What is a BUYERS PREMIUM?
And why do we have one now?

The AUCTION HOUSE works for both the SELLERS as well as the BUYERS as the middle person.  The Seller pays a COMMISSION percentage and the buyers pay a buyers premium percentage for facilitating the sale. This is how the auction house is paid for the services for both the buyers and sellers.  The buyer’s premium is a standard fee charged by most auction houses these days (usually between 10 and 20 percent).  The buyers agree to pay this in addition to the sold auction price.

We implemented the BUYERS PREMIUM on Aug 3 2020.

HST is applied on top of this premium as this is a service fee and in Ontario all services are subject to HST tax of 13%

Traditionally a auction buyers premium was implemented to cover the costs of the staffing and overhead costs on the buyers side of the sale.  (the handlers that the auction house would need to hire to assist the buyers).

Auctions are unlike traditional retail markets as we can not simply increase the price of the goods sold to cover the rising costs (Gas, Rent/mortgage interest, Minimum Wage, heat, hydro, internet and other inflationary costs) and when we ask the sellers to pay higher commissions it greatly impacts the quantity of quality items that come into the auction. We need to find a balance between happy buyers and happy sellers so that the business model works for everyone.  

Thank you all
Caro & Chris & Staff
MidlandAuctions.ca