Hughes offers packing and moving services to the Southern California region, the cost of which will be deducted from sale proceeds. For sellers outside Southern California, we can recommend shipping options for your items. Once the items are in our showroom, they will be evaluated, professionally photographed, and marketed to a world-wide audience.

1. Send photos or book a walk-through. Use the form on this page, email info@hughesauctions.com, or call (626) 791-9600. For single items, clear photos of the piece and any maker's marks are enough to start.
2. Get a free estimate. We tell you what we think the item brings at auction, which of our sales it belongs in, and what the commission would be, in writing. A formal written appraisal is available if you need one for insurance or estate purposes, and the fee is rebated if you sell with us.
3. Sign the consignment agreement. It sets the commission rate, the estimates, the sale the item is targeted for, and photography and insurance fees. No other hidden fees.
4. We photograph, catalogue and market it. Professional photography, written condition reports, and promotion to our email list of more than 13,000 subscribers and a worldwide bidder base.
5. The sale. Your item competes in front of collectors who follow the categories we run, which is where auction beats a private sale: bidders bid each other up.
6. Settlement. Payment is issued within 35 business days of the sale.

Cost. Consignment at Hughes is commission-based. We are paid a percentage of the hammer price when your item sells, and the rate depends on the category and the value of the consignment. There is no charge to get an estimate and nothing to pay up front. You receive a written proposal with the exact rate before anything is agreed.

Timing. Items are placed in the sale that best fits them, which can be anywhere from one to twelve months out. Specialty and single-owner sales take longer to assemble but often return more. Once your item sells, payment is issued within 35 business days. If a timeline matters, an executor's deadline for example, tell us at the estimate stage and we will target a sale date that works.

A private sale gets you one buyer's opinion of value. A dealer offer gets you a wholesale number, priced so the dealer can resell at a profit. An auction gets you a room, and an online audience, full of people who want the thing you have and are willing to bid against each other for it. The Al Loving painting sold through this house at $187,000 and the Rolex Daytona at $60,000: both results were set by competing bidders, not by one buyer's first offer.

Consignment is also the right route when you are not sure what something is worth, because the estimate costs nothing and the market, not a guess, sets the final number. Read the seller's guide to getting the best price at auction or see when the right time to consign is.

Collectors and creators partner with Hughes to launch an auction brand with an experienced, staffed, insured, bonded auction backend service with decades of experience. It's a partnership that combines Hughes buyers with your followers and your stamp of approval. POWERED BY HUGHES facilitates the nuts and bolts of the auction process, setting the stage for an exciting, high-profile event that shines a spotlight on our client as curator.