Worst Auction House Bough Art Deco Models in bronze Pictures were blown up to look like normal size…read morewhen l received them, they were 3 inches high phoned them they were very rude told me to write in l wrote in 8 times never replies on to say I had not paid when l had paid two weeks before. They really do not care about their customers.

Worst thing I did was to use them. There's no reserved price so they sell items for £1…read more Please use Gumtree or Ebay if you're not selling something very valuable. China valuer made me feel awful and wouldn't even look at my whole collection.

Continuing the fine family tradition. Old Robert is/was one of the least honest auctioneers i have…read morecome across I even remember him sitting there as people were bidding up their own items when their surnames were even on the stickers.Now they have have switched to a numbered system it is made even harder to spot this going on. Next generation of Smellie's in the less competent form of Andrew have taken over now but they are following in his footsteps. To place this company in the Yelp Antiques category is not accurate. Currently the antique selection is far poorer than it used to be and the specialised sales occur less often. The vast majority of the sale is low to average quality general house clearance and electricals. We seldom bother to go now as the goods are nothing like as good as they used to be. When last we attended they said how they hadn't seen us in a while but we had come on a good day. Dear heavens if that was a good day I dread to think what a bad one is like, the piles left dumped at the end of a car boot sale come to mind. The web-site is poorly designed and the online catalogue is very problematic to navigate. Well laid out catalogues available as PDFs to print out are what we expect here in the 21st century. Oh BTW watch what they call "leather" furniture.For most of it the closest it has come to a cow is if it came from a house near a field. Faults, damages and imperfections are not described in the listings of any items in the auction, it is very much buyer beware. Some refreshments are available on the site but I would be generous if I called it basic. There used to be more onsite but I by default avoided the serving area as it was just so vile and greasy. Compared to others at their level of the market I find their buyers premium to be rather steep. It is cheaper than some Glasgow ones but those Glasgow auctions deal in higher quality products so higher premiums are not unexpected. Upon finding bad reviews this company's staff added their own, I reported them and this does not incline me to alter my own. It does however demonstrate the honesty you can expect. Read Andrew's comments, plain English seems to be as foreign to them as accuracy.(This is also obvious when you try to comprehend the catalogue) My family has had dealings with this company going back to the current auctioneers Grandad we know what once it was and we know what it has deteriorated into. Judge for yourself but is any company actually going to openly admit to allowing what is done here? Asking me to remove my review and contact them directly was something I found very shady. I share my experiences to inform others, not to simply remove them if it is made worth my while.

I have been attending Hamilton Auction Market for the past 40 years, as a child with father, as…read moreyoung up & coming trader & currently as a well established dealer in antiques & collectibles. I attended there antique sale today & was told of this site by another bidder & I thought it would only be fair to add my comments regarding this Auction. I have always managed to buy something on a weekly basis at the Monday market of general goods, some good, some bad, the bad are always my mistake as I control my bidding not the Auctioneer. Generally the stuff going through on the Monday is what they say it is "general Household plenishings", albeit, there are antique & collectibles gems there if you look or better still if you know what your looking for. Mr. Smellie Snr. I have a bit of time & respect for, knowing him as the past Auctioneer for many years & always found him to be a perfect gentleman, even now when he drops in or does a bit of work at the antique sale he will find the time to say hello & enquire after you. The current set up suits me fine, lot numbering is more organised & at least you know whats coming up, the viewing is 2 hours Friday & 2 hours Monday, like most auction rooms it is a mixed bag from week to week, one week its like the best chip shop in Hamilton with damages n all, other weeks the stuff is great, but that's auctions for you, if you don't view the gear you wont see the damages, more-so, if buying stuff that is antique has been used & around for years, the Auctioneers can't cover every chip, crack or ding in the place - my advice is get specs if you need em or accept the fact if you miss damage that's your fault....build a bridge & move on with your life. I read the comment that had previously been left & I have to say I was a bit taken a back, L.S. Smellie may not be Bonhams or Christies & no doesn't have a restaurant on site; but I can say with my hand on my heart & in all honesty this is my favourite buying room in Scotland & I buy in many...the staff are OK, just hard working folk trying to do a job, the regulars are mostly the same - with some colourful characters mixed in - which gives the place its own character. Cheers I.S.

I'm often found in antique shops or auctions these days. There is shops hidden behind byres road…read moreand down a wee dirt track road, there you will find Ruthven Mew's Arcade where there are 11 antique markets/shops under one roof, you can find unusual items like old furniture, lampshades, art's and crafts ware ect. Well worth a wander here.

Yet another fave of mine, The Real Deal is a wee gem of an antique shop that's opened this year on…read moreArgyle Street. Selling a great mix of items, you can expect to find old grandfather clocks, wicker chairs, ships in bottles and antique necklaces all for very reasonable prices. If you're like me and love rooting around old nostalgic stores, this place is for you. There's always a good rotation of stock in here and the guy who owns it is super friendly so keep your eyes peeled for some rare collectables!

