About us

Behind Auctionata is a large team of experts who value items, answer questions from potential buyers and sellers, and curate our sales gallery. Our auctioneers are responsible for conducting the live auctions; our marketing department publicises the auctions and writes the catalogues; and we also have a department dedicated to handling fees and delivery of items purchased at auction.

There are two basic steps to auctioning property: valuation and bidding. Our Auctionata experts are responsible for providing accurate valuations and taking professional photos of your items for the auction catalogue. There’s no item of value our experts can’t value – whether it’s a diamond ring, a work of art, a piece of furniture, a teddy bear or a rare stamp. The Auctionata experts are all specialists in their respective fields, with years of experience working in association with museums, foundations and similar organisations.

Auctionata relies on a global network of experts who are specialists in a variety of different categories. All have enjoyed long careers as collectors, dealers or experts in their respective fields and are devoted to their specialist subjects. Such is our experts’ dedication that they’re quite accustomed to valuing items that aren’t for sale, purely out of academic interest. Our experts’ diversity is our trademark – there’s simply no item of value we can’t handle. And we offer all our users access to their expertise for free. Our network of experts offers a clear advantage to users: access to accurate valuations. In today’s global marketplace, we often see apparently worthless items sell for record sums at auction. From €1000 for a picture frame to €10,000 for an inkstand, and €100,000 for a model railway to €1 million for a carpet, we never cease to be amazed. But finds such as these were often sourced at flea markets or by traders – which means the original seller missed out on the real profit. Auctionata is changing this game. Thanks to our network of experts, anyone can receive an accurate valuation of their property. Whether you choose to sell it and reap the profit remains up to you.

Items for valuation by our experts fall into two general categories. We value items of relatively lower value online, on the basis of photos and information provided by the prospective seller. Items of higher value need to be viewed in person to be properly evaluated. You can either bring items such as these to Auctionata or we can arrange for our experts to visit you at home. We value your first five items free of charge, with no obligation to you. You can find more information about charges for sellers in our overview of fees.

Once our experts have evaluated your item, they will produce a written valuation. This identifies the item and assigns it an estimated value. Then you can decide whether you want to keep your item or place it at auction. We accept anything from single items to collections and even entire estates.

There are three ways to sell on Auctionata:

1. At weekly auctions. Live auctions take place on Auctionata every Friday at 6pm CET (Central European Time). They are exclusive to the internet, but run along the lines of traditional auctions. An international team of experienced, state-licensed auctioneers announce the items in order and sell them to the highest bidder. Verified bidders can bid in the online auction room direct from a computer or mobile device. Because items placed on Auctionata come from private sellers, our starting prices are always low. At our weekly auctions, you’ll find genuine rarities – especially items of high value – at very fair prices.

>More about our weekly auctions

2. At special auctions. These auctions always have a special theme, which is why they’re usually announced well in advance. Whole collections and entire estates are often available to bid on – usually because collectors develop new interests or because their life circumstances change. Our experts are on hand in the online studio for the duration of the auctions, ready to answer questions about individual items.

>More about our special auctions

3. In our sales gallery. Here we offer items for sale at a fixed price set by our experts.

>More about our sales gallery

Fascinating items from private sellers at exciting prices – there are all kinds of treasures to discover on Auctionata, both in the auction room and in our sales gallery.

Bidding at auction carries with it the thrill of the unknown – no-one knows what the outcome will be. At Auctionata, our auctions are overseen by state-licensed auctioneers to ensure the process is carried out fairly and securely. We also operate a policy of low starting prices to encourage users to join in the bidding.

Our sales gallery is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Items here are sold at a fixed price, set by our experts according to current market rates. Naturally, buyers have a statutory right of cancellation, so you’re always on the safe side.

Because there’s a certain degree of risk involved in purchasing items at auction, customers require more than just clear rules – they need firm protection. To this end, Auctionata provides buyers with a 25-year guarantee of authenticity on all items listed at our auctions. If arbitration proves a purchased item is not genuine, the buyer can return it to Auctionata within a period of 25 years (starting from the date of delivery) to receive a full refund. Auctionata freely provides buyers with a guarantee that goes far beyond the legal warranty claim.

Auctions produce moments of real magic – and they happen all the time at Auctionata. It’s when you realise that piece of junk found in a dusty barn is worth a fortune, or when a collector finally lays hands on a rarity he’s been hunting down for years...

Auctionata’s patented real-time auction system has been independently tested and certified for safety and reliability. It allows thousands of users to visit our online auction room at the same time and follow the proceedings in real time via live video stream. Our system is so robust and reliable that no bid or attempt to bid we receive can be lost, so individual users cannot be placed at a disadvantage. The auctioneer takes all bids in the correct order and always assigns lots fairly and correctly.