Hi Jeff,
Depending on the size and overall value of the collection, we may be able to travel to the vendor, pack it and deliver it to our warehouses directly using our own vans. For instances where we have vendors from the US and other harder to reach countries, we may travel again, pack the collection and organise the shipping of it to the UK.
If a collection is too small or not valuable enough to make the trip worthwhile, it is the responsibility of the vendor to get it to us whichever way they see fit. We can help with this, but ultimately it is the vendor's responsibility. We always advise on insuring a collection if it is being delivered by a postal company.
Once a collection is in our building it then becomes our responsibility.
If a collection is coming into the UK for selling purposes through auction there should be no customs fees to pay as we have not bought the said item(s). As a business we pay rates and VAT, so everything we do is 100% above aboard. Please bear with us over the weekend - we shall get this information to you and your forum members on Monday as it is very important and we want all of you to be 100% confident with us.
Any other questions then please do ask.