Do You Go To Auctions?

[weaversofspeech]

When I first started my business I went to 3 to 5 auctions a week usually.  Some were great some were real duds but would stay because there was the possibility of picking up one or two items. Course if you did not get them wondered why you were there

Over the years they became to time consuming   work all day spend  2 to 7 hours an evening or the whole day Saturday  or Sunday so cut back. For about 6 years may only went to 3 or 4

Started going to them again about 4 years ago but am very very selective now.  Most we go to now  are at a distance.  No guarantees one can buy because of interest or price but the chances are there. I may go to one or two a month now

The ones I go to offer items I have a specific interest in. As said before may not be successful  but at times they are.   They also can be a learning experience  you get to see items you usually would not get to see the interest generated  meet new people and get contacts   

I very rarely go to general auctions but many do 

For many it's a fun way to spend the day or evenings.   Watching the auctioneers style and techniques. I know a few that are a real joy to watch do their trade.  They are masters at what they do . It also can be fun watching others there to bid.  Sometimes just watching their style of bidding  and at times reactions. Have been to some that have become Free For Alls fights arguments occur  Heck it's like a free show always wished I had brought popcorn And then there are times one goes to do battle with themselves.  Which can be a challenge  that hits a chord Trying to set a limit on what one will bid and blowing money  and at times walking out with items one really does not need  But every once in awhile you are over the moon at what you get. At times a real sense of satisfaction 

I find Auctions a strange animal just watching at times or participating in. You never know what will happen at times and that can be part of the excitement and enjoyment of doing so  

Auctions draw all types of folk.  Some are very serious some go to just see some can spend a lot some are on a limited budget but it draws everyone together no matter who they are  For awhile all are one and can be a great experience 

weavers

[reallynicestamps]

We go to the occasional 'antiques and fine art' auction here in Victoria.

And for what it's worth, if anyone needs good quality to fine antique furniture, Victoria is the place to shop.

Prices for British and American 18th, 19th and Edwardian to pre-WWII furniture are very low.

There have been, over the past century and a half, a lot of wealthy retirees (and remittance men) moving here and their heirs don't want their stuff.

My cousin bought her 11 piece Edwardian solid walnut dining room set for under $1100 including tax and delivery. We bought a couple of Georgian (19th century) oak end tables for $200.

The auctioneers are not in the entertainment business, nor are they trying to confuse the customers. So no silly chants.

But that's typical of high end auctions in my experience.

[weaversofspeech]

there is one auction few hours from here we go to occasionally.  The auctioneer is very good at what he does and because of that has a huge following.  He does not play games speaks clearly but has a great personality  and sense of humour. He blends his business and this very well and that has brought him success

Going to his auctions at times are confusing at first.  There are no bidding numbers  you just register your name and phone number. He has an amazing memory and is on the top of his game  You just bid give your first or last name and it's on the Trust system.  Course he says if one does not act properly he may not know who you are at first but usually someone else does and he will figure it out

It does not happen often.  He trusts his customers and they in turn respect and trust him

Often he will take a bid then stop look at the person and say you were at my auction 5 years ago and bid on this.  He recognizes most people who have dealt with him before. Quite impressive

others do play games but that usually does not work out for them they lose people that will not return and they defeat the whole purpose of what they are doing

[reallynicestamps]

I would mistrust most auctions that don't give numbers/paddles to the bidders.

Too easy for the auctioneer to bounce bids off the wall. (That's shill bidding in eBay parlance.)

Your guy must have built a strong reputation for honesty if he doesn't need the paddles.

[kawartha-ephemera]

Yes, I very much enjoy visiting a good auction house. The best of them operate a weekly affair and have been doing so for a long time. There are several located quite close so I will often swing by on a "preview" day to check things out, more often than not little of interest is found but then when just about having given up all hope... there is something, maybe a lot of "interesting" somethings. So, i'll be sure to attend in person that week but even if there is only a thing or two I'm slightly interested in I often attend anyway, grab a burger or coffee from the snack bar and just watch the evening unfold. Lots of good entertainment to be had for nothing really lol.

[weaversofspeech]

no bidding numbers is what confuses folks at first, I too would not trust to many auctions that don't use numbers but this guy is rock solid

Bouncing bids reminds me of a auctioneer I used to go to. This guy would go on for about 5 minutes of so stating this was a honest auction no shill bids etc the the first bid would be off the wall!

One night he did this and I was standing near the back wall When he threw out the first bid I ducked and he saw me

About 10 minutes later I was on the stage near him he leaned over and asked me what that was about. I told him I was ducking his first bid cause if it had hit me  it could have done me serious damage

he just chuckled

weavers

[kawartha-ephemera]

That Auctioneer must have an absolute wiz of a clerk working with him. The clerical mishap possibilities are just about endless. I wonder why not just give a little and issue numbers?

Rural auctions can be interesting. One sale I really enjoyed attending was setup in the stable of a 100 year old dairy barn. The attendees were seated in rows where the cows had once been
with the auctioneer elevated on a stage that wrapped around the whitewashed walls. As you can imagine ease of access was not the best for getting large items in or out of there so they specialized in smalls with just a smattering of furniture. Glass and China sold particularly well there and there was always lots of it. Friendly and efficient assistants ushered the goods to the seated buyers who tucked their prizes in boxes under their chairs, after wrapping the breakables up of course. The ambience and charm of that sale was quite wonderful. Sadly, the place burned to the ground a few years back, the business continues on now in a former hog salesbarn... online only!
The really odd bit is that 30 years ago I had actually bought weaners and chunks out of that same barn. Funny world.

