# Catawiki > A weekly online auction house where experts pick which lots go up. Good for coins, watches, art and collectibles worth €100 or more, if you can photograph and pack them like a dealer. Catawiki runs themed auctions every week, from coins and stamps to vintage watches and comics. You submit an object, a Catawiki expert decides whether it goes into an auction, and buyers across Europe bid on it for about a week. The seller commission is 12.5% of the winning bid, and the buyer pays a separate auction fee. Your setup needs a clean photo spot that shows marks and wear, and strong packing, because most lots travel to another country. ## How a Catawiki auction works You upload photos and a description, set a reserve and a shipping price, and send the lot for review. Once an expert accepts it, it goes into the next suitable weekly auction. Bidding usually runs for about a week and ends with a countdown. When it closes, the buyer pays Catawiki, and you get a message to ship. ## Photos an expert will accept The expert decides from your photos alone, so show every mark, hallmark, signature and flaw. Shoot in daylight or under even light, against a plain background. A light tent gives small objects like coins and watches a clean, shadow-free look, and a tripod keeps close-ups sharp. ## Pricing and reserves Look up finished Catawiki lots for the same object before you set a reserve. A reserve near the real market value gets through review faster than a hopeful one. Leave room for the 12.5% commission when you work out what you need to clear. ## Packing for cross-border buyers Most of your buyers live in another country, so pack for a long trip with several handlings. Wrap the object in bubble wrap, then put it in a double-wall box with fill on every side. Seal every seam with tape and add the lot number inside the box. ## Shipping with tracking Catawiki pays out on tracked delivery, so always send with tracking, and insure anything valuable. Weigh the packed parcel before you set the shipping price. A parcel scale stops guesswork, and a thermal printer speeds up labels once you ship several lots a week. ## When the hobby becomes a business Once you buy objects to resell, register as a business and switch to a business seller account, which brings duties such as invoices and the EU 14-day right of withdrawal. Log each purchase price next to its hammer price from day one, and the figures Catawiki reports will line up with your own. ## Common mistakes - Setting a reserve far above recent results gets the lot rejected or unsold. Check finished auctions first. - Hiding a flaw in the photos leads to a dispute and a held payout. Show it plainly. - Guessing the shipping price leaves you paying the difference. Weigh the packed parcel first. - Sending a valuable lot without tracking and insurance means no payout if it goes missing. - Packing a fragile object in a single-wall box fails on a cross-border trip. Use a double-wall box with fill. ## Setups - [Coin and jewellery selling desk](https://sellersetups.com/setups/coins-jewellery-desk): A precision scale, capsules, a light box for close-ups and a careful posting routine, for selling coins and small jewellery from one desk. - [Comic back-issue room for Whatnot shows and eBay](https://sellersetups.com/setups/comic-back-issues-live): Long boxes, bags and boards, an overhead phone and board-stiffened mailers for selling back issues live in the evening and on eBay in between. - [Vintage ceramics and glass from a spare room](https://sellersetups.com/setups/homeware-ceramics-glass-room): A spare room set up for jugs, vases, tea sets and studio pottery sold on eBay and Etsy, with packing built around zero breakages. ## Guides - [How to post jewellery safely in the UK](https://sellersetups.com/guides/post-jewellery-safely): Pick the Royal Mail service that covers a ring or a gold coin, pack it so nothing rattles, and keep the proof you need if a claim comes. - [How to sell on Catawiki: auctions, experts and shipping](https://sellersetups.com/guides/sell-on-catawiki): Getting a lot accepted by a Catawiki expert, setting a reserve and a shipping price you can live with, and packing for a buyer in another country. - [How to spot fakes when trend reselling](https://sellersetups.com/guides/trend-reselling-fakes): Check Labubu, Sonny Angels, Pokémon cards and trainers before you list, learn how to spot fakes, and keep your account safe under UK law. ## Questions ### What does Catawiki charge sellers? Catawiki takes a seller commission of 12.5% of the winning bid, excluding VAT, with a small fixed fee on some price bands. Submitting a lot is free. Check Catawiki’s seller terms for the current table before you set a reserve. ### Will every object I submit be accepted? No. A Catawiki expert in that category reviews each submission and can turn it down or suggest a reserve. Objects worth under about €100 rarely get through, so keep cheaper items for eBay or Vinted. ### When do I get paid? After the buyer has paid and the tracking shows delivery. The buyer has a short window to raise a problem, and if they don’t, Catawiki releases the hammer price minus commission to your account. ### Who pays for postage? The buyer, at the shipping price you set when you submit the lot. Weigh and measure the packed item first, because you can’t raise the price after the auction. ### Can I set a minimum price? Yes, you can ask for a reserve price, and the expert may adjust it. A lot that doesn’t reach its reserve goes unsold, with nothing to pay. ### Do I need to be a business to sell? Private sellers can sell on Catawiki. If you buy to resell or sell often for profit, you count as a trader and need to register as a business, and Catawiki passes your sales figures to the tax office under DAC7 once a year brings you 30 sales, or €2,000 in hammer prices.