Britannia AuctionsCollective auctions and single item consignments in Cardiff
Cardiff sends us an unusual mix. A builders merchant at Wentloog clears a range and has pallets of stock that will not go back to the supplier. A fleet operator on Hadfield Road takes two vans and a pickup off the road. A production company in the Bay finishes a series and has lighting, rigging, edit suites and office furniture it will not need until the next commission, if then. Down at Tremorfa a fabricator has a plate roller it has replaced.
Each of those is a small consignment. None is a sale. Our collective auctions take small consignments from many vendors and sell them in one online catalogue, so a van from Leckwith and a pallet of copper fittings from Wentloog sit in the same sale, each as its own lot.
Tell us what you have and we will say whether it belongs in a collective sale and which one.
Vans, merchant stock and studio kit in one catalogue
Fleet vehicles are a common single lot from this city. Construction firms, merchants and delivery operators across the east of the city replace vans on a cycle, and one van at a time is exactly what a collective sale is for. Send the V5, the service history and the mileage. A vehicle on finance or lease belongs to the funder until it is settled and can only be sold with their agreement.
Merchant and trade counter stock is the second strand. Boxed fittings, fixings, tools, timber and sheet materials are lotted by the pallet, and the trade in Barry, Caerphilly, Newport and Bridgend is near enough to view in person.
The media trade adds items we rarely see elsewhere. Lighting, stands, monitors, computers and desks from studios in the Bay can go to other production firms and to the wider office and events market, wherever the bidder is. Serial numbers and working condition matter for that kit, so test it before it comes to us.
Wentloog, Tremorfa and the collection plan
The Wentloog estates and Capital Business Park were built for articulated lorries and most units there have a forklift. The older units along Penarth Road and at Tremorfa can be busier and tighter. Either way we check the site before anything is booked: the approach and turning space, the loading facilities, door dimensions and floor levels, shared yard arrangements and what each lot needs before it can be removed. The findings go in the catalogue.
A small consignment can be collected and sold from our premises where that is agreed, which gives your lot a set viewing day and means you are not opening a working yard or a studio to buyers. Vans can be driven to us or moved on a transporter. Heavier items are assessed on their own terms.
The regular sale cycle suits a fleet or a merchant. Tell us when the vans come off the road, or when the range change lands, and we propose the sale that fits.
What these sales can include
- Single machine tools
- Individual vans and pickups
- Compressors and generators
- Welding equipment
- Woodworking machines
- Hand tools and power tools
- Office furniture and IT equipment
- Catering equipment from a single kitchen
- Small plant and attachments
- Garden and grounds machinery
- Trailers
- Workshop consumables and stock
How a collective sale works
A collective auction is a regular online timed sale made up of lots from many vendors. Each vendor's lots are identified in the catalogue by lot number only. Buyers see one catalogue and bid across it, so a small consignment sits in the same sale as the larger ones.
Your lots are photographed and listed alongside the others. Bidding runs online, with lots closing in sequence on the sale date. Each lot is offered as seen under the auction terms, with buyers expected to inspect before bidding. The buyer pays the hammer price plus a buyer's premium, with VAT charged where it applies and shown separately.
After the sale, buyers pay and collect within the collection window. We account to you from cleared funds once it has closed and the sale is reconciled, less the agreed commission and any agreed costs.
The collective auctions and single item consignments page covers minimum viable value, at our premises or at yours, what to bring and what to tell us, timescales and unsold lots.
Questions about selling in Cardiff
- We are a production company in the Bay with lighting and edit kit from a finished series. Is that a collective sale?
It can be, provided the total value covers the cost of cataloguing each lot, and we will tell you before you commit. Lighting, stands, grip, monitors and computers are not tied to one region, and bidding is online and open across the UK. Group small items into sensible lots, keep cables and cases with the kit they belong to, and tell us what has been tested. Collection from the studio in one visit can be arranged, and the lots sell from our premises.
- Can a pickup that is still on a finance agreement go into the sale?
Only with the funder's agreement in writing. A pickup on finance belongs to the finance company until it is settled, so ask them for a settlement figure and written confirmation that it can be sold, and send both to us with the V5. We list the pickup once that is in hand. Where they agree, the settlement figure is usually paid from the proceeds and the balance follows once the sale is reconciled from cleared funds.
More questions about single items and small lots
Related services
Guides
- How a commercial asset auction works
A stage by stage account of an online timed auction for business assets. It covers the asset schedule, cataloguing, viewing days, how bidding closes, buyer's premium and VAT, collection and how you get paid.
- What happens to unsold lots
Not every lot sells, but the site still has to be cleared. This guide covers why lots go unsold, private treaty after the sale, lowering or removing the reserve, a later sale, scrap and WEEE recycling, and what disposal costs.