After viewing or requesting a condition report, and deciding you would like to bid on an item, you first need to register with us. This will only take two minutes and can be done online.

If you decide to attend the auction in person you will be asked to provide your name, full address and proof of identification, either a driving licence or passport. We can also take bids over the telephone.

You will only need to register once and you can login and bid for any future auctions.

When you bring your watch into auction or when a valuer visits you to appraise your collection, there are varying types of valuation that can be done. People sometimes get confused as to why a value may vary between a figure for insurance purposes and what it would be worth when sold at auction. Below is a brief explanation of valuation terms and services all of which are offered at Fellows & Sons:

• - Auction Valuation

  An auction valuation is an estimate, usually given as a range of prices, for example £180-250, that specialists such as Fellows & Sons believe an item will make at an auction. This price is based on a range of factors such as past sale results for similar items, market trends and trade/collectors’ interest. Valuations of this type are free.

• - Insurance Valuation

  It is up to the owner of a property to have proof of the worth of their items in the event of an insurance claim being made so this is a popular valuation to have. The sum given will be representative of retail prices in relevant markets unless the item being valued is a period or antique piece where values are more reflective of ‘like for like’ replacements bought at auction, from a dealer, at a market or similar. The description should be fully detailed to enable comparable items to be purchased in the event of a claim. Fellows & Sons do charge for this service, for more information please do not hesitate to contact us.

• - Probate Valuation

  A valuation for probate usually follows the death of the owner of valuables that need to be valued for tax purposes. The values given tend to be lower than for insurance valuations and not as much detail is required.

  Fellows & Sons do charge for Insurance and Probate Valuations, for more information please do not hesitate to contact us.

Once we have discussed your requirements and advised you on the next appropriate sale, an auction estimate and reserve will be agreed. The reserve is the minimum sale price the seller is willing to accept. Goods will not be sold below the agreed reserve.

We generally close entries about 5 weeks before an auction to allow time for the item to be catalogued and photographed.

Approximately one week before the auction takes place, you will receive a pre-sales advice detailing your items and what lot numbers they have been allocated. You will also receive a complimentary catalogue – there maybe something you would like to buy!

The following charges will apply per lot:

Lot fee- £3 (plus VAT)

Photography is charged at £5 (plus VAT)

Loss or liability for damage is charged at 1.5% (plus VAT) of the hammer price.

Sellers will pay a commission charge of 12.5% (plus VAT) on items which have a hammer price of £1,000 or more. Items sold under £1,000 will have a commission rate of 15% (plus VAT)

When an item does not sell, we advise you to contact Fellows & Sons to discuss re-offering your goods. To re-enter your goods in the next appropriate sale, we will recommend that the reserve is reduced.

Alternatively arrangements can be made for the item to be collected. When collecting we ask that you provide proof of identification i.e pre sales advice document, or your receipt. Fellows & Sons can also post your goods back to you free of charge.)

Fellows & Sons will not charge you if your item does not sell. If you decide to relist your item you will only have to pay the initial listing fees once it sells along with the sellers’ commission charge.

If you decide to withdraw your item after it has been photographed and included in the catalogue we will charge you 5% (plus VAT) of the middle estimate price and also a postage & packing charge to return the items to you.

To find out whether your item sold, you can call us on 0121 212 2131. We will also notify you by letter/email approximately one week after the auction.

Payment for any sold items is sent out by cheque, usually fifteen working days after the sale is completed.

Our complete sale diary is available online. Click here to register for our auction alerts and we will let you know when a catalogue is online.

Pre auction viewings are an excellent way to see and handle the item you are interested in, viewings usually begin two days prior to the sale. Our specialist staff will be on hand to answer any of your queries.

A condition report can be provided on the item you are interested in if you are unable to attend pre auction viewings. Many of these will already have condition reports available on the web site. Any requests for condition reports must be sent to us by 4pm the day before the sale, you can request condition reports online or by telephoning 0121 212 2131, or by emailing watches@fellows.co.uk

Fellows strongly advises all potential purchasers to request a condition report before placing a bid. Statements in the catalogue regarding the condition of lots in this sale may appear in the description, however, the absence of such a reference does not imply that a lot is in a perfect or near perfect condition, or completely free from wear or imperfection so a full Condition Report is very useful to potential buyers when deciding what to bid.

