Online saleroom · Darwen, Lancashire

Everything starts at £1.
Sold online, every week.

An independent online saleroom taking whole house contents and bulk consignments from the clearance trade. Hundreds of lots a sale, no reserves, no estimates to beat.

Free registration · Bid from anywhere · Viewing every Monday, 10am – 1pm

£1 Opening bid Every lot, every sale. No reserves.
20% Buyer’s premium Added to the hammer price.
30% Seller’s commission Published, plus VAT.
£1 Per lot consigned Lotting and photography, plus VAT.
The sale calendar

Current & upcoming auctions

Browse the catalogue, watch a lot, or register to bid. New sales appear here as soon as they are catalogued.

All auctions

Our first sale is being catalogued

Auction dates and full lot catalogues will appear here as soon as our sale calendar opens. Register your interest and we will email you the moment bidding goes live.

Register your interest

A room of house contents ready to be lotted for sale
For house clearance firms

You clear the property. We sell what comes out.

Deliver whole house contents to the saleroom and we lot them, photograph them, run them through the online sale and settle with you afterwards. We do not clear properties ourselves — so we are never competing with the firms who supply us.

  • 30% commission and £1 a lot, plus VAT — the same for everyone
  • Weekly sales, so stock does not sit around
  • Nothing comes back unsold — every lot opens at £1
Ceramics of the kind that sell well in a general online sale
For buyers

A £1 start is a real £1 start

No reserves and no estimates to beat. Every lot in every sale opens at a pound and sells to whoever wants it most — which is how a box of curios sometimes goes for a fiver, and sometimes surprises everyone in the room.

  • Buyer’s premium of 20% on the hammer price
  • Photographed catalogues, viewable in person on Mondays
  • Collect from the saleroom once you have paid
For buyers

It takes about two minutes to start

01

Register — it is free

Create your bidding account online in a couple of minutes. All you need is some ID and a way to pay. One account covers every sale we run.

02

View in person, bid online

Come and handle the lots at Monday viewing if you can. Then bid from wherever you are — follow the sale in real time, or leave a maximum bid and let it run for you.

03

Pay and collect

Win a lot and we invoice you straight away. Pay online, then collect from the saleroom on one of the published collection days. We do not deliver, so bring a suitable vehicle or send a courier.

The saleroom

Viewing & collection

Bidding happens online, but the goods are here and you are welcome to come and see them. Viewing is Monday morning; the saleroom is open through the week for entries and collections. Parking is on site.

Monday (Viewing only)10:00 – 13:00
TuesdayClosed
Wednesday10:00 – 16:00
Thursday10:00 – 16:00
Friday10:00 – 16:00
Saturday09:00 – 12:00
SundayClosed

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be watching when the lot comes up?

No. All our auctions are online, so you can follow a sale in real time from your phone or computer if you want to — but you do not have to. Leave a maximum bid in advance and the platform bids on your behalf, in the smallest increments needed, up to your limit and no further.

What does it cost to buy?

Bidding opens at £1 on every lot. On top of the hammer price you pay a buyer’s premium of 20%, plus the bidding platform’s own online fee and VAT where it is due. Win a lot at £20 and you pay £24 before the platform fee — there is nothing hidden.

Can I see the lots before I bid?

Yes, and we would encourage it. Viewing is Monday morning at the saleroom. Everything is photographed for the online catalogue too, and if you want another angle or a closer look at a mark, ring us and we will take one.

How soon do I need to collect?

We ask that lots are collected during the collection days published with each sale. Space in a general saleroom is tight, so late collections may attract a storage charge. If you need a hand with something large, tell us before you bid.

Why does everything start at £1?

Because competition finds the right price better than a reserve does. Opening every lot at a pound gets bidders involved, keeps the catalogue moving and means consignors are never left with unsold stock. Some lots go cheap; others go for far more than a reserve would have dared ask.

Can I sell a single item here?

Not here, no. HCS Auctions takes whole house contents and bulk trade consignments — the saleroom is set up for volume, mainly from house clearance firms. A single item is better served by a specialist or general antiques auction, and we will say so rather than take it on.

Clearing houses? Let’s talk.

Tell us roughly what you clear and how often, and we will come back with a delivery slot. Rates are fixed and published — 30% commission and £1 a lot, plus VAT.