If you want to grab a bargain – either to keep for yourself or to sell on – then you need to get to Minstead Auction. Assuming you’re in the New Forest on a Monday evening, that is. Held weekly at the village hall, the auction offers a huge variety of lots.
Many go for rock bottom prices – as we discovered when we took home a box full of stuff for the minimum bid of £1. Even if you don’t see anything you want, the auction is very interesting to wander around, people-watching, as locals gather for this weekly event.
Soft, hot, and even alcoholic drinks are available, as well as a selection of snacks and sandwiches. So you don’t even need to eat before you arrive if you’re short of time.
This guide to Minstead auction shares all you need to know before you go. Covered here is all the info you need, as well as what it’s really like to attend the auction. I’ll even tell you exactly what we brought home for just one British pound (plus the 10p buyer’s premium).
Read on to find out all about the weekly Minstead auctions!
Minstead Auction | Quick Facts
- When: Monday, 7 pm til late, viewing from 6 pm
- Where: Minstead Village Hall, near Lyndhurst, SO43 7FX
- Entry fee: Adults £1, children free – CASH ONLY
- Buyer’s premium: 10% on top of sale price – CASH ONLY
- Food and drink: – CASH ONLY
- Refreshment stall selling soft drinks, hot drinks, sandwiches, cakes, chocolate bars, and crisps
- Fully stocked licensed bar selling alcohol
- More info: Auction Facebook page
Minstead Auction | Top Tips
Take cash
As I may have highlighted above, you can only pay in cash. This applies to entry, anything you bid successfully for plus the buyer’s premium on top, and refreshments. So you won’t get far without carrying cash!
Arrive early
It takes literally ages to look at all the lots. You can view from 6 pm, and of course wander around as the auction proceeds. But if you’re serious about buying, arrive at 6 pm sharp so you’ll have the full hour. You’ll spot plenty of people walking round with a notebook and pen.
Take a seat
This is another reason to arrive early. There are some tables by the bar and refreshments area, but nowhere near enough for all the people who want to sit down.
So, if you want one, grab a table as soon as you come in – and be warned. If no one’s actually sitting in a chair, then it’s fair game! No one here has any qualms about sitting in a vacant seat at someone else’s table.
Some extra seats can also be found in the main hall, between the rows of tables.
Keep your number
Your party will be given a bidding number when you enter. Make sure you keep hold of this, as you cannot buy without it. The auctioneer definitely doesn’t have time to wait for you to find it when you want to bid…
Look down
As well as all the freestanding items and goods stacked on tables, there’s a lot of things under the tables too. Such as the ubiquitous kitchen sink! We found the box of goodies we successfully bid for under a table, too. So don’t forget to look down.
Stay late
If you can, stay until the end. Lots of interesting stuff was due to be sold after we left. Unfortunately, due to the demands of three bored kids, we had to leave early. Meaning He missed out on the tool box extension thingy, and I didn’t snap up a year’s supply of cheap coffee!
Bring kids’ entertainment
Fascinating though it is for grown-ups, Minstead doesn’t have the same appeal for children and teens. Make sure they bring a device – or whatever will keep them amused for as long as possible. Pre downloaded games and so on are the best bet, due to a lack of WiFi and intermittent mobile signals.
Attending Minstead Auction | My Experience
The Minstead auction is a New Forest institution. Yet I’d never been, and knew very little about it, until my partner said we must make the trip one Monday evening. And on a bank holiday when there were no kids’ activities running, the opportunity finally arose.
So He, Missy, Madam, Master and me piled into the car and drove out from where we live in Christchurch to Minstead, just past Lyndhurst. Though I’d been keeping an eye on the Facebook page for a while, I didn’t really know what to expect.
The sheer scale of the event was the biggest surprise. It seemed as though everyone in Minstead and Lyndhurst – and perhaps miles around – had turned out for the evening. The village hall was packed with trestle tables, laden with a broad range of goods, and people.
We turned up a little after 6 pm – around 6.10 or 6.15 – and that seemed perfect in terms of parking. There was still plenty of space. By the time we left though, later on, the car park was pretty full up. So if you want to get a spot, don’t leave it too late!
The auction is held at Minstead Village Hall, which opens at 6 pm on Mondays for viewing. Things kick off at 7 pm, led by a professional auctioneer, and the auction runs until late, when all the lots are sold.
Make sure you bring cash with you. You’ll need it to pay the entrance fee, and for anything you buy. Plus the 10% buyer’s premium on top of the sale price. We also spent around £10 or more at the refreshments hatch, buying soft and hot drinks for all of us, plus snacks for the kids.
After paying our entry fee – £1 for adults, with children going free – we wandered around to have a look at the lots. A fascinating mix, to say the least. I sifted through some vinyl singles and LPs, counted 12 cans of coffee being sold as three separate lots of a dozen each, spotted a cordless Dyson vacuum and hot and cold fan, and more. He, meanwhile, had his eye on a red shiny top box thing for his tool box in the garage.
You literally can buy anything. Including the kitchen sink. Yep. I spotted one under a table, complete with a lot number.
I was interested in seeing what a couple of Dyson items went for. There was a cordless vacuum, which was snapped up for £30, and a hot and cold fan, which I believe went for a similar sum. Bargains if they work, but do bear in mind that all electrical are sold for spares or repair. So assume they don’t work! Though the auction’s assistant did start up the vacuum cleaner so we could hear it running.
Unfortunately the kids got bored and restless, so we called it a night earlier than He and me would have wanted. But we didn’t go completely empty-handed. With Madam in tow, He managed to snap up a box of DVDs and CDs for only £1!
Now we’ve taken out the ones we want, the plan is to list them on eBay to find out if we can actually make a profit…
Whether you want something for yourself, to try buying low and selling high, or simply to spend the evening doing something different, then I highly recommend Minstead on a Monday evening. We’ll be heading back there ourselves – just as soon as we can convince the kids to come along!
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