Gardiner Houlgate Auctions.

swiller

Only recently discovered these and never tuned in to an auction, or bothered to look what stuff goes for. But its a superb/guitar porn you tube channel on its own and UK based.
They often do stock rundowns where you don't hear the guitar, but detailed verbal descriptions. Looks like they do every 3-4 months auction and do 300-500 guitars, expensive to budget but nothing boring. 
They also upload auditions of guitars, looks like the premium £ ones only, but have just uploaded 20+ today. 
LOVE IT! They only have 3.5k subscribers, but for me the best guitar youtube channel online.
It seems like a great place to look if buying and has soul for all the right reasons. I REALLY like the nature of the guitars they sell.
Anyone used them?

Vid 1: Look and hear this 64 strat.

Vid 2: An example of a run down of stock. 

guitars4you

They are a successful business and acquire many many guitars, across a spectrum of age, models, cool, weird, odd ball, vintage etc - More guitars will be offered by G&H, in the next auction, than you'll see in any one room in the UK on the same day 

What you'll read below via various postings, by quite a few members, will be a barrage of moaning, based on their fees - Add 25/26% to the hammer price to cover G&H's fees on the sale, plus appropriate vat on what we call the margin scheme - vat on their profit effectively - On top of that they will take a further 15/20 from the owner of the goods - So yes they acquire funds at both ends of the auction

In very simple terms, if they offered a poor route to market, for the owner/seller of the guitar and indeed for the potential buyer, then they would not be in business - Each auction they will sell over 500 guitars in some form or another - So must be doing something right - Granted Bath is quite a journey for many, but you can view + try before purchase - You can't on reverb/e-bay and even on this forum (yes a few exceptions) 

Do they make errors, I'm sure they do - Do they have a successful business - Yes

If/when anything happens to me I've left instructions with my daughter to contact them - One transaction and no fussing about with multiple postings on reverb etc and a thousand questions to come back, plus of course ridiculous offers - So I can see the point of such a 'transaction' 

From a nostalgia point of view, it is hell of a trip to see so many old guitars and indeed models I've never seen before 

steveh

guitars4you said:

What you'll read below via various postings, by quite a few members, will be a barrage of moaning, based on their fees - Add 25/26% to the hammer price to cover G&H's fees on the sale, plus appropriate vat on what we call the margin scheme - vat on their profit effectively - On top of that they will take a further 15/20 from the owner of the goods - So yes they acquire funds at both ends of the auction

Because I'm a middle class prick, I buy wine and fine art from Christies & Bonhams, and have done so for decades.

The charging structure is exactly the same.
That's how auction houses work.

I agree with you: The "barrage of moaning" will be from those who are more familiar with Ebay auctions, and their fee structure, but that's a completely different business model..

Neilybob

Tbh I’ve always been a buy stander on this auction. Fun to browse but with the additional fees I’ve given purchases a miss. 

guitars4you

Neilybob said:

Tbh I’ve always been a buy stander on this auction. Fun to browse but with the additional fees I’ve given purchases a miss. 

To be fair I’ve seen hammer prices that have baffled me and that is without the fees - Prices that I’ve seen well above what we’d expect to see in a shop or on eBay etc - But then you stand back and think ‘ what do I know’ - Plus prices are driven up by at least 2 potential buyers/ bidders

Then equally I’ve seen prices that IMO are bargains 

But as you say fun to browse 

GuyR

Amongst other purchases, I bought the 66 tele below very well at GH

https://i.imgur.com/1CjvLq6.jpg

Moaners gonna moan, let them.

gumbothewiddler

I have no problem with fees but 25% buyers premium seems quite steep. 

I’m currently scouting classic car auctions and most of them have buyers premiums in the range of 12.5-15% +vat.

guitars4you

gumbothewiddler said:

I have no problem with fees but 25% buyers premium seems quite steep. 

I’m currently scouting classic car auctions and most of them have buyers premiums in the range of 12.5-15% +vat.

But what is the average price of such cars sold at auction 

12.5% of a 10-25k car is more desirable than 25% of a Squier Strat

gumbothewiddler

guitars4you said:

gumbothewiddler said:

I have no problem with fees but 25% buyers premium seems quite steep. 

I’m currently scouting classic car auctions and most of them have buyers premiums in the range of 12.5-15% +vat.

But what is the average price of such cars sold at auction 

12.5% of a 10-25k car is more desirable than 25% of a Squier Strat

Yes of course.  But do you not think overheads such as storage, personnel would be higher for cars than guitars? Floorspace and staff are expensive. 

My point is really are their fees out of kilter for the sector? I don’t know and I’m not familiar with auction houses for similar stuff. 

timmypix

I recently got put onto them by a Trogly video summarising the last auction. I was so miffed - a guitar on my bucket list went for peanuts, even with the fees. So now I'm subscribed to their mailing list just in case!

icu81b4

I have bought quite a few studio items from them, you don’t have to use their own courier which is advised.

