Bonhams in 220 San Bruno Avenue

Customer Reviews about Bonhams:

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  You can have a good experience, BUT , sellers need to do their homework ahead of time and buyers need to know what they are doing when coming here. Bonhams is not bad place if your local and have a very desirable item. But it is important to know that this is not Ebay, this means that when the auction house takes on each items their is a considerable expense associated so that it can be auctioned. The expense to auction an item will be the responsibility of the consignor that is unless they can amend their consignment agreement. When using any major auction house you need to know what percentage of lots tend to actually sell at auction (each group being bid on at a time is considered a lot). If you are selling a rug and similar rugs are only selling 50% of the time that means there is a 50% change you will walk away with any money and a 50% change you will owe the auction house for the attempt. To learn if your items sell, go to the auction web site and see how many lots were offered and compare that to how many actually sold. Note: a decent auction tends to sell 75%+ of the lots and that selling a lot does not mean that the seller made a great deal of money after fees are deducted. Also large numbers of lots are made up of items from galleries needing to move inventory and estates of the deceased. When you consign items you need to know what the fees will be and if needed have them noted as flat fees in your contract. Also be aware that if your lot does not sell you still need to pay the cost associated to offer your item. Auction house are though a great potential bargain for buyers. If an item has not sold in auction that you are interested in, then contact the auction house and present them with an offer. Since sellers still need to pay a fee for their unsold items they might be more then happy to take an offer post sale they would have rejected before the auction. So to enjoy working with Bonhams or any Auction House, take the time to educate yourself so you do not spend more money then you make when liquidating assets via an auction.
  By Joseph Angelo, October 16, 2016

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