W&H Peacock

W&H Peacock runs four auction centres — Bedford, St Neots, Leamington Spa and Southams — with a calendar dense enough that something is selling most days of the week. It mixes traditional live salerooms with timed online sales, and the departments range from weekly general goods through to specialist arms and militaria.

What you can buy

• General household and collectors' goods, in weekly live sales at St Neots and Leamington Spa.
• Designer and contract office furniture — Vitra, Eames, Walter Knoll — in timed online sales.
• Sporting guns and antique arms, in dedicated live sales.
• Clothing, footwear and accessories.
• Vinyl records and music memorabilia.
• Vehicles, entered individually into the general sales.

How the bidding works

The calendar distinguishes live auctions from timed online ones and names the saleroom for each, which matters because the four sites are spread across two counties. The house also runs valuation days, probate and insurance valuations, and property clearances — so a good deal of the stock arrives from house clearances rather than trade consignments.

What to check before you bid

Check which saleroom a lot is in before bidding: Bedford to Leamington Spa is an hour and a half each way, and collection is from the room that sold it. Antique arms carry their own legal requirements in the UK and the sale conditions set out what documentation a buyer needs. Postage is offered, but for furniture it will not be practical.