If you are looking to furnish a house or flat cheaply, if your sofa has chosen an inconvenient time to fall apart, if you like nicknacks, or have a small present you need to get for an old fashioned auntie, then heading to Herman and Wilkinson’s weekly house clearance auctions in Rathmines might just solve all your problems at a reasonable price.
The house clearance auctions are the bread and butter of the auction trade. They tend not to be the high end goods which will be sent on a more specialist route, but you never know what you might find. They are a good way to try out the auction scene. Going to auctions can become addictive and certainly can take some discipline not to overspend.
Herman and Wilkinson Auctions are found next to the Swan Leisure Centre and Pool on Rathmines Road. A jumble of goods will be found every Wednesday from 2pm to 6.30pm for viewing for the next days auctions. Auctions start in the same room at 10am every Thursday. The auctioneer get through about 200 items an hour (I missed the lot I wanted by arriving to late!).
You must be registered to receive a number card, a simple job of signing a list and being given your number. Auctions are fast and full of a crowd that have been attending for decades. If it’s your first time arrive early and listen. When your lot comes up and if the price is right raise your number. The auctioneer will call out ‘Gentleman at back’ ‘Lady on the right’. If you are the last one to bid, the auctioneer will call out sold and you need to hold up your number so that it can be recorded.
The cost of the item will include your bid plus VAT and a buyers commission, usually between 16% and 20%, so you need to be aware that you are paying more than the bid price! Today at the auction I saw most objects going from €5 to for less than €50 in the main. There was a dining room table with extensions that topped €500 so items of quality do find their way there.
The best advice is take your time looking, once you have bought you can’t go back. Explore and bring a magnifying glass if your interested in small objects. Speaking of the decrepit sofa, I saw a number that might do the job.
