Online Auction 2nd to 4th February 2026

[60136 Alcazar]

Churchill Auctions have just listed around 800 lots including R2R, telephones, radios (valve and transistor), amplifiers (lots of Quads), valves, instruments, meters, Betamax, VHS, television sets and advertising signs. Lot numbers of interest are in and around 644 to 715, 754 to 774 and 2000 to 2697.

Link to catalogue: https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/churchill/catalogue-id-church10018

[m0cemdave]

That includes some interesting stuff, and a few rare and hard to find pieces. There's even a Quad 303A2 complete with the bolt-on active crossover.

It looks like a combined sale of several large collections. Is that enough to saturate the market and continue the downward trend in prices for the more "average" items?

[G6Tanuki]

Only things of vague interest to me are a few Eddystone communication receivers, a Trio 9R-59, and in the last lot a couple of R1155s.

[Dave Moll]

A few telecoms items of interest to me, but probably not worth me bidding unless there is someone local attending who could initiate the "Forum Courier Service".

[G6Tanuki]

Interesting to see the hammer prices: it looks like the bottom has fallen out of the market for old brown wood/bakelite domestic radios and the new thing-in-demand is vintage microphones!

Even the couple of R1155 receivers went for a pittance compared to the £500+ I have seen them seemingly sell for elsewhere.

[Dave Moll]

And I see that the LST2 loudspeaking telephone (which I might have been interested in) failed to sell.

[Paul_RK]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

Interesting to see the hammer prices: it looks like the bottom has fallen out of the market for old brown wood/bakelite domestic radios ...

Prices mostly seem quite healthy to me particularly for the 1930s sets, and at least in line with those made by David Saunders' collection a year or so ago in Fakenham. My pick of them would probably have been the Ultra Panther, lot 2165, but the £150 hammer price is about as much as I'd have expected to have to pay for it at any time.

Paul

[David G4EBT]

I've mentioned before that those who send collections to auctions rarely do so in the expectation of maximising their revenue.

Most buyers - whatever the items in the auction - are dealers, who private collectors can outbid as they don't have to turn a profit. But whoever the bidders are, with radios and other electronic equipment, you are buying a pig in a poke. Take something like an Avo valve tester bought as seen. You've no idea about the condition of the roller switches, whether the meter(s) is/are open circuit, whether the transformer windings are intact. At best, if you visit and inspect, you would only be able to make a visual appraisal.

The action house will typically state:

"Please note: This lot is sold as seen. No condition reports or postage are available for this lot, or any lot in this sale".

So as fairground warnings state: 'You ride at your own risk'.

But from the seller's perspective, a whole collection of items which would take an eternity to sell is gone in an instant with no comeback. The alternative of selling via eBay, or on this or other forums, means taking pictures, giving an accurate description, then if the item sells, all the hassles of packing, posting, risking damage in transit and so forth.

Often, the sellers at auctions are executors dealing with a deceased person's estate, and time is of the essence. In such cases, disposing of a collection of anything will just be a facet of what's involved, such as a property clearance and sale, and winding up the affairs.

In my case I'm still in the land of the living, and have mentioned that we intend to downsize from a 4-bed house to a bungalow and relocating to be nearer our two sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. Hence, I'm in the process of disposing of all of my vintage radio equipment and radios, as well as woodworking and woodturning equipment. I want it all gone by the end of March. Anything which won't fit in a 3-bed bungalow just has to go.

I've already made several tips to the skip with reels of cable, flex, NOS electrical fittings, speakers, hardware. Components will be going to a chum, and surplus hand tools will be going to 'Tools With a Mission'. Yesterday, an acquaintance came with a 1/2 ton trailer and loaded it up with all the timber I had - woodturning bowl blanks and spindle blanks in sycamore, ash, mahogany, walnut, cherry, as well as lengths of softwood timber and sheets of plywood.

I could have advertised it locally and had the hassle of a string of strangers visiting for weeks on end, haggling, not turning up etc. I didn't/don't need the money and wouldn't take any - I wanted it gone. It took my chum all morning, and the garage is now empty.

The radios, valves and valve-tester will go to a local auction.

'Buyer collect' or 'FCS' rarely works, swap-meets are expensive in terms of time, table hire and travelling expenses, and in my experience, prices obtained are no better than local auctions. My lathes, bandsaws, routers, power tools and woodturning tools could be sold via our woodturning Club, which only meets one a month, but likewise, need to be gone.

Nothing unique about my position - it will be a well-trodden path.

Seeing stuff gone is quite cathartic!

I've got bits and bobs of test gear I'll post on the forum, but no radios.

[factory]

Originally Posted by m0cemdave

It looks like a combined sale of several large collections. Is that enough to saturate the market and continue the downward trend in prices for the more "average" items?

The auction site stated, day 3 was mostly items from a vintage HiFi shop in London, don't know if it's one anyone on here might know about.

https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/613cd1830d8a397094...al-auction-to-include-a-3rd-day-of/

Originally Posted by easyliveauction

Wed 4th February 2026 from 9:59am GMT - Day 3 (2000 - End) - The contents of a vintage Hi-Fi shop in West London and other consigned high end Audio & Visual items (Lots 1999 to 3000)

I'm hoping the one item of test gear I left a bid on will arrive on Monday, I organised a private courier to collect it.

David

[m0cemdave]

That old Chilton went for a surprising sum, considering what little is inside them...

[paulsherwin]

The run of the mill 50s radios seem to have mostly sold for £20 (presumably the minimum bid) or not sold at all. I'm afraid that's what I'd expect nowadays. The 30s and more specialist sets did better.