We’re looking forward to re-opening on 15 June 2020 and we’ve outlined how we intend to keep our staff, our customers and visitors to Potteries Auctions safe at this time.
We’re excited and nervous in equal measure as we announce our re-opening of the business to members of the public on 15 June 2020. Read on for details of how we plan to keep our staff, our customers and visitors to the sites in Silverdale and Cobridge as we prepare for the Covid19 recovery phase along with thousands of other businesses across the UK at this time.
During the Covid19 lockdown we’ve had to furlough staff, and close our doors to members of the public in response to government guidelines that led to a total lockdown towards the end of March 2020. As an auction house, the most dramatic impact for us as a business was the closure of the salerooms, and we’ve missed the energy and busy pace of holding our regular in-person auctions.
We expect that this will be just as steep a learning curve as the response to doing business during lockdown has been, and so although we hope to have put everything in place that is needed, we expect that we will need to adjust details as we go along. We really appreciate the continued support of our customers at this time, and are looking forward to meeting up with you all again.
As we are now reacting to the easing of lockdown measures, we’ve been working hard to put in place new systems to allow us to welcome customers back safely to our sites at Silverdale and Cobridge. In this news piece we hope to outline how we intend to keep everyone safe as we adjust our business.
Opening Hours
We are now open Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm. We need to restrict the numbers of people we can allow into the building at any one time and so we will have a ‘doorbell’ entry system in addition to operating an appointment only system for people who would like to visit our sites for valuations and collections only.
We will not be re-opening for auctions in person at this time, and we encourage you all to connect with us live through the online bidding platforms – The-Saleroom.com or EasyLiveauction.com. Contact us in advance to visit by appointment rather than turning up unannounced, to avoid disappointment on +44 (0)1782 638100.
Auctions
Luckily for us we’ve always had the ability to accept your commission bids through our website. Many of you already connect with us through live online bidding, however if you are new to this method you can find us on The-saleroom.com and EasyLiveauction.com. We were able to swiftly react to convert our in-person auctions to online-only auctions during the last several weeks of lockdown. These have been a great success, and we’ve really appreciated the support of our customers. We have also been delighted to be able to welcome new buyers from all over the country during lockdown.
Whilst we still can’t welcome people to our in-person auctions at this time, the new mechanisms we put in place to continue auction sales will remain in place. Read more on how to join in with online auctions, and how our virtual viewing days work in this article here: https://potteriesauctions.com/news/covid-19-saleroom-update
You can also read in more detail about how to submit commissioned bids here: https://potteriesauctions.com/bidding-on-an-item
Getting Your Purchased Auction Items To You Safely
We have a P&P service in place for the safe packaging of auctioned items, meaning that our customers need never visit us in order to claim the items they’ve won at auction. If you are interested in this service, then please let one of the team know and we can make the necessary arrangements. Call the office on +44 (0)1782 638100 for a quote.
We also have a collection service, where you can make an appointment to pick up your items in person at the Silverdale site. Please note that we ask that you bring your own packing materials with you if you are collecting goods.
Valuations
We have been carrying out valuations throughout the lockdown period, and this will continue with prospective customers able to email us photos of the items they would like valuing for a remote valuation. We can also carry out valuations by Zoom appointments too, which is useful if you have large collections that you would like our advice on.
We are also really pleased to be able to announce thatour Silverdale saleroom is now open every Tuesday for valuations, by appointment only. We need to be able to manage how many people are in the saleroom at any one time, protecting you and our staff and so please call the office on +44 (0)1782 638100 to book your appointment between 9.00am and 4.00pm.
House Visits & Probate Valuations
We are conducting safe house calls for auction and probate valuations. A pre-visit consultation, by telephone, will be conducted by the valuer prior to their visit to reduce any unnecessary face-to-face time. They will gather as much information as possible and discuss the details of conducting a safe visit with you. Our valuers will ensure social distancing and they will be wearing appropriate PPE.
We can also carry out valuations by ‘Zoom’ calls as outlined in the previous section where our valuer will be able to discuss and evaluate your items and answer any questions you might have.
What To Expect When You Visit Us
As already outlined, we are operating a limited numbers and an appointment only system, however whilst you are visiting us, you will see a number of changes to the physical environment. There will be signs, floor markers, sanitising stations and screens to help guide visitors whilst they are with us, to keep our customers and our staff as safe as possible.
Questions & Other Queries
We hope that the information in this news piece helps reassure our customers that we have done everything we can to keep people safe and we look forward to greeting customers to Silverdale once again.
You can talk to one of our team if you have any questions on how we propose to open on 15 June, or you can email us for an appointment on enquiries@potteriesauctions.com or call us on +44 (0)1782 638100 Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm.