How to find a great live auction and find items for resale.
quickauct...@charter.net
my name is Walt. I'm an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the
auction business and licensed in the states of MA, VT & NH. I own Quick
Auciton Service, a company that specializes in building and running
custom auctions. The types of auctions I run most frequently are
antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I've run everything
from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.
For more info on my company and our upcoming auctions please visit my
site at quickauctionservice.com or feel free to email me at
quickauct...@charter.net if you have any questions. You can also
find me on ebay as waltk1213.
I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My
goal for this page is to help folks get the absolute most out of their
auction experience. Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned
dealer I think I can offer something in your visit to this page. If
your an auction pro, please email me with your tips or stories! I am
always looking to for fresh input. Please note that I may reprint what
you send.
There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of
auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items
for re-sale on ebay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish
your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as
inexpensively without sacrificing quality. Some folks are just looking
for a fun night out. With a little luck and some perseverance any of
goals can be met.
Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar? You bet! Many times I've
seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction for a good profit,
although be advised, this should be done AFTER the auction is over in
order not to interrupt the auctioneer.
There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock
auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions,
specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate
auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent
auctions, charity and fundraising auctions and many more.
Since the auction world encompasses a huge variety of subjects, I
will target a certain flavor of the auction business each time I
revisit this site.
So let's start with: Article #1 Tips on How to Find a Good Auction.
There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some
ways to find the REALLY GOOD AUCTIONS.
1. Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of
auction you want to attend. ie: If your looking for a good antique
auction to start attending, stop in the local antiques shops and ask
for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious
right?! But here is what to listen for,... listen to what the dealer
DOESN"T say. The more a dealer speaks poorly or negatively about an
auction he or she attends, the more likely they are trying to keep a
good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep
attending a lousy auction?
2. Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad
section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy are indicative of an
auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, ( a set price on
an item). And usually a very enormous crowd. While any auction can be
profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy
ones, at least for the beginner.
3. What to find out before you go: If there is a phone # in the ad,
find out the terms. Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is
one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best
auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like
a tax that EVERYONE who purchases at that auction must pay above the
winning bid price. Most auctions in our days do charge a buyers
premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel than more than that is
greedy. I also don't agree with a credit card penalty. This is usually
disguised by stating a 12 or 13% BP that is discounted for cash or
check payments, hence a 2 or 3 % percent penalty for using your CC.
Don't you already pay enough interest when you use a credit card?! As I
said, I don't like this fee, but some people don't mind.
4. A good auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise,
usually 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and attend!
Never attend an auction if you can't make the inspection, never, unless
your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100
items per hour, which is why they sell "as is". They simply don't have
the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost
all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged,
refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of
any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.
5. A good auction will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be
one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty
auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.
6. When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so
dealers that buy the most often. Ask them where there are other
auctions in the area that they attend.
7. When you do find a good auction, attend it as often as possible.
By frequenting good sales you help increase the bottom line of that
business helping to ensure that they'll stay in business. It's tough
for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so
good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know
you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, and
keep you coming back, but more on that in my next article...How to
Attend an Auction. Until next article, Thanks for reading and have fun!
Cut & paste the link below into your browser to network with other
antiques & auction people.