Christie's Buyer's Premium Raised to 25%

Christie's have introduced a higher buyer's premium of 25% for their lowest tier (up to £10,000). That plus the usual 17.50% VAT applied to the premium, yields a total premium of 29.38% for all buyers. Most of the provincial auction houses in UK have recently raised their buyer's premiums to 20% or 22%. I expect many will further increase their premiums to 25% following Christie's lead. With the pound now over $2 and shipping expenses also up, buying at auction in UK has become very much more expensive. Buyers need to factor into any potential auction bid all costs associated with the purchase, including buyer's premium, payment costs (bank charges, credit card surcharges, and currency conversion costs), and packing/shipping charges or they may face an very unpleasant surprise upon winning and getting the bills.

Christie's are also raising the handling charges for unsold lots at South Kensington from £35/£50 to £50/£75 and imposing minimum trade and private commission rates of 15% for vendors in Amsterdam and Paris, so both buyers and sellers will see substantial increases in the costs associated with Christie's auctions.