Buying
Our sales team are up and about at 5.00 am each morning and travel to personally inspect the fish landed. Calls are then made to our customers to inform them of the quantity and quality of available fish. This call is accompanied by a fax, which has a detailed breakdown of species, grades and weights.
Orders are taken prior to the auction starting at 8.00 am. The fish are sold on the electronic clock system, which sees fish sold in a ‘Dutch’ style, i.e. the price starts at a certain level and ‘spins’ down. The first buyer to press the button secures the fish.
Depending on the quantity for sale the market lasts from one to three hours. After the sale, customers are faxed with details of their purchases for the day.
Prospective buyers can buy in two ways from Shetland:
- They can simply buy direct from Simpson and Ward
or - they can lodge their own buying guarantee with the fish selling agents LHD. This way they pay their bill direct to the LHD. Simpson and Ward would then charge a commission to cover the buying costs.