New to selling at auction? Let us walk you through the process…
1. Request an estimate
Our specialists are highly skilled at providing auction estimates based on photographs. Email us pictures of your property. Once our specialists have reviewed your possible consignment, we will contact you to let you know if it is something STAIR could sell, and if so, we will provide an estimate of the amount it might sell for at auction.
2. Ready to consign?
If you decide you would like to consign your property with STAIR, we will send you a consignment agreement and the final list of property you are consigning, with estimates for each item. Once you have signed and returned it to us, we will provide you with a Fully Executed Agreement for your records.
3. Transporting your property
For larger consignments, our in-house trucking service will pack and collect the items for you for a nominal fee, which can be deducted from the proceeds of the sale. If this service is unavailable, we can suggest a trusted shipper who can help you. You will be given a receipt for your property upon collection.
4. Upon arrival at STAIR
Your items will be carefully unpacked, inspected and allocated to an appropriate sale. They will be stored free of charge until sold.
5. Cataloguing & photography
One of our specialists will review your property and write a catalogue description. We will also take multiple photographs for our online catalogue.
6. Publishing the catalogue
The catalogue will be published on our website as well partner online auction platforms about two weeks prior to the auction. Each lot will have a full description, estimate, multiple color photographs and a condition report, wherever possible. At this time, you will receive a presale notification confirming estimates, providing lot numbers and reserve recommendations (if applicable).
7. Exhibition preview
When the catalogue goes online, we will hold extended auction previews of the property at our gallery, located in the heart of the vibrant antiques and shopping district in Hudson, New York. Our exhibition space will be beautifully and thoughtfully customized for each auction.
8. Marketing the sale
We will carefully market each sale with communications to relevant clients and previous buyers of comparable lots. We will also send targeted emails, through online auction platforms Bidsquare, Invaluable and Live Auctioneers, reaching over one million buyers.
9. Sale day
Sale days are always exciting. The auctioneer will sell each lot, accepting bids from clients in the room, on the telephone, and through one of our online platforms. When the highest bid has been reached, the auctioneer will hammer the lot closed, establishing the ‘hammer price.’
10. After the sale
Our website will be updated with the ‘sold’ price for each lot and buyers will be invoiced immediately. The proceeds from your consignment will be sent to you 30 business days after the sale.