Buying from Us
How to register, bid, pay and collect at a Lonsdales auction.
Buying from Our Auction
You must have the appropriate authority to buy Sect 1, 2 & 5 items at our auction.
UK buyers must have a valid certificate/licence to purchase the item on which they wish to bid with the appropriate authority to possess the firearms which they intend to purchase as required under the Firearms Act.
Lots listed as S1 will not be delivered to purchasers nor collected without production of a valid United Kingdom Firearms Certificate with the appropriate authority or an R.F.D. Certificate.
Lots listed as S2 will not be delivered to purchasers nor collected without production of a valid United Kingdom Shotgun Certificate or R.F.D. Certificate.
Buyer’s premium and the final price you have to pay
All purchases are subject to a buyer’s premium of 25% plus VAT. When you successfully bid on any lot, the price you pay will be your winning bid plus the buyer’s premium.
Additional commission of between 3 and 6 % is payable if your winning bid is via an internet platform
Register for a Sale
To bid at Lonsdales for the first time you will need to create an account, which can be done by creating an account online or by telephoning us. You only need to provide your name and address.
Once you have an account with us, you will simply need to register to bid in each sale.
Absentee bidding
The easiest way is via the website. However, we are happy to bid on your behalf and attempt to purchase the lot for you at the lowest price, allowing for other bids and any reserve price up to your maximum bid. Absentee bids can be left in person at our saleroom, emailed directly to us at enquiries@lonsdales-auctioneers.com (please ensure that you supply us with your full name, postal address, email address, and contact numbers to enable us to register your bids) or via our website. Your bid will always be confirmed by email, so please contact us if you do not receive this.
Absentee bids can be left up to half an hour before the start of any sale. Please note when we receive two or more absentee bids for the same lot at the same bid amount, we will prioritise the first bid received.
Telephone bidding
For telephone bids, we will contact you a few lots before your item comes up for sale and a member of our saleroom staff will bid live with you over the phone. All requests for telephone bidding must be made by email 48 hours before the start of each sale day and must include your full details as per the Absentee Bidding paragraph above.
Leaving absentee bids online
If you would like to leave a absentee bid on our website you can do so up until 9am on each auction day. Leaving a commission bid through our website is free for all registered clients.
Live internet bidding
We will offer live internet bidding via an online bidding platform. Please register with our mailing list and we forward details of how to register when this function goes live.
Condition reports
We publish most condition reports in full in the item description including all proof data where relevant. Reports are limited for Trade Sales.
Methods of payment
Payment is accepted by cash, bank transfer, credit or debit card. We accept cash to an upper limit of £10,000. We will only release goods to a third party upon receipt of identification and authority from the purchaser.
Collection
Buyers are urged to arrange collection within 10 working days of the auction after which period risk of loss passes to the buyer. Instructions for shipping and delivery to a shipper or Firearms dealer must be received by this time.
All lots that remain uncollected after 28 days will be subject to storage charges of £1 per day (plus VAT) unless instructions have been received or alternative arrangements have been made.
Postage
We are happy to post your items. Firearms can only be sent to a UK RFD only. On receipt of your invoice, please inform us of your requirement for your items to be shipped and we will gladly forward a competitive quote.
Private Buyers resident within the UK who have successfully bid on a section 1 or section 2 item and wanting their items shipped must send their original shotgun/firearm certificate by recorded delivery to Lonsdales in advance of making payment. The certificate will be checked and completed and returned promptly by recorded delivery at which point payment must be made in full by the buyer. Items can then be shipped to a receiving RFD to whom the completed certificate must be presented to accept the items.
International Customers
Please contact us for details of our agent who handles all our overseas shipping.
Information Re Sporting Arms – Sect 1 & 2
All guns, rifles and ammunition will only be released with the appropriate certificate (with the appropriate variation for Firearms) be it Firearms or Shotgun. Overseas certificates are not valid in the U.K. Firearms will be released by appointment only.
Antique and Obsolete Calibres – Sect 58
Antique and obsolete calibre weapons are sold under Section 58(2) of the 1968 Firearms Act expressly as Antiques and Curios only, they must not be fired and ammunition must not be possessed. Please note that by bidding on these items you declare that you are not a prohibited person as defined by Section 21 of the 1968 Firearms Act and that you are over 18 years of age.
Private Buyers
As part of the registration for each sale we will confirm that appropriate authority is held prior to bidding. Should you win, please send your FAC / SGC to us for confirmation after which we will forward your invoice for payment. Once received, we will complete the FAC / SGC entry and dispatch your items.