Postage & Shipping
Postage, shipping and delivery
Postage, shipping and delivery
Here at Harper Field Auctioneers, we believe that arranging delivery of sold lots at an affordable cost is an important part of our end to end service, and as such we have a well-established in-house shipping department, set up solely to arrange delivery of your purchases to your door.
Whether you buy something as small as a coin or as large as a classic car, we can arrange the safe and secure delivery of any lot. We will always combine postable lots into a sensible number of parcels to make shipping as efficient as possible whilst ensuring all lots arrive safely. All parcels are sent using a tracked service and will require a signature on delivery.
Please be aware that all associated costs including Parcelforce and Royal Mail charges have risen over recent months, so we have had to reflect this in our postage charges. Buyers should bear in mind that large items, or lots containing numerous fragile pieces can be costly to pack and ship. We only charge our buyers at cost, but this cost comprises not only the Parcelforce or Royal Mail charges but also the time spent on packing and the cost of the packaging materials (a regular sized cardboard box now costs us £2, and we also use large amounts of bubble wrap and loosefill packaging)
Below is a guide to our postage costs, but should you need a more accurate quote or any more information please feel free to contact us before bidding.
UK postage
Small packets & parcels - from £12
This includes items such as jewellery, coins, watches and medals, sent in a single parcel weighing up to 2kg. Sent using either Royal Mail Special Delivery (£13.50 minimum charge), Royal Mail Tracked with signature (a relatively new service) or 1st Class Signed For, depending upon value.
Medium and large parcels from £23
This covers most of the items we sell, ie those which are of a size which can be sent in parcels of up to 30kg using Parcelforce UK. Please bear in mind that some items that require more packaging, in particular ceramics, and other items requiring custom packaging such as paintings and guitars will incur an extra charge to cover the time spent packing with care, to ensure safe delivery.
Oversized parcels
Any parcel over 110cm in length, where the second longest side is over 70cm, or where any two dimensions combined total over 170cm will incur an additional Parcelforce surcharge of £8 on top of the above quoted prices.
Ceramics and glass can be carefully packed and sent to you, but please be aware that we cannot insure these items in the post. We will pack exceptionally carefully and often double box items, we cannot be responsible for any damage to the items whilst in the postal system.
Firearms
Any Section 1 or 2 firearm can be sent using a secure firearms service to any Registered Firearms Dealer (RFD) at a cost starting at £36. If you are a private certificate holder then you will need to post your licence to us after purchasing the gun, we check and complete this then return it to you before shipping your item to your local RFD.
Air weapons can be sent to an RFD of your choice, they will then check that you are over 18 when you collect, the cost of this is from £35 per parcel.
Bladed weapons can no longer be sent with Royal Mail or Parcelforce. Some shipping companies can still arrange postage for you, these include Pack and Send and Mailboxes. Unfortunately we can no longer send bladed items using our own in house postal service.
Over 18 delivery
Some other items such as fine wines and spirits will require an over 18 age verification check upon delivery, and this incurs an additional charge of £2.50 on top of the above quoted prices.
Insurance
All prices quoted above are without insurance, but for higher value parcels insurance can be arranged at a small additional cost. Please note some items such as ceramics and glassware cannot be insured for damage if sent in the post, but we can offer a ‘white glove’ door to door courier delivery service offering full insurance on any items.
Isle of Wight
Any parcel sent to the Isle of Wight will incur an additional £5 charge.
Oversized parcels All parcels with one dimension over 150cm are charged at a minimum of £43.50 + vat due to the additional Parcelforce charges for sending oversized items.
Prohibited goods
Some items cannot be sent in the general post and as such must be hand delivered, this includes but is not limited to live ammunition, alcoholic beverages over 70% ABV, lighters and compressed gas cylinders. For a full list please contact us or see the Royal Mail or Parcelforce website.
Overseas shipping
We can arrange shipping worldwide.
Possibly the most important factor is the weight of the parcel. If this is under 2kg and less than 90cm overall (30x30x30 or equivalent) then we can use Royal Mail services at reasonable cost, but larger / heavier parcels are costly to ship. We will always pack the items to minimise shipping costs (ie more than one small parcel, rather than 1 large one) but this may not always be possible. Please email us if you need help with international shipping.
Please note that we cannot export any weapons or ammunition, but we can provide details of specialist shipping companies who may be able to help. Always be sure to check on shipping before bidding.
