Merchandiser Alison Nelson explores the attractions of our Green Sale, which is an excellent example of sustainable buying.
“As an auction house, we are the ultimate in recycling. We find new homes for pre-loved items, dispersing treasured collections or relocating parts of one collection to someone else’s. Most of the items arrive wrapped in packaging, typically in boxes. The packing and the boxes, if strong enough, are reused when packing up buyers’ lots after an auction. Any boxes that are worn, weak or broken are recycled.
“We often hear that brown furniture doesn’t sell, but it’s not true. Brown furniture does sell, but in some cases, not to the value it has in the past. Many items of furniture sold at auction are repurposed and many are upcycled. This gives a well-made piece that is maybe not as fashionable as it was, either a new look by painting or a bit of a redesign for a new purpose.
“Our valuers try to go out and appraise jobs that are to come in and say what is viable for auction and what is not. Even after this process, we still receive some lower-value pieces that either don’t attract attention in our auctions or fall below the auction level. These go into a sale we call the Green Sale. Often, several items are sold in a mixed box or a small lot, which has a starting price of £5. We do not take entries for this sale, it’s only the bits that don’t fit in other sales or have failed to sell in other sales. We call it the Green Sale because, without it, these items would often end up in a landfill.
“While our valuers go out to visit homes and appraise the viability for items coming to auction, they also recommend donation to charity of the items that are good but have little auction value. We also work closely with Clearance teams who will donate to charity if possible and recycle where applicable.
“The Green Sale is given as much time as others, presented as well as possible and photographed so all items can be seen. The nice part of it is that most of the lots find new homes and help keep the planet green.”