Found a little treasure today whilst taking a stroll along Argyle street. This shop has, jewellery,…read morepictures, crystal,collectables, old bottles, tea sets etc etc The prices were outstanding, vintage brooches for only £4, beautiful sterling silver jewellery from £8 upwards. Old bottles for only £1, vintage china tea sets for £12. I bought couple of the brooches and a beautiful china tea set. Suitable for anyone on a low budget.

Antique Cave's clues are in the title - it's the only shop I've ever been into where I've been able…read moreto touch the basement ceiling! Very exciting. If you're six foot tall, expect to slouch. But that's all part of the fun, oui? This shop is mainly for big furniture rather than bric a brac, although there are still some vases and old books dotted around the bookshelves. Today I saw one about Hitler (entitled, would you believe, 'Hitler')...looked like an interesting old histoical but even the cover looked bleak and aggressive so it may be to someone else's tastes! They also had some more favourable drawing room reading of the Jane Austen ilk....love the covers on these old books. They're so elegant. Like I said though, it's mainly chairs, which you get your fill of if you go cave exploring downstairs. There's something to suit many tastes down here, from sofas to wicker chairs, and the prices are fairly reasonable considering the good condition of the stock. Upstairs you can usually find some lovely mirrors with gilded frames and the odd painting or print in the room at the back. But the best stock resides outside on sunnier days so if you spy something that tickles your fancy, you'll need to be quick to snaffle up the stuff showcased here. The owners are quite helpful if you're looking for anything in particular.

As the name suggests this place really is a cave of antiques and to be honest i would recommend…read morethat you bring the proper tools for the job if you intend to make the best of your visit.....head torch, climbing rope, canary and edible provisions would be a good idea. Joking aside...yes that was intended to be a joke.....this is a real treasure trove of the old and furniture type variety... Labyrinth like in its interior you really could loose a couple of days in here in search of a wee side table, coat rack, umbrella stand or whatever else it is that you hunt for in these places. Priced just a wee bit on the "well i never"side, this is definitely worth a nod if your on the hunt for old and slightly quirky furniture.

What ever you do! Do NOT use the online valuation service with McTear's. Especially, if the…read moreestimation that you received or any correspondence from Roderick Shale. After several emails and a large collection of close up images and videos provided via Google drive. Roderick Shale, confirmed twice his valuation. Also confirmed, three times that it would incur a charge of £80 to have their preferred courier Aardvark8 to collect the items. However, the day after the courier collected the said items. I received a rude and insulting message advising me that the items are not saleable. Giving no options on the message, I phoned him back and to say his attitude stank, would be a gross understatement. On top of that. He then offered no assistance in getting by items back. Then sent me an invoice for £110 and insisted that I can not get what I own back until the £110 was paid in full. Not only did he accept any responsibility for his wrong valuation. But, he has then forced me to pay more than he quoted for the courier service. Roderick Shale and Mc Tear's, now have my property in their possession and are refusing to assist with any help in getting my items back to me in Chester. Roderick even flat refused to put them back into the packaging that they arrived in so that I could arrange for a courier to collect them. PUT SIMPLY MCTEAR'S PROVIDE THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED! Roderick Shale, repeatedly took great pride in pompously pronouncing that McTear's have been in operation for 180 years. Now, I need to point out that it is the 21st Century now and standards have moved on some way from 180 years ago. So I say this to McTear's. Thousands of businesses disappear everyday by being stuck in the past and telling the customers that they are wrong. But, in the 21st century, the customer is king and competition is your enemy. However, with key employees like Roderick Shale as your face and representation. You and nobody else are pushing your business closer to the pile of fossilised 180+ years old businesses that have died through complacency. AVOID THESE GUYS. DO YOUR SELF A FAVOUR AND GO ELSEWHERE FOR A MUCH BETTER EXPERIENCE. ONE MORE APROPRIATE FOR THE TIMES THAT WE LIVE IN.

So I bought a bracelet with McTears recently and unfortunately the whole experience has just been…read moretoxic. Clearly they don't have a good specialist department for jewellery on staff as it wasn't until 30 minutes before the auction that they realised they'd incorrectly catalogued a lot. they never bothered to check the serial number of a Cartier piece to correlate it to the certificate. I left my bids directly with McTears prior to the auction but they never bothered to notify me of the amendment to the cataloguing. A lot without certification can be worth significantly less but they didn't think it was important to notify their bidders. Since then they still won't admit they miscatalogued the piece. I was happy to proceed if they just made a gesture of goodwill but they wouldn't do that. They insisted I pay for the lot as if it was correctly catalogued and pay for shipping on top! The girl who runs their jewellery department, Lucy, is clearly very junior and can't speak with any authority. I really wanted what I bought but was left feeling like a chump by the whole experience. So disappointing. I gave them so many opportunities to just make small gestures of rectification but they flat out refused. Clearly customer service and retention not important to them. Very disappointed. Not at all like dealing with a proper auction house. Amateur across the board. Buyer be warned!

