frequently asked questions
buying
Registering only takes a couple of minutes and is completely free, but you will be required to provide a valid credit/debit card before you are able to bid on an auction.
If you are the winning bidder, you will be charged a buyer’s premium of 5% (Minimum £300 – maximum £3,000) of the hammer price. This will be charged automatically once the auction has concluded to the registered card you hold on your account. This is in addition to your winning bid which you will need to pay in full directly to the seller.
Hammer Price Fees – 5% of the winning bid
Currency | Minimum Fee | Maximum Fee |
GBP | £300 | £3,000 |
For automotive auctions where the winning bid (hammer price) is less than £6,000 the buyer’s premium will be £300. For auctions where the hammer price is over £6,000 the buyer’s premium is calculated at 5% of the winning bid (up to a maximum of £3,000).
For ‘Special Auctions’ which may adopt an alternative pricing structure, the buyer’s premium will be detailed on the auction listing.
Once the auction has ended you will receive an email confirming you have won. This will include an invoice detailing the winning sale price and buyer’s premium. When we have successfully received your buyer’s premium payment, we will then introduce you to the seller via email so you can arrange to complete the sale.
A reserve is the lowest price that the seller will accept for their vehicle. If the reserve is met during the auction the vehicle will be sold to the highest bidder.
We will clearly state when an auction lot has a set reserve price or is being sold with no reserve.
We have a ‘Private Message’ tab on each auction listing where you can submit any questions you may have. The seller is then able to respond.
Buyers can request a viewing to see an auction lot in person. We ask that sellers make auction lots available if required.
Buyers and sellers shall not attempt to engage in a transaction outside of Hammer Price auction bidding process.
All our auctions prevent sniping by automatically adding an additional two minutes where a bid is received with less than two minutes remaining. This process will continue until a two-minute time period has elapsed without any further bids.
You cannot withdraw a bid once it has been placed. If you place the winning bid and do not complete the purchase of the lot, other than if the seller defaults, you will still be charged the buyer’s premium.
If the reserve of the lot is not met during the auction, we will discuss with both the seller and highest bidder if a deal can be reached. If this is not possible, we can look to relist the lot at a future date.
We have verification procedures and checks that are completed during the listing process and work diligently with the seller to ensure that the details and photos they are providing are a true reflection of the lot. Hammer Price, however, shall not be liable to the seller or the buyer for any error, misstatement or omission from the lot description.
It remains the buyer’s responsibility to satisfy themselves of the condition and details of the auction lot before placing a bid.
If the auction lot is submitted by a trade seller, as a consumer you are protected by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and have the right to return the item for 14 days after seeing the item in person.
For more information on your consumer rights and protection please visit your relevant Citizens Advice website. Jersey: www.cab.org.je or UK: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer
The minimum bid will vary dependent on if the lot has a reserve price and the value of the previous bid.
If the lot has no reserve the auction will start at £100, this is the minimum bid that can be placed.
For auctions where there is a reserve the opening bid will be set at a percentage below the reserve price.
The bid increments are set at £100. Following the opening bid, the next minimum bid will be current price plus £100 (minimum bid increment).
Yes, all bidders are welcome however you will need to check the import laws, duties and taxes of the country/island into which you intend to import the lot. You, as the buyer, are liable for all such fees.
A private seller will personally own the car.
A trade seller is someone operating as a business and not an individual seller. The business may own the car or have been given the authority by the end consumer to auction the lot on their behalf.
If the lot offered is by a trade seller you, as a consumer, are protected by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and have the right to return the vehicle within 14 days.
selling
It’s completely free to register and sell your car/motorbike/registration plate with us.
We have a simple submission form that you will need to complete to register your interest in auctioning a vehicle. A member of our team will then contact you to discuss your submission in more detail.
Not all vehicles submitted for auction will be listed, but they will be given equal consideration.
Our vehicle submission form will collect the basic key details about the auction lot. We will then contact you and following agreement to auction your vehicle we will advise what further information we require to build the listing.
We aim to create the most transparent and accurate listings for all our auctions. To enable us to build the detailed descriptions we will need as much detail as possible, including any imperfections that may exist. This will range from how long you have owned the vehicle to service history, along with a wide variety of photographs to help verify the condition and detail of the description.
Our team will discuss the value of the vehicle with you and use market knowledge and data to help agree a realistic reserve. Once the reserve is set and the auction is live, you can request to reduce or remove the reserve however we cannot increase it.
Each listing is built and shared with the seller for approval before it can go live. It is the seller’s responsibility to ensure that the listing is a true and accurate description of the auction lot.
The presentation of your vehicle is key. We always recommend you spend time ensuring your vehicle is thoroughly cleaned and presentable prior to any photographs.
We have a useful Photo Guide that provides many hints and tips to help you achieve the best image results. Alternatively, if you would prefer, we can arrange for a professional photographer to take the shots for an additional cost. Please let us know if this service is required.
Finally, a video of the vehicle from both inside, outside and running is always greatly beneficial to the listing.
Our team will agree a date with you for when the auction lot goes live. Typically, this will include a short period of time within our ‘Coming Soon’ section before the 7-day auction starts.
Once an auction lot is live, any registered user can submit a bid and also ask a question about the listing. Sellers should respond to any questions as soon as possible.
If you believe any question or comment is inaccurate or inappropriate, please contact us.
We have created an environment where buyers can confidently bid and purchase vehicles virtually, without the need to view the lot in person. Some buyers may however prefer to view the lot, so we ask that the seller makes the lot available for viewings when required.
If a viewing does take place buyers and sellers shall not attempt to engage in a transaction outside of Hammer Price auction bidding process.
If a sale of an auction lot is concluded outside of the site, the seller will be liable to pay the buyer’s premium fee that would have been paid by the buyer had the vehicle been sold via our auction. This is calculated on the agreed reserve price or if no reserve our minimum fee will apply.
No, you cannot bid on your own auction. If you or anyone you know has been bidding on your behalf, you will be pursued for committing an act of fraud which includes an offence of dishonestly making a false representation with the intent to make a gain or to cause loss to another.
Once your auction lot is added to our ‘Coming Soon’ section or under live auction, any request to withdraw the lot will incur a fee. This is calculated on the agreed reserve price or if no reserve our minimum fee will apply.
Once the auction has successfully ended you will receive an email confirming the hammer price that you are due to receive. Once the buyer’s premium has been paid, we will then introduce the buyer and seller via email to conclude the transaction.
All successful Auction sales are then added to our ‘Sold’ section.
If the auction ends without meeting the reserve price, we will contact the seller to advise of the highest bid submitted. The seller can then decide if they wish to accept or reject this bid.
If accepted, we will then facilitate the sale of the lot on your behalf.
Please note Hammer Price, at our own discretion, has the right to make up the difference between the highest bid and the reserve if the highest bid does not meet the reserve.
Support
If you have further question that are not covered within the FAQs section, please contact us.
If you have a complaint that you would like to raise with us, please contact us via email to info@hammerprice.co.uk and we will do our best to resolve it for you.