FAQ – Selling

Just call us, e-mail us or use the online form or WhatsApp to send us the information and pictures of the items you wish to sell. We will then promptly get back to you with a suggestion on how to proceed.

If your item is suitable for auction, we will be happy to offer a personal consultation at one of our Expert Days, a home visit or an appointment for appraisal here at Rapp Auctions.  

In principle, we will recommend selling your treasures through our international auctions. In some cases, we will accept items for direct sale.

If you are considering selling your collector’s items, we recommend that you take advantage of the excellent market conditions at our international auctions.

• Worldwide connections: For more than 50 years, we have been maintaining excellent relations with collectors, dealers, investors, institutions and private customers all over the world.
• Outstanding selection: In the course of more than 50 years, we have sold collections and individual pieces worth more than half a billion Swiss francs in total.
• Online and hall auctions: By offering auctions both in our auction hall and online via live stream, we are able to reach a maximum of potential buyers.
• Excellent returns: Our choice selection makes for excellent prices. We’ve held the turnover record of 33 million Swiss francs for a stamp auction for decades now.
• Quality of service: We foster business relationships built on trust by offering top quality, both in terms of services for our customers and selection.
• Credit rating, security, independence: We are a fully independent, owner-managed family business with enough equity to secure your items.
• Personal commitment: We, that is Peter Rapp, Marianne Rapp Ohmann and team personally look after each and every customer, tailored to their individual needs.
• Tradition: We have been a leading auction house with unwavering success over the past 50 years.

Once they have inspected your items, our experts from the respective department will be delighted to make a free, initial appraisal, based on their longstanding experience and market knowledge. The type of art object, its provenance, specialty and condition all play a role here.
Please understand that we will only offer appraisals to potential sellers, i.e. if you intend to sell your treasures through us.

Individual items listed in the auction catalogue generally come with a careful appraisal which is based on our 50 years’ experience in the market. The range of estimated value shown in the auction catalogue is merely intended for orientation. Experience has shown that the actual sales price is usually around the upper limit or above the stated price range.

Larger items (collections, accumulations, lots) are given a starting price, which is intentionally low to entice interest. Top prices can only be achieved if as many bidders as possible take part in the auction, entering into a “bidding war” for the auction lot. We will confidentially inform you of the actual price expectation or our internal (conservative) value estimate before the auction. The achieved price is generally around near the top, or above, this price range.

Each consignment is unique and will be given our undivided attention. Our consignment fee covers the all-inclusive commission for preparing the item for auction and marketing your treasure, plus a pro-rata insurance fee to protect your consignment against risk or damage. The all-inclusive-commission will be based on various factors such as scope, complexity and value of your consignment, and will ultimately be agreed in the consignment contract.

To ensure that your treasures are processed carefully and added to our items for auction, we recommend making the consignment rather early, no later than 6 weeks before the auction begins. Ideally, this will enable us to initiate targeted marketing measures, which positively affect the outcome of the auction.

Our experts examine your consigned objects in detail and take care of the auction preparation of your pieces. We carefully do the lot descriptions, set the starting and estimate prices and take professional photographs for the auction catalogue.
We will always keep you informed in writing. After the processing, you will receive the consignment note, in which you can find all the details of your consignment. About four weeks before the auction, you will receive the lot number notification as well as the auction catalogue and, of course, a personal invitation to the Rapp Auction.

Generally, we are able to sell more than 95 % of all auction lots. If – despite all of our efforts – your consignment does not find a buyer, a contribution towards expenses of CHF 100.00 per lot, which does not cover the costs, will be incurred and the object will be returned to you. After consultation, we can include the lot in the next auction.

The proceeds will be paid out within 4 to 6 weeks after the auction has ended. Please let us know if you have any requests concerning the pay-out of your proceeds.