UK returns auctions compared: buyer's premium and real cost, house by house

The UK has more than one returns and liquidation auction house, and they don't all charge the same way. The bid you see is never the price you pay: on top of the hammer price, most houses add a buyer's premium, and VAT usually applies to some part of that total. Two houses with the same-looking hammer price can cost very different amounts once you check out.

This compares the four UK returns houses RedGem actively tracks: John Pye, Robert Scotts, William George and Bond Auctions. The figures below come straight from each house's published terms, the same numbers RedGem's own valuation engine uses to work out a safe max bid.

The two things that change your real cost

Multiply the two together and you get an all-in multiplier: the number you multiply your hammer price by to get what actually leaves your account, before delivery.

• Buyer's premium. A percentage added to the hammer price. Some houses charge none at all.
• VAT. Charged on the premium at most houses; a smaller number also charge it on the hammer itself. Where VAT applies, it's the standard 20% rate.

John Pye: the 1.5x rule

John Pye charges a 25% buyer's premium, with VAT on both the hammer price and the premium. That works out to an all-in multiplier of 1.5x: win a lot at £100 and expect to pay about £150 before delivery.

It's the highest all-in cost of the four, but also the house with by far the deepest catalogue of brand-name customer returns, which is why it's covered in detail in our John Pye buying guide.

Robert Scotts: no buyer's premium

Robert Scotts (on the Auctium platform) charges no buyer's premium at all. You pay the hammer price plus delivery from around £3.89, with VAT only where a lot is marked as applicable. That makes the all-in multiplier effectively 1.0x: a £100 hammer bid costs close to £100.

It's the cheapest checkout of the four houses here, which matters most on higher-value single lots where a 25 or 26% premium would otherwise eat a big chunk of the margin.

William George: 26% premium, VAT on the premium only

William George (a white-label auction site on the ATG platform) charges a 26% buyer's premium with VAT on the premium but not on the hammer price. That works out to an all-in multiplier of about 1.31x: a £100 hammer bid costs roughly £131 before delivery.

That's meaningfully cheaper than John Pye's 1.5x for the same size of win, on a catalogue that leans towards retail returns and liquidation stock.

Bond Auctions: around 10%, unconfirmed exact rate

Bond Auctions (also on Auctium) names a buyer's premium in its terms without stating an exact percentage, and Auctium-platform houses typically run low-premium sales. We model Bond at 10% premium with VAT on the premium, giving an all-in multiplier of roughly 1.12x (about £112 on a £100 hammer bid). Treat this one as an estimate, not a confirmed rate, and always check the specific sale's terms before bidding.

Side by side, at a £100 hammer bid

None of this makes one house better than another; it makes them different maths. A lower premium is worth nothing if the catalogue doesn't carry stock that resells. What matters is comparing the all-in cost against what the item actually sells for on eBay, house by house, lot by lot.

• John Pye: 25% premium, VAT on hammer + premium → ~£150 all-in.
• William George: 26% premium, VAT on premium only → ~£131 all-in.
• Bond Auctions: ~10% premium (estimate), VAT on premium only → ~£112 all-in.
• Robert Scotts: no premium → ~£100 all-in, plus delivery from ~£3.89.

Do the maths automatically

RedGem watches all four of these houses, values every lot against real eBay sold prices, and applies each house's exact fee profile before showing you a safe max bid. You never have to remember which house charges what. There's a free unlocked deal on the homepage every day if you want to see the working. RedGem is an independent tool and is not affiliated with John Pye, Robert Scotts, William George or Bond Auctions.

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