Understanding Lot Charges on the Snoofa Marketplace
Navigating the world of auctions for the first time can raise questions, particularly around the various charges involved in bidding and buying. This guide has been thoughtfully created to provide clear and transparent explanations of the fees you may encounter when using the Snoofa Marketplace.
What follows may feel a bit daunting especially if you are an auction newbie. Don’t worry, keep reading and you will feel better by the end. If this article has left you anxious about bidding our team is here to help get in touch.
As each Partner (aka the sellers) on Snoofa set their own fees, it is important to familiarise yourself with individual seller policies. However, the following charges are commonly found across the platform.
We hope this guide demystifies the charges you may encounter when bidding. Snoofa champions transparency and trust, ensuring exceptional buying experiences for every bidder.
Happy Bidding!
Artist’s Resale Right (ARR)
The Artist’s Resale Right entitles visual artists (or their estates) to receive a royalty when their work is resold via a gallery, auction house, or dealer, provided the sale price exceeds £1,000.
Why it matters: ARR was established to ensure artists benefit from the appreciation of their work over time, similar to music royalties.
Royalty Bands:
| Sale Price | Rate |
| Up to £50,000 | 4% |
| £50,001 – £200,000 | 3% |
| £200,001 – £350,000 | 1% |
| £350,001 – £950,000 | 0.5% |
| Over £950,000 | 0.25%* |
* Total royalty capped at €12,500 per sale.
Example:
| Sale price | £210,000 |
| 4% on first £50,000 | £2,000 |
| 3% on next £150,000 | £4,500 |
| 1% on final £10,000 | £100 |
| Total ARR | £6,600 |
Bidding Fee
A 6% fee (including VAT) is added to all winning bids placed through the Snoofa Marketplace. This fee ensures a secure, seamless, and expertly maintained bidding experience. It supports the ongoing development of our platform, from cutting-edge technology to attentive customer support, all designed to deliver a premium auction service.
Buyer’s Premium
A Buyer’s Premium is standard industry practice — an additional fee set by the seller and added to the final hammer price. This charge contributes to the seller’s operational and administrative costs.
You may encounter:
- Standard Buyer’s Premium – typically a percentage of the final bid price.
- Wine Buyer’s Premium – applied to the sale of wines and spirits which may differ from the standard rate.
- Philanthropic Buyer’s Premium – a portion of the fee has been allocated to support charitable initiatives and may appear as a separate line item.
The Buyer’s Premium is an industry standard fee and you can read about it in the Buyer’s Premium article.
Shipping
Shipping fees cover the cost of delivering your item to your chosen destination and are usually arranged directly with the seller. These may appear on your invoice as carriage or postage, depending on the terminology used by the seller.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
VAT is a consumption tax applied to most goods and services and is typically included on your invoice.
When bidding at auction, VAT is most likely to apply on the Buyer’s Premium and possibly the hammer price depending on the VAT treatment of the specific Lot. We recommend you read our Buyer’s Premium article for more information.
Another type of VAT less commonly applied to auctions is import VAT. If auction houses have consigned or transported items into the UK, import fees are often passed to the buyer. Antique items, defined by being and exceeding 100 years old attract a reduced import VAT rate of 5%. For most other items the standard 20% rate of import VAT will apply. It is calculated from the hammer value so can add a considerable amount to the invoice total.
At Snoofa our Live Cost Calculator defaults to Buyer’s Premium + VAT and is displayed as one inclusive amount, following the most common form of VAT treatment in the UK.