The guitar assessor’s are very good on the whole and can be used to evaluate guitars not necessarily in the auction. 

BigPaulie

Surely a prospective buyer would factor the fees and approx £60 packing and shipping charge into the price they're willing to pay for any given listing in an auction?

If the listing sells for more than your maximum bid, so be it.

GuyR

BigPaulie said:

Surely a prospective buyer would factor the fees and approx £60 packing and shipping charge into the price they're willing to pay for any given listing in an auction?

If the listing sells for more than your maximum bid, so be it.

Sorry, if you were to follow that advice what are you supposed to bitch and moan about?

Bork

I bought a preamp from them many years ago.  Things went smoothly.  I still keep an eye on their auctions for Yamaha guitars and (for a while Mesa Boogie).  Yes sometimes things appear to go cheaply, particularly 10 year old Japanese guitars.  I've noticed spare parts typically go for waaaay more than their estimated value - perhaps because they get hoovered up and flipped on Ebay.  I know someone who did that with a pair of Alembic bass bridges which were rumoured to come from the roadie for John Entwhilstle and he couldn't get shot of them on Reverb or Ebay.  But yes, I feel like the buyers premium is fairly steep and I have no doubt that it undermines demand for all but the most desirable instruments.

DavidR

I sold a Crafter T5 copy and an upmarket Alhambra classical with them a few years back. They are tucked away on an industrial estate in Corsham which is 8 miles from Bath and 8 miles from the M4 if you're coming from the east. Quite a drive from Lincolnshire where we were living at the time. I thought the service was pretty good and it felt quite personal. I would use them again.

I have never bought from them.

The pre-auction section of the website is a brilliant way to spend a spare 30 minutes and is much more searchable than it used to be. For example, you can just put 'acoustic' or 'Yamaha' in and have a gander. I am/was an FG fan and it's fascinating to see the old FG's going through and for how much.

As regards money; I was just looking to get rid of two instruments I no longer wanted, and don't trust much about the internet. I was happy with the service and the money. I took both instruments to them and we had a weekend in Bath.

If your'e looking to monetise a guitar for the maximum amount, there are probably better options. eBay etc. tFB seems as good an option as any if you become a member and can get your head around downloading pictures.

It's a mistake to grouse too much about GH profits. They're in it to win it and everybody deserves a profit if they're running a decent business model. I think their business model is to take guitars from people who just want to 'get rid', or maybe from people who don't know a lot about guitars, and then auction them to buyers who want market price. So fair dinkums.

DavidR

Auctions (guitar-auctions.co.uk)

1968 Gibson LG-O or (!) 2011 Martin OO-15M  each going for £600-800 anyone?

Or, for the collectors, a 1938 National Style 0   (£4 - 6K    Ouch)

:-)

randella

One of the Studio Rats is always buying kit from this auction. His latest acquisition being a Marshall JMP-1 preamp for a shade over a ton (if I remember right, I've slept since then). Even with those fees added on, that's a bloody bargain.

I've been meaning to check it out, but I need another spendy rabbit hole like I need a kick in the head.

Keefy

I called in once to check out some basses on behalf of a Basschat member. All the lots were easily accessible and you could sit down with a guitar and give it the once-over. I also bumped into Dave Gregory (ex-XTC) who is a frequent visitor.

We are so used to the benefits of being ‘consumers’ that we may not realise an auction is not part of that world - you are expected to be savvy and to know how to protect your own interests, and are treated on the same basis as a dealer with years of experience.

Occasionally I have browsed the GH website but perhaps oddly have never seen anything I desperately wanted to bid on.

BigPaulie

This lot particularly caught my eye.

It's the same model as Bernard Butler's favourite Les Paul. Absolutely stunning and sounds filthy!   

Penn

I helped my uncle sell a few things. We used GH because it meant  it was no hassle and someone else had the grief of selling the stuff. I was sad to see this guitar go though. 

https://www.musicalinstrument-auctions.co.uk/sale/40/197/Interesting-composite-Stratocaster-electric-guitar-comprising-early-Fender-parts-including-a-preCBS-neck-and-scratchplate

guitars4you

Penn said:

I helped my uncle sell a few things. We used GH because it meant  it was no hassle and someone else had the grief of selling the stuff. I was sad to see this guitar go though. 

https://www.musicalinstrument-auctions.co.uk/sale/40/197/Interesting-composite-Stratocaster-electric-guitar-comprising-early-Fender-parts-including-a-preCBS-neck-and-scratchplate

I think such guitars are better sold and easier to sell via auction and often you’ll get a better price as they have a wide audience 

certainly gets rid of 100 questions to me the dealer or you via an eBay sale