Formerly known as The Glory Hole this place's name always used to give myself & my friends a wee…read morechuckle...T-hehee! Childish I know...but back in the days of said GH I was often in here buying and selling clothes (this was the days before eBay kids) which was a brilliant idea. I'm not 100% sure they still do that now, but because of eBay (other auction sites are available) I very much doubt they still offer this service. Not a vintage shop as such, more a nearly new shop as I would guess 90% of their stock is (very) new/modern items & a lot appearing to be hardly worn. So I guess I would describe this as a sort of 'vintage' shop for folk that don't like retro styles. You'll find high street & fashion labels such as Top Shop, ASOS, River Island and others as well as the odd Karen Millen & more high end/designer items too. Everything is laid out very well & there's lots of space to wander & browse, it's also got great lighting too which is something some other vintage/2nd hand shops seem to lack. As well as clothes they sell shoes/boots, bags, belts & some jewellery too. Everything is a pretty reasonable price, especially considering the condition of the items. You can pick up some real bargains here if you can be bothered searching (Me = always!). Last time I was in I found 2 dresses I really liked but didn't have enough cash on me to pay for them (Note: they don't take cards here) so they nice lady serving said she would put them aside whilst I went in search of a cash machine (there's plenty on nearby Byres road) and when I returned she very kindly rounded down the price of the 2 dresses saving me a couple of quid! Such a lovely gesture. The staff here have always been super nice & friendly which is always a wee bonus. It's service like that that keeps folk coming back. For trying on clothes they have one small changing area which is better than nowt but can be a pain when the shop's busy, but good things come to those who wait...supposedly! It might be off the beaten (Ruthvern Lane) track but this wee hidden gem is well worth a swatch. Another example of a fantastic wee local Glasgow business.

Glorious has always been one of my very first stops when shopping in the West End for as long as I…read morecan remember. In fact, from way back when it was known as The Glory Hole. (I actually prefer the risque name!) The problem with Glorious is that that I NEVER leave without purchasing anything, and that's no exaggeration. If I can limit myself to a fortnightly visit and a maximum of two items purchased I'm doing well. The stock is always carefully selected- lots of on trend pieces, lots of items you missed out on first time round from the High Street, and a nice little smattering of vintage. There's also always a great selection of handbags. I think the prices are extremely competitive too. Its always possible to get two of three items for under £20 but equally you might spot a really special designer piece and pay a bit more for it but still get a bargain. The owners and staff are lovely and always enthusiastic about offering an opinion if needed. They all seem to take great pride in Glorious and subsequently all items for sale are of the highest quality; washed, pressed and ready to be worn. Often this can be a rarity from a secondhand store. Cant recommend this place enough and looking forward to my next pay day!

Probably one of the worst auctions you could attend. Not only is the auctioneer one of the most…read moresexest you could ever imagine - you are forced to listen to him jibbering away all sorts of offensive rubbish all night. You are not allowed to talk - even in a whisper - do us all a favour and get yourself a mike and amplifier... it's the 21st century after all. Wear something warm - it's freezing in there... Actually you would just be better going to a car boot sale - a lot of it the items of sale are just tosh!

I'm a big fan of auctions and while the comfort of somewhere like Bonhams is always appreciated…read moresuch places can sometimes be terribly uptight. Much better to venture to a smaller auction house with a friendly atmosphere where the etiquette is a bit more lax. Not every auction house can afford seating for the punters, heating to stave off the savage cold on a typical Scottish night or even edible food, and of course you won't get any of these things at Robertsons. However, what you will get is a bad attitude from the so-called staff, unprofessional conduct and, only if you're very lucky, the item you bid for in the same condition as it arrived when deposited for sale. Be especially careful of bidding on boxes of items. I did. I examined the contents of a box carefully before deciding to bid on it, but when it came time to collect my purchase two of the items that had been in there when I examined the box were missing. The feeble excuse offered - another punter had removed them from the box they were supposed to be in before I examined the box and the staff had returned them to their proper place. The charges are reasonable as auctions go - probably the only reason they're still in business - but in all other respects this is a thoroughly shoddy outfit. Unfortunately, I didn't just visit the auction on a bad day. I've been there a few times and have witnessed first hand the offensive comments made by the auctioneer, endured the revolting toilets and braved the virtual zoo of animals running in and out throughout the sale. The owner may feel that "fussy people" should stick to Bonhams in Edinburgh, but I feel this is just a typical example of the arrogant and unprofessional attitude you can expect of the place.