Tips for Attending a Live Auction
Live