How can an auction house or antique dealer get more sellers?

Antiques and collectibles have a supply problem, not a demand problem. Online auction platforms put a catalog in front of bidders worldwide, so a good object usually finds a buyer. What limits an antique dealer or auction house is the flow of good material: estates, collections and single pieces from people who sell once and do not know where to start. Most of the marketing effort belongs on that side.

The search data leans toward sellers and bargain hunters. In the Strive analysis of Google Keyword Planner data from September 2025 to August 2026, the most-searched terms in this category nationally were “consignment shops near me”, “consignment stores near me” and “estate sales near me”, each in the 100,000 to 1 million monthly range¹. Next came seller terms: “sell gold”, “sell jewelry near me” and “coin buyers near me”, each in the 10,000 to 100,000 range¹. The data covered 569 distinct terms nationally¹.

Patterns that matter:

• Selling intent is expensive. “Sell gold” carried Google’s top-of-page bid estimate (high range) of $23.12 nationally and “sell jewelry near me” $11.20, against a median of $4.60 across the category¹. Gold and jewelry buyers bid hard because a seller walking in with metal is worth a lot.
• Coins and gold are everywhere. “Coins and gold” is among the top terms in 39 of the 40 state reports, and “coin buyers near me” in 32¹.
• Estate sales are a weekend habit. “Estate sales near me this weekend” and “estate sales near me today” are both in the national top terms¹, and “estate sales near me” is among the top terms in 27 of the 40 state reports¹.
• “Antique” barely appears. No state report has a term containing “antique” or “appraisal” among its top terms, while “auction house” appears in 25 of 40¹. People search for the action (sell, consign, estate sale, auction), not the category.

California, Florida, Texas and New York are the largest markets by search demand¹. Median bid estimates vary less by state here than in many categories, from about $2 to about $4.60¹.

Auction platforms

Two national platforms carry a large share of online bidding for regional auction houses. Both pages below are the companies’ own descriptions.

• LiveAuctioneers says it has run online bidding since 2002, when it partnered with eBay on eBay Live Auctions, and that it brings “an international audience of millions” to art, antiques, jewelry and collectibles auctions in more than 50 countries². It offers an auction results database of more than 29 million results and a Consignment Hub where people can submit property for review by thousands of auction houses at once².
• Invaluable describes itself as an online marketplace for fine art, antiques and collectibles that partners with over 5,000 auction houses in 53 countries, with more than 66 million price records and more than 260,000 items listed³.

The Consignment Hub is worth noting: it is a seller channel as well as a buyer one, because it routes would-be consignors to houses². If you sell through a platform, ask how its seller tools work and whether your house appears to consignors in your region.

Fees and commission structures vary by house and by category, and there is no reliable public benchmark. The example below uses illustrative inputs only.

Worked example: what one estate lead is worth to an auction house

Illustrative inputs. Replace them with your own contract terms and results.

• Hammer total for a mid-size estate: $40,000
• Seller’s commission charged to the consignor: 15% = $6,000
• Buyer’s premium on top of the hammer price: 25% = $10,000
• House revenue: $6,000 + $10,000 = $16,000
• Direct costs (cataloging, photography, platform fees, labor, storage): 45% of revenue = $7,200
• Contribution per estate: $16,000 minus $7,200 = $8,800
• Estate inquiries that become a signed consignment: 20%

Value per estate inquiry: $8,800 × 0.20 = about $1,760.

Now a single-item seller. Suppose a typical walk-in consignment hammers at $600 and contributes $150 after costs, and half of walk-in inquiries consign. Each inquiry is worth about $75. The lesson: an estate pipeline is worth more than a stream of one-off items, and the referral partners who handle estates are worth more than any single ad click.

For a gold and coin buying counter, the math is different: margin per transaction times the share of walk-ins who sell. Bid estimates of $23 or more for “sell gold”¹ only pay if the counter converts walk-ins well and the buy price is competitive.

A common rule of thumb: track every consignment back to its first contact, and judge each channel on contribution, not on how many calls it makes.

Ranked for a regional auction house or a dealer who also consigns.

Estate and probate referral partners

Most estates reach an auction house through someone else: an estate attorney, an executor, a trust officer, a senior move manager, a real estate agent preparing a house for sale, or an estate sale company that cannot sell high-value pieces itself. Build a short list and make it easy for them: a one-page process sheet, a fast walkthrough, clear contracts, and regular statements to the executor. Families in probate are grieving and often overwhelmed, so patience and clear paperwork win more than pitch.

Online auction platforms

Use the platforms for reach, and use your own email list and site for loyalty. Strong catalogs (accurate descriptions, condition reports, measurements and many photos) sell better on every platform. Watch sell-through and average hammer by platform, and send condition reports quickly when bidders ask.

Google Business Profile and local search

Google ranks local results mainly on relevance, distance and popularity, and says you cannot pay for a better local ranking¹⁴. Sellers search “consignment shops near me”, “estate sale companies near me” and “coin buyers near me”¹, so make sure your profile categories, services and description match what you actually buy and consign. Post past sale results and real photos. Google’s U.S. Local Services Ads category list has no antique, auction or estate sale category¹⁶, so Local Services Ads are not an option.

Paid search on seller terms

Use the bid data to choose where to compete¹:

• Run seller campaigns (“estate auction companies near me”, “consign antiques [city]”) with a landing page that explains your process and invites photos.
• Bid on gold, coin and jewelry terms only if you run a buying counter and can answer the phone during business hours.
• Exclude bargain-hunting terms (“estate sales near me this weekend”) unless you run tag sales. Those searchers want to buy cheaply, not consign.