After viewing or requesting a condition report, and deciding you would like to bid on an item, you first need to register with us. This will only take two minutes and can be done online. To register in person you will be asked to provide your name, full address and proof of identification, either a driving license or passport. We can also take bids over the telephone.

Registration is required for VAT purposes and is a legal requirement for Health and Safety purposes. Our administration team also need certain details for invoicing purposes.

The bidding process is regulated by the auctioneer and each bid normally increases by anything from £10 to £100s depending on the starting price. The selling price is determined by the reserve and any other bids that the auctioneer may have from other potential buyers either in the auction room, a written bid, on the telephone, or bidding live via the internet. A bid may be made at any stage if you are in the auction room by attracting the attention of the auctioneer with a hand or head signal. The auctioneer's decision is final and is a legally binding contract. A bidder attending the auction on the day takes precedence over any other bidder if their bids are of equal value.

There are several ways to bid for an item at auction if you are unable to attend the sale. We can arrange for you to bid by telephone please request this service by 4pm the day before the auction. This is a discretionary service and lines are not guaranteed. All telephone bids are recorded during the sale. Please call 0121 212 2131 to request a telephone line. You can also leave a commission bid requesting Fellows & Sons to bid on your behalf up to the maximum amount you have assigned to each item. Commission bids can be placed online by registering on the web site. Commission bidding forms are also available to pick up at pre auction viewings and are printed at the back of our catalogues. Fellows & Sons also offer live bidding through Invaluable Live. Visit: www.the-saleroom.com/fellows

Fellows & Sons recommend that all bidders and buyers read our conditions of buying and buyers premium available online here.

Buyer’s Premium On the first £50,000 of the Hammer Price (of any individual lot) the buyer will pay the hammer price and a premium of 17.5% (plus VAT) or 20.13% (inclusive of VAT) On the excess over £50,000 of the hammer price (of any individual lot), the buyer will pay the hammer price and a premium of 10% (plus VAT) or 11.50% (inclusive of VAT). Items marked with * contain VAT at 15% on the hammer price. The seller authorises Fellows to retain beneficially the premium payable by buyers.

Most goods at auction do not carry VAT - either coming from non-registered VAT sources or being sold under the Margin Scheme rules. At Fellows & Sons any item with VAT on top of the hammer price is marked with an asterisk.

Certain items within our sales are subject to VAT. Those items which have VAT on the hammer price are marked with an asterisk. Under certain circumstances it is possible for the VAT applied to the hammer price to be removed for export purposes, subject to documentary evidence. However, VAT, which is applied to the Buyer's Premium, cannot be removed and must be paid in all circumstances. For any further queries on VAT issues, please contact Sandra Ford on 0121 212 2131 or email sandra.ford@fellows.co.uk

To find out if you have been successful please contact Fellows & Sons on 0121 212 2131, or look online, auction results are posted on the web site shortly after the completion of the sale. We will also send out a letter to inform you of successful/unsuccessful bids.

We accept VISA, MasterCard, Switch, Solo, Delta, cheques and cash.

Unfortunately, we do not currently accept Paypal or any other similar online payment system.

In order to avoid delay in clearing purchases, buyers unknown to Fellows & Sons are advised to make arrangements for payment prior to the sale. If prior arrangements are not made, cheques will be cleared before purchases are made available for collection. Please see our full terms and conditions for further details

Please note that we only accept payments in Pounds Sterling, payments in any other currency will be returned to you, and you must not send cash through the post. There will be a surcharge of 1.5% when paying using a credit card but there is no charge for using Switch. If paying by cheque please allow 5 working days for your cheque to clear through the Banking system. To pay for an item please contact Wendy Butler on 0121 212 2131 or email wendyb@fellows.co.uk.

Buyers who wish to have items posted will incur a charge to include postage, packing and insurance. We are happy to quote for this service.