Auction Fees and Prices

When you sell a car at an auction, there are a variety of fees that are paid by both the buyer and the seller. Sometimes these fees are included in the reported sale price, and other times they are not.

Currently, the sale prices displayed on CLASSIC.COM are the same as reported by the auction house – some auction houses include the fees, and some do not. Our data is consistent for each auction house, but not across all prices. We are working on standardizing that in the near future.

In the meantime, here is a brief summary of fees per auction house, and how those prices are reported on CLASSIC.COM:

Auction house	Published fee schedule		Prices on CLASSIC.COM
Auction house	Seller’s commission	Buyer’s premium	Prices on CLASSIC.COM
Artcurial	Not available	From 1 to 900,000 euros: 16% + VAT Over 900,001 euros: 12% + VAT For cars from outside the EU, additional importation fee of 5.5% of the hammer price Reference	Includes buyer’s fees
Barrett-Jackson	Entry fee + % bid price (details not available) Reference	On-site: 10% Absentee: 12% Reference	Includes buyer’s fees
Bonhams	5% bid price Reference	12% on the first $250,000 of the bid price 10% on any amount of the bid price exceeding $250,000 Reference	Includes buyer’s fees
Bring a Trailer	$99 listing fee Optional $250 photography fee Reference	5% fee on top of the final sale price to BaT, with a minimum of $250, and capped at $5,000 Reference	Bid price, no fees.
GAA Classic Cars	8% of vehicle selling price on all vehicles over $10,000. $800 minimum seller’s fee on vehicles $10,000 and under. Reference	8% of vehicle selling price Reference	Bid price, no fees.
Gooding & Company	Not available	For a final bid price of $250,000 and below, the Buyer’s Premium is 12% of the final bid price; For a final bid price of above $250,000, the Buyer’s Premium is 12% on the first $250,000 of the final bid price and 10% on the remainder of the final bid price. Reference	Bid price, no fees.
Hemmings Auctions	$99.95 flat fee Reference	5% buyer’s fee on all successful auctions, with a minimum fee of $500. With any sale that tops $200,000, the buyer’s fee is capped at $10,000. Reference	Bid price, no fees.
Mecum	10% with reserve 5% without reserve Reference	10% $1,000 minimum Reference	Bid price, no fees.
Motorious	Specific to each auction.	Specific to each auction.	Bid price, no fees.
PCARMARKET	$99 Reserve $500 Blind Reference	5% $500 minimum Reference	Bid price, no fees.
RM Sotheby’s	Not available	10% Reference	Includes buyer’s fees
Silverstone Auctions	5% Reference	12.5% Reference	Bid price, no fees.
TheMarket (UK)	5% + VAT £6,000 maximum Reference	NONE Reference	Bid price, no fees.
Worldwide Auctioneers	Not available	10% 3% cash discount Reference	Bid price, no fees.

Note: These rates change from time to time, and can vary by auction. If you have information to improve the information listed here, please comment below or email us.