Buying toys from Aston’s

Viewing

Our catalogues are released online at least one week before each auction, and almost every lot is illustrated.
The catalogue is fully searchable so you can easily find the lots you are looking for.
A brief report of condition is normally included in the description for each item, but it is recommended to speak to one of our staff on the telephone - they will be happy to describe lots in detail if you cannot attend to view in person.

The best way to view the sale is to visit our naturally light saleroom – we are just 3.5 miles from Junction 2 of the M5 motorway.
There is plenty of room and lots are spread out for easy viewing, even at large sales of more than 700 lots.
More valuable lots are kept in cabinets and vintage boxed items are normally removed from their boxes and displayed in a tray to minimise handling and preserve condition.
We have separate rooms for viewing and bidding, so on auction day you can carry on viewing while the sale is in progress next door – no need to wake up so early if you are travelling a long way!

Bidding

If you are a bidder attending our sales you don’t need to worry about making too many notes before entering the auction room to bid, as a 50” plasma screen shows a high resolution image of each lot (as well as a text description) as it is offered by the auctioneer.

However, if you are not able to attend the sale you can call us or email us with your fixed ‘commission bids’. The auctioneer has all commission bids shown on a screen in front of him whilst he is conducting the sale, and will bid on your behalf up to your maximum bid. If there are no other bids and no reserve price on a lot, the auctioneer will open the bidding at approximately one third of your maximum bid.

In these modern times the most popular way to bid is ‘live online’. We typically have up to ten times more bidders live on the internet than are attending the sale in person.
All you need to do to reap the benefits of bidding online is register your credit or debit card details, then sign in while the auction is in progress and click the ‘bid button’ when your lot appears.
Beware though, although live internet bidding provides many advantages over traditional bidding, computers and the internet are not 100% reliable so please always leave a fixed commission bid with us for items you cannot afford to miss out on!

Paying For & Receiving Your Lots

Having purchased lots at our premises, due to our incredibly efficient computer system, you can pay for and collect your lots IMMEDIATELY upon the fall of the hammer.
At this point you will also be glad of our low Buyers Premium at 15%+VAT (Vectis 17.5% and Bonhams 20% at time of going to press).

If you are a successful bidder but aren’t at the sale, we will contact you on the Monday following the sale with a competitive shipping quote, unless of course you prefer to collect from our premises. All UK parcels are sent by DHL on a 48-hour fully tracked and insured service. All items are posted on the Thursday following the sale (provided you have paid us by then!). We are sure you will be happy with the careful and secure way your lots are packed.

We take payment by credit card (2% surcharge), debit card, cash or online bank transfer. If you bid via the-saleroom.com we can take payment from your registered card if you like.

You have 7 days to pay for your lots – we want you to pay us as quickly as possible simply so we can pay our vendors as quickly as possible, this way everyone is happy!