[weaversofspeech]

I used to go to that one, that fire was tragic.  At one point there were different members of the family doing it and the family as a  whole had 4 different locations 

[kawartha-ephemera]

Small world. Yes, a sad day that was for sure, if only the wind had been blowing from a different direction it would have been only the furniture place that burned. Quite a few years before that very large building had been originally built as the main auction site. What other locations were there? Peterborough?

[weaversofspeech]

I am waiting for an auction that may or may not happen  It has been considered for 20 years

I have mentioned this before in other threads

My Great Aunt was a avid Antique Collector. Started at the age of 16 and was still collecting when she passed at the age of 96 or 7

Had the money to do so

At some point just had various pickers buy for her

My Dad's Second Cousin became a Full Time Picker with only her as a customer. She financed numerous Worldwide trips and he bought for her

Everything she collected was quality. As a child I was scared to visit her place in case I broke something. Still was nervous  when I got older

For years Museums such as the ROM in Toronto tried to get it

when my aunt passed her daughter took a part of the collection and the rest went into storage where it is now 

[weaversofspeech]

  Peterborough, Lindsay Oshawa and Newmarket area   Peterborough and Lindsay was immediate family the others were other family members

That auction house got a major boost in the early 80's.   They were contracted to conduct a Major Auction  from a Century plus Estate that was owned by one of the Major Lumber Barons of the 18thCentury from the area.  The estate sat empty for years. Awhile after the auction the building burnt to the ground. Only one part of the estate was untouched it is now used as a Museum based on this fellow and the town

To hold the auction the Auctioneer had to build a new auction building

No one was sure what was going to happen with the auction  they knew it would be well attended  but not sure how many would be there.    It was attended by bidders from around the world.   The local airport was packed all weekend 

I did not go looked after some folks shop

They went full of hope thinking there would be little interest in what they were going for

First night came back shell shocked  while they got a few items most went for astronomical amounts and went worldwide

[weaversofspeech]

the older building you mentioned was used as a Flea Market too. I cannot remember how many years if was in existance

[weaversofspeech]

have mentioned this before too

First auction I ever went to was in Haliburton Ont. A farm and Cattle Auction. I was working in a Group home and took some of the kids

Cattle going up for bids   One cows price kept rising. I finally clued in one of the kids I had was behind me raising his hand  :>0. He was 6 years old!

The auctioneer took his bids. Once I realized I stopped it  The Auctioneer tried to tell me I was liable for it. Soon backed off when I pointed out he was taking bids from a young child

Would have loved to splain that one to my boss at the home when I arrived back with  the kids and a cow in the van 

[kawartha-ephemera]

Haha ... bet that was an old time farm sale. Never take kids to a livestock auction, every time I took mine it was worth a guys life to try and get out of there without some critter or other.

[kawartha-ephemera]

Very interesting history that I was not aware of, thanks for the education. In the 80s and 90s did not have time for auctions. Much later I always wondered how a country auction house could have justified such a large building. The estate auction you speak of must have been quite an event, in those days there would not have been a suitable venue in the area, not even at the Fairgrounds.

In the last few years some of the most interesting paper collectibles I've come across came from estates of old families of that area. Dusty documents and photographs are favourites of mine.

[weaversofspeech]

We love old photographs   my other half specializes in them has over 30,000 of them.  Her interest is Canadian Ones and mostly involve people  Mine is The Peterborough Area  especially pertaining to the Roy Studio and small towns and events. I do not collect though.  My Interest in Peterborough started with Post Cards. I used to have an impressive collection now I love things related like advertising Tins signs  both the cities and Canadian historic documents etc   There are some amazing items out there related to it if one really looks. Again don't keep them but get a rush when I can get them

Only thing I collect now is a certain Tea Company's Tins  from the city circa 1906 to the 20's.   While there must be more out there there are only 16 known ones  with a certain Litho and I have owned 7 of them. Has taken me 30 yrs to find these a few I have parted with but it's the challenge of finding them that keeps me going

Postcards and Photos are little snippets of history that can tell one many things about the past and how we got  to where we are today

[weaversofspeech]

btw   do you know there is a show taking place in Peterborough the last Sunday in April? It's in it's 6th yr  It's a mixture of nostalgia retro and small antiques

[kawartha-ephemera]

Wow... 30,000 photographs ... that's an impressive collection. One could imagine coming across long lost favourites all the time in a collection of that size.

My tendency is also to enjoy the find, then research and enjoy for a year or two before passing an item on to someone else. I think my favourite subject matter would be the multi generation family archive of postcards, photographs, letters, documents ... the still intact keepsakes of multiple lifetimes going back to the era of tintypes and ambrotypes.

A close second favourite area of interest would be original period postcard or cdv albums, I'm finding it harder to find those these days.

Tins are an interesting but mysterious area for me, I can only ever recall actually buying one axle oil can and that's it... think I broke even at best on that deal... insert sad face here. I've always imagined how nice a well put together collection would display in the home but alas that's not to be here.

[kawartha-ephemera]

No I'm not familiar with a Peterborough show. What sort of show is it? General antiques and collectibles?

Perhaps there is a website for the show.... will have to run a search.

[weaversofspeech]

the show is at the Evinrude Centre. The show is a mixture of small antiques  nostalgia such as toys ephemera advertising (can't say how much depends on who is there) anything related to nostalgia and Retro: Toys Comics  etc and items post 1970/80 to the early 2000's or so. I'm not well versed in that era 

oh and just in case ebay frowns on promos  I am not the promoter of the show  just passing on the info

I have run a show before.   Came up with an idea for one and got a friend of mine involved and we ran it together.  I was involved for three years in the running of it then passed it to her and stayed on as a dealer.   After she passed  2 other people over the years took it over. When I thought of it  I figured it could last 6 or 7 years.  It ran for 27 years. Never in my wildest did I ever expect it to last that long.