 644-9001
If you have a large collection, our specialists can travel, by appointment, to evaluate your property on site. We encourage you to call and make an appointment to meet with and receive a convenient appraisal from one of our specialists. Alternately, we are open in both Los Angeles and San Francisco from 8:30 am to 5 pm to meet your consignment needs. Although our specialists may not be available to see you, someone will be able to provide assistance.
Due to our busy auction calendar, we request that all warehouse
deliveries be scheduled in advance with the appropriate department.
Bonhams & Butterfields does not accept consignment of unapprised
property.
The fair market value appraisal reflects the value of an object given the current auction market. An insurance appraisal reflects the cost to replace an object in the current retail market. Fees for formal appraisals are based on hourly rates for specialists and travel where applicable. Please see the Appraisals page for more information.
Consignment Appraisals via Photograph
If you are interested in consigning, you may send in photographs of the items you wish to consign for appropriate evaluation. Please note, this service is for consignment only. Clear photographs of each individual item, including dimensions and other pertinent information is expected. Send marked envelope "Photo Auction Estimate" to the nearest Bonhams & Butterfields location.
Alternatively, you can submit your digital photos and item details online. Fill out this form and submit. Please limit images to not more than five (5) of each item. Contact us for assistance at appraisal.us@bonhams.com if further instruction is needed.
Safe and Secure Jewelry Estimates
Our gemologists are available by appointment to appraise your jewelry and timepieces at our Los Angeles and San Francisco galleries. If it is not possible for you to visit one of our offices, you may send us your jewelry for appraisal by mail. The U.S. Postal Service will insure packages sent by registered parcel post up to $25,000. Once your jewelry has arrived at Bonhams & Butterfields it will be insured on our premises. This is a safe and practical way to obtain free auction estimates, and it is the method preferred by many dealers and collectors.
Trust and Estate Services
Bonhams & Butterfields has been serving the needs of fiduciaries – lawyers, trust officers, accountants and executors – in the disposition of large and small estates. Our services are specially designed to aid in the appraisal and disposition of fine art, antiques, jewelry, and collectibles. We offer a full range of estate services ranging from flexible financial terms to tailored accounting for heirs and their agents to world-class marketing and sales support. For more information or to obtain a detailed Trust and Estates package please click here.
Ready to Consign?
After you receive an estimate, you may consign your property to us for sale in the next appropriate auction. Depending on the category and price point of your property, it will be slated for either a Fine Auction or in one of our exciting monthly SoMa or Sunset Estate Auctions.
Fine Sales
The fine sales at Bonhams & Butterfields are traditional auctions. Each collecting category holds two to four fine sales a year include property which represents what is most desirable and unique in the current market. We produce museum quality catalogs for our fine sales, which remain a very useful as a market and educational resource. These catalogs feature color images, detailed descriptions of the objects and their provenance where applicable. Our fine sales have a public preview period. Lecture or special events are often hosted in conjunction with these auctions.
SoMa Estate Auctions & Sunset Estate Auctions
Each Sunset & SoMa sale brings to the block cataloged lots with pre-sale estimates - property in Los Angeles, sold from Bonhams & Butterfields' Sunset Boulevard gallery (from whence the title "Sunset Sales" stems) has included the bedroom suite of Ginger Rogers as well as a Rolls Royce formerly owned by a major music industry personality. SoMa sales, held at Bonhams & Butterfields main gallery in San Francisco's South of Market design district, tend to feature Asian works of art and European and American furniture. Both sales are routinely composed of quality silver; jewelry; home furnishings; rugs and carpets; fine art including paintings, sculpture and prints; books and manuscripts as well as vintage movie posters in LA and Ethnographic items, antique and eclectic furniture in SF.
Whichever the venue, we will use our expertise to market your property to its target audience so that it may realize its best auction value. Our staff assists you throughout the process, arranging transportation of your items to our galleries (at the consignor’s expense), providing an accurate and detailed inventory of your consignment, and reporting the prices realized for each lot. We provide safe storage for your property in our warehouses and all items are insured throughout the auction process. You will receive payment for your property approximately 35 days after the date of sale.
Sales commissions vary with the potential auction value of the property and the particular auction in which the property is offered. Please call us for commission rates.
Advertising & Marketing
Once you sign a consignment contract for the sale of your property in a Bonhams & Butterfields auction, we begin marketing it to the greatest number of potential buyers. After scheduling your property in the most appropriate upcoming auction, your objects will then be cataloged as lots for our print and online catalog. Depending on our arrangement, your property will be then be professionally photographed.
We create an extensive marketing plan for each auction which includes direct mail, advertising, online promotion, lectures, special events, merchandising, and a public preview. Most of our fine sales are posted online so Bonhams & Butterfields has unique access to millions of Internet auction buyers.
Confidential Reserves
For each of your items, you will work with our specialists to set a minimum price, or reserve, below which your objects will not be sold. This reserve price will be held in strictest confidence. If bidding ceases before your reserve price has been met, the lot will be bought-in, or passed, by the auctioneer and our unsold lot fee may apply. In this case, you may have the property returned to you or you may choose to re-offer it in a future auction.
Auction Sales Commissions & Fees
We will assist you throughout the auction process, providing a detailed inventory of your consignment and prices realized for each lot. We provide on-site storage for your property in our warehouses, and all items are insured through-out the auction process. You will receive payment for your property approximately 28 days after the completion of sale. Sales commissions vary based on the hammer price of your property and are netted from gross proceeds and vary with the final hammer price of each lot sold.
Fees are applied to property consigned and full details of these fees are discussed with the individual specialist at the time of consignment. Fees are agreed on the signing of your contract.
Various charges may be applied but not limited to one or
many items:
- Vendor commission
- Unsold Property minimum charge
- Insurance
- Catalog Photography
- Online Image & Upload
- Restoration
- Transport
For a complete description of all consignment terms and conditions, please refer to a copy of our Master Consignment Agreement.
Exporting Your Property
It is your responsibility to comply with export regulations that apply in the countries of export and import. You should take particular note of export licencing and CITES (endangered species) export / import regulations. Please contact Bonhams in advance if you have any doubts on how to proceed.
USA shipping & transportation:
shippingSF@bonhams.com
UK shipping & transportation: shipping@bonhams.com
After the Sale
Timely Payment to Consignors after the Auction
Tweny-Eight (28) days after the completion of the sale of any property we will pay you the net proceeds received and collected from the sale of property after deducting our commission and any other expenses, fees and charges due hereunder or required by law, provided that no claim has been made against any of the property or proceeds of sale and further provided that the buyer has not given notice of intent to rescind the sale.
If your item does not sell at auction we will mail you a letter before our settlement date asking if you would like to have your property returned to you or if you would like to reoffer it in an upcoming auction. If you should choose to reoffer your property you will be given the opportunity to readjust estimates or reserves. |
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Contacts |
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San Francisco
Main Gallery & Corporate Offices
Bonhams & Butterfields
220 San Bruno Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94103
Tel +1 (415) 861-7500
Fax +1 (415) 861-8951
Los Angeles
Main Gallery
Bonhams & Butterfields
7601 W. Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Tel +1 (323) 850-7500
Fax +1 (323) 850-5843
New York
Bonhams
580 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Tel +1 (212) 644 9001
Fax +1 (212) 644 9009
Find an office near you
Inquiries
(US) Client Services
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