ABOUT US - Our Past, Present and Future
Our Past
Our company was originally founded in 1969 as Coin Auctioneers and we have been based at our current address since 1974. In 1984 we began to include other types of collectibles in our regular auction sales due to customer demand and our business grew rapidly.
As a result of our growing expertise and experience with collectibles we began to provide specialist Valuations for Insurance, Probate and Family Division purposes.
We also became Licensed Pawnbrokers and began to offer short term loans starting from £50 going up to £25,000.
Our Buying Department saw an increasing number of people who wanted to sell their unwanted valuables and collectibles as our reputation for paying the Best Prices grew.
As well as buying Jewellery, Silverware, Coins, Medals, Banknotes, Stamps and other Collectibles, we also purchase Scrap Gold, Silver and Platinum including Industrial Precious Metal Waste.
In 1991 we registered with Companies House in the UK as a Limited Company. In the middle of the 1990's we decided to make some changes to the way we operated our auction business in order to benefit from the new technology that had become available.
We were one of the first auction companies in the UK to launch their own website and since this time our customer base has blossomed as a result of our services being broadcast worldwide.
The Present
Due to the success we achieved with our first website, we were keen to embrace further technological advances that would benefit our customers and our business.
In 2004 our company was one of the first auction houses in the UK to offer Live Internet Bidding to its customers. This enabled buyers from all over the world to participate in our auction sales via a live internet link which is operated from the sale room.
Alongside this development, we began to provide professional colour images of all our lots so they could be included with our expertly written detailed descriptions and estimates on the internet.
Since these advances were made, some of our customers have stopped coming to the actual auction sales because they prefer to sit in the comfort of their own homes and bid over the internet, they know that our descriptions are accurate, images can be viewed online and they trust our service. A significant number of our customers now send absentee bids in advance of the sale or use our live internet bidding facility.
After the sale, our reasonably priced Postal Service will make sure that they receive any items they purchased in perfect condition.
Despite the free availability of our auction sale catalogue on the internet, we still have several hundred subscribers to our printed catalogue mailing list. As with other areas of the business, we have put effort into improving the quality of our colour illustrated catalogues to ensure that they meet the high standards expected by our subscribers and auction vendors.
Another area that we aim to constantly develop is our marketing strategy and we regularly revise and update our advertising campaigns. We now have adverts to promote our auction sales and services in most of the British trade magazines that are relevant to our business, such as the Antiques Trade Gazette, Coin News, Medal News, Stamp and Coin Mart, Stamp Magazine, The Armourer, Philatelic Exporter, Jewellery Focus and Antiques Info. We also promote our sales through the local press.
In addition to printed media, we use several well known auction websites including UKAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, The-Saleroom.com and other on-line media such as Antiques-Atlas.com and Collectors-Club-of-Great-Britain.co.uk amongst others.
Our advertising ensures that the people who sell their valuables and collections through our auction sales receive the most effective media coverage and therefore achieve the best prices possible.
When you choose to use our auction service you can be assured that your valuables truly are broadcast to the world!
As a result of our excellent reputation, we have been accepted as members of the British Numismatic Trade Association and the Philatelic Trader's Society so you can be assured of a honest, reliable, trustworthy service. We are also members of the National Pawnbrokers Association.
The Future
The world is changing and technology continues to develop and improve - we aim to do the same.
We have listed below a summary of our aims and objectives for the future:
We will continue to develop the global reach of our business to ensure that we provide an international auction service.
Our service will aim to achieve 100% customer satisfaction.
We will provide an enjoyable and well organised auction experience for our buyers and sellers.
We will continue to abide by the Code of Ethics laid down by the BNTA, the PTS and the NPA.
Our customers will receive a professional service from our friendly and qualified staff.
Any complaints, or concerns, will be dealt with promptly and customers can be assured of receiving a fair and honest service.
Our auction sales, which are open to the general public, will continue to be held on a regular basis in the Stockport area.
We will continue to provide a variety of absentee bidding methods including live internet bidding to make bidding as easy as possible for our buyers all over the world.
We will continually appraise and develop our marketing strategy to ensure the most effective media coverage in order to achieve the best prices for our auction vendors and to attract interesting, rare and quality items for our auction sales.
We plan to extend the number of valuation and buying days we conduct across the UK.
We hope you have found this brief history about our business and our aims and objectives for the future interesting.
Further details about our services can be accessed from the links to the left side of this page.