An auction house accessible wherever you are in the world
All of our auctions are timed online, enabling buyers to bid on lots wherever they are in the world without the inconvenience, time and costs of having to travel to our premises if they don’t want to. If you see something you like, you can rest assured that you have as much chance of securing it as any other bidder.
For sellers, this means your items will go in front of a greater number of potential buyers, giving you the best chance of getting the highest price.
Timed online auctions work well for us, our clients and our global bidder network.
Cataloguing – the first step of every auction
Before every sale, we produce an auction catalogue detailing each lot, accompanied by as many photographs as possible so that buyers get all the information they need before bidding.
If we spot a fault while inspecting an item, this will be photographed and noted. Of course, we can’t say we will spot everything, which is why items are sold without a guarantee or warranty. That said, we have plenty of buyers who have been happy with their purchases and we are always delighted to welcome visitors to our eight-acre site to inspect sale items and get to know how our system works.
Each auction catalogue is uploaded to our website for the public to access and view lots in plenty of time before an auction goes live.
Registration – securing your chance to bid
No two sales are the same, and that’s what makes a Gateway auction so exciting. We never know what will be on sale, whether it is construction equipment, vehicles or industrial machinery. By the same token, there could be one or two lots or 1,500 – there really is no one-size-fits-all auction.
Once you’ve looked through the sale catalogue and decided you would like to bid on a lot, you’ll need to register with us so that you can take part in that auction.
Our platform will ask for your debit or credit card details at this stage, but no money will be taken from this card unless you become a default bidder and we are unable to contact you after the auction has ended.
When we have approved your registration, you are all set to take part. Register once and you can take part in all our future auctions, although we do reserve the right to revoke your registration if you breach our terms and conditions. This would include non-payment or failing to collect lots you have won in the auction, although in our experience this rarely happens.
Bidding – how to take part in a Gateway auction
Now that you’re all registered with us, making your bid is the easy part. Log onto our platform at the designated time of your sale, and you’ll find a box for each lot that allows you to place your bid.
If you are outbid, you’ll be informed and then given the option to place a higher bid if you wish. Each lot has an end time, so you’ll know exactly how long you have to get your next bid placed. The highest bidder at the end of the deadline wins that lot. Simple.
Where a Gateway auction differs to an eBay sale is through the use of time extensions. If a buyer places a bid within ten minutes of the end time, our platform adds ten minutes onto the finish time of that lot.
For example, if lot one is due to finish at 10am and a new high bid is places at 9.57am, the auction system will automatically add another ten minutes to make the new end time 10.07am.
A realistic sale experience
We understand how frustrating it can be when you’re the high bidder of the asset you’ve had your eye on for two weeks and then you’re pipped at the post by another buyer within seconds of the end time.
In a live auction, we’d carry on taking bids regardless of a deadline and the gavel would only drop once we were happy no more bids were going to come in. That’s the thinking behind our system. Just because our auctions are no longer live, it doesn’t mean we can’t uphold the same standards.
Time extensions, however long they may last, make perfect sense for everyone – giving the best chance for both buyer and seller to be satisfied with a sale.
Maximum bids – a time-saving way to take part
The sale time Gateway has set may not always be convenient for you – we understand people have busy lives. If you don’t have the time to sit and wait for a lot to end, we allow you to set a maximum price you would be willing to spend on an item. That leaves you free to go about your day and the platform will bid on your behalf should you lose your place as highest bidder.
For example, if you are willing to pay £100 for a lot (plus our modest buyer’s premium) you can enter £100 as a maximum bid.
If someone else beats your current high bid, the system will bid against them in increments until you are the outright highest bidder up to that £100. If there was a £10 bid when you logged a £100 maximum bid, the system would increase this to £15. If no one else bid higher than £15, the item would be yours for that price.
Buyer’s premium and VAT – what you will pay
Each item sold in a Gateway auction incurs a buyer’s premium, which is usually set at 10%. Check the terms of each auction, though, because this can vary.
If you bought a lot for £100, it would cost you £110 plus VAT. There will always be VAT on the buyer’s premium, but some lots sometimes have no VAT charged. This usually concerns cars, but this will be made clear in the lot description.
Post-auction invoices – finalising your purchase
The ‘My bids’ section of our platform will show the bids you have made and the results of those bids so that you know which items you have won.
You will receive an invoice for any purchase you make at the end of each sale. It usually takes an hour from the last lot ending for us to prepare and send out the invoices.
Collecting your purchases – the final step
Your lots can be collected from our site once you have paid your invoice. We usually allow until the following Friday for lots to be collected but if you have any problems in meeting this time limit please let us know.
Sold lots should be collected as soon as possible so we can start getting the next auction ready. If lots are not collected within the given time frames, and we have not been informed of any issues, we will send you a bill for a storage charge depending on the item and the length of time it has been left with us.
We ask buyers to arrange their own couriers so that they are in full control and can deal with any issues that may arise with their chosen courier company.
We are happy to package up or place your lots on pallets for a small charge to cover any materials and time costs.
For larger items, we can recommend the following hauliers:
W M Ellisons
Metcalfs
Kevin Guy
Roscow
Le Dale
Claredens
TESTIMONIALS
“Sunbelt Rentals have been working with Gateway Auctions since 2003. During this time, they have assisted us with many challenges that can arise with the disposal of large volumes of fleet and machinery. David and the team at Gateway always go above and beyond to get the job done, leaving us confident that we and our assets are in safe hands. We have always found their prompt service, honesty, integrity and, importantly, the values attained for assets of the highest standards.”
“Gateway’s commercial-minded approach to values, and to realising those values, is a breath of fresh air in what can sometimes be a very old-fashioned and depressed view of asset values. We use the business extensively as our valuation and auctioneering agents and I have known David Sunderland for a number of years. We have built up a level of trust and confidence in the way they work, which is paramount in this industry. More recently Gateway has been buying and underwriting assets for remarketing themselves, which shows the confidence they have in their ability to achieve quality values.”
“One of the best things about Gateway is its eight-acre site where assets can be stored free of charge. Add to this their ability to collect assets from across the UK at a moment’s notice, and then realise the best values – why would I use anyone else?”
HAVE AN ENQUIRY
Please complete the form below to send us your comments or to make an enquiry about our products and services.
Please Note: fields marked * below are mandatory and must be completed.