Thursday 18 August 2011

How Absentee Bidding Works

We've had a few questions about how the absentee bidding works.

All you need to do is to tell us the amount you would bid up to if you were in the room. Once we have a note of this limit we will bid on your behalf up to that amount. We are required to obtain the item for the best price within  your limit depending on reserves and bids in the room. 

So, for example - you choose a top bid of £100
In the auction room the bidding begins at £50, a bidder in the room bids £55, the reserve is £60 so the auctioneer will bid that amount on your behalf, the bidder increases their bid to £65, the auctioneer will bid £70. The other bidder drops out. The item is yours for £70 (plus buyers premium and postage of course)

Please note - Bids in the room take precedence over absentee bids so in the above example, if the bidder in the room took the bid up to £100 they would win the item not you.

Not all items have reserves on them, but we are not allowed to give details of any reserve prices on items.
We also cannot tell you what other absentee bidders have bid on items, however we can advise you whether your bid has a good chance of success. (But please do note that this is in no way a guarantee that you will be successful, we don't know how things will go in the room on the day.)

Absentee bids need to be placed with us at least 24 hours in advance as we need to make sure all the information is with the auctioneer on the day. Placing an absentee bid is a clear intention to buy. Bids may be withdrawn at any time up to 24 hours before the auction.

This means all absentee bids need to be with us by the morning of Friday 26th August. This is also the last opportunity to increase, change or withdraw your bid.

You can fax your bid to us on 0113 2779750, or from the USA 0144113 2779750. Or you can email bids 
to auction@thebeatleshop.co.uk,  please get in touch if an emailed bid is not acknowledged within two days.
We need the following information for absentee bids
-Lot Number
-Top bid (a clear figure, not a range or vague amount. We do not accept unlimited or "buy" bids)
-Your name and contact details.
You may be asked to secure an absentee bid by giving credit card details. No payment will be taken using these details unless you default on a winning bid. Winning bidders will be contacted as soon as possible after the sale to arrange/confirm payment details.


If you have any more questions email via the above link or telephone 0151 236 8066.  

Monday 15 August 2011

Important Information for Bidders

How to Bid in Person
If you are attending the auction with the intention to bid on an item you need to register for a bidding paddle first. You can register on the viewing day as well as the morning of the auction. We will need contact details including your home address, where you are staying in Liverpool if applicable, a phone number where possible, and email address. This information is not passed on to other parties. Your email address will be used next year to send you notification about to download future auction catalogues. 
The bidding paddle is numbered, if you are the winning bidder you need to make sure the auctioneer has noted this number.


Absentee Bids
You can fax your bid to us on 0113 2779750, or from the USA 0144113 2779750. Or you can email bids 
to auction@thebeatleshop.co.uk,  please get in touch if an emailed bid is not acknowledged within two days.
We need the following information for absentee bids
-Lot Number
-Top bid (a clear figure, not a range or vague amount. We do not accept unlimited or "buy" bids)
-Your name and contact details.
You may be asked to secure an absentee bid by giving credit card details. No payment will be taken using these details unless you default on a winning bid. Winning bidders will be contacted as soon as possible after the sale to arrange/confirm payment details. 


Important Notice
Unless stated in the description no certificates of authenticity or letters of provenance will be provided.

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Covering the Cavern Club from beginning to end!

The 2011 Liverpool Beatles Auction boasts lots that cover the entire history of the original Cavern Club from its roots as a Jazz club through to its final demise.

The Hessys publication Frank Comments (Lot 92 – three issues) and Merseyside Jazz Magazine (lot 91) carried adverts for the Cavern Club and it organised it's own Jazz Festival in 1960 with a programme of events (lot 95) that included Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, featuring Ringo Starr on drums.

When the Beatles were playing in the Cavern one fan took her records Love Me Do (lot 206) and Please Please Me (lot 205) down to the club in her handbag (lot 200) to get signed.

When the Cavern stage was replaced in the 1960s it was cut into pieces and sold off to Beatles fans (lot 259). The Cavern closed in the mid sixties, but it did not go quietly, there were protests and eventually the club reopened in July 1966. The Prime Minister came along to the reopening. There was a programme for the event (lot 214) and Rufus Thomas and Solomon Burke were contracted to play during the day (lots 273 & 274)

After the reopening the club started to sell branded merchandising. There are quite a few examples in the auction including a very rare Cavern Tshirt (lot 264) and a full price list for merchandise available to fans. (lot 287)

The club was finally subjected to a Compulsory purchase order from the Railways (lot 253) and set for demolition. But not before the gas meters were all read. The club contacted the Gas Board by letter (lot 216) informing them that demolition was imminent and they weren't responsible for damage to Gas Board equipment that wasn't removed.

And just when you think the story of the original Cavern is over, building work on the site a decade after the club was demolished yields a number of original bricks from the original club that are sold off by the new site owners for a local charity. (lot 215.)

And this is only skimming the surface of Cavern items in this year's auction!

2011 Liverpool Beatles Auction Catalogue now available to download.

The 2011 auction catalogue is now available to download in pdf format.
Most browsers will open the file but you can also right click to save it onto your own computer.

2011 Liverpool Beatles Auction Catalogue Download. (118kb approx pdf file)
2011 Catalogue photographs - (9.65Mb approx pdf file) Please note, these photo pages are laid out for the print catalogue, hence the large file size.


If you do need a pdf reader it is available free from adobe.
You can also read pdf files on an number of devices including the Kindle by simply dragging the files your device.

A large number of lots have been covered in this blog, to find them use the search facility provided on the right, or go through the archives also listed on the right.

The printed version of the catalogue is not yet available. Details will appear on this blog as soon as we have them available to send out/collect.

Monday 1 August 2011

So Good They Signed It Twice...

These copies of Love Me Do and Please Please Me are both red label versions of the singles and are both signed, on both sides! 
Love Me Do is signed by John, Paul and George on both the A-side and the B-side. Estimate £2000-£2500


Please Please Me is signed on both sides of the record by all four Beatles. Estimate £7000-8000


(click on the photos to see larger versions.)




The catalogue for the 2011 Liverpool Beatles Auction will be available very soon. Details of how to get a copy will appear on this site as soon as possible.