Appraisal work

Appraisals create seller leads, but only if they are done properly. USPAP, published by The Appraisal Foundation, is the national standard for real estate appraisal and other appraisal services, including personal property; the current edition is the 2024 edition⁹. The IRS requires a qualified appraisal for most donated items, or groups of similar items, claimed at more than $5,000, made by a qualified appraiser under USPAP principles¹⁰. The IRS also says the appraisal fee generally cannot be based on a percentage of the appraised value¹⁰. Donors, executors and CPAs need these appraisals, and some of those clients later sell. Keep appraisal work independent of consignment terms so the appraisal stands up.

This is not legal advice. The rules below are examples; check your own state with an attorney.

Auctioneer licensing: Texas

In Texas, a person may not act as an auctioneer or associate auctioneer without a license, and a licensed auctioneer generally may work only for an auction company run by a licensed auctioneer or for a brokerage run by a licensed real estate broker⁴. TDLR, which runs the program, lists 80 hours of classroom instruction at an approved auction school among the license requirements⁶.

Two exemptions matter for marketing. The law does not apply to an auction of property through the Internet, or to an auction conducted by an auctioneer physically located outside Texas⁵. TDLR describes the 2015 change as clarifying that a license is only needed to conduct live bid auctions⁶. Cities and counties may not require their own auctioneer license from a state-licensed auctioneer¹⁷. If you run live or simulcast sales in Texas, you need the license; if you run timed online sales only, check the exemption with counsel before relying on it.

Auctioneer licensing and auction conduct: Florida

Florida bars anyone from auctioning or offering to auction property in the state without a license unless exempt, and also requires the auction business itself to be licensed⁷. Before an auction, the auctioneer or business must sign a written agreement with the owner stating how the property is received and how proceeds are paid⁸. Rules that touch marketing directly⁸:

• Any buyer premium or surcharge must be announced at the start of the auction and posted or handed out in writing at the site.
• All advertising must include the name and Florida license number of the auctioneer and the auction business.
• An ad that leaves out the percentage of any buyer’s premium or surcharge that is a condition of sale is treated as false or misleading.
• Advertising may not be false, deceptive or misleading, including ads that disclose only part of the relevant facts.
• If an auction is advertised as absolute, the owner may not bid, and a lot cannot be withdrawn once a bid is accepted.

These two states are examples, not a national rule. Check the licensing board in each state where you sell or advertise, including how it treats online auctions.

Gold, coins and jewelry

Federal anti-money-laundering rules apply to dealers in precious metals, stones and jewels who, in the prior year, both bought more than $50,000 and sold more than $50,000 of covered goods¹¹. Retailers are excluded unless they bought more than $50,000 of covered goods from the public or other non-dealers¹¹. A covered dealer must have a written anti-money-laundering program approved by senior management¹². If you advertise “we buy gold”, you are buying from the public, which is exactly the activity that can bring a retailer into the rule. State and local secondhand dealer or precious metals laws may add their own duties; check yours.

Ivory and wildlife items

Federal rules prohibit selling African elephant ivory in interstate or foreign commerce, with exceptions for antiques and for certain items containing small (de minimis) amounts of ivory that meet strict conditions¹³. Do not list ivory pieces for sale across state lines, on any platform, until you have confirmed they qualify, and check your state’s rules too.

Reviews

The FTC’s 2024 rule bans fake reviews, buying reviews and undisclosed insider reviews, with civil penalties for knowing violations¹⁵. Ask consignors and buyers for honest reviews after settlement.

No reliable public source gives a seasonal curve for antique consignments or auction bidding, so this page does not claim one. Two patterns come from the search data and the nature of the work:

• Estate sale searches carry “this weekend” and “today” terms¹, so tag sale demand is weekly, not seasonal.
• Estates follow deaths, moves and home sales, which happen year round. Seller flow depends more on your referral network than on the calendar.

Pull your own data: consignments signed, lots sold, sell-through and average hammer by month for two years. Plan catalog themes around what your bidders buy and when.

• Spending on buyers when sellers are the constraint. Platforms already bring bidders²³. Put budget and time on consignment sources.
• Slow valuations. A family that sends photos and waits two weeks will call the next house. Reply with a next step within a day.
• Unclear fees. Consignors who discover the seller’s commission, buyer’s premium and charges at settlement do not come back, and in Florida undisclosed buyer premiums break the rules⁸.
• Mixing appraisal and consignment. An appraisal fee based on a percentage of value generally disqualifies it for IRS purposes, and an appraisal written to win a consignment invites challenge¹⁰.
• Ignoring licensing when expanding. Live sales in a new state can require a license there, even if online-only sales in Texas do not⁵⁷.
• “We buy gold” without a compliance plan. Buying from the public can trigger federal anti-money-laundering duties¹¹¹².

• Buyers are easier to find than sellers; national platforms already bring bidders to most catalogs.
• Seller searches (consignment, estate sales, sell gold, coin buyers) dominate the data, and gold and jewelry terms are the most expensive.
• Estate referral partners are the highest-value channel; in the illustrative math, an estate inquiry is worth over 20 times a single-item inquiry.
• Auctioneer licensing, buyer premium disclosure and ad rules vary by state; Texas exempts Internet auctions, while Florida licenses both auctioneers and auction businesses.
• Keep appraisals USPAP-compliant and independent, and check precious metals and ivory rules before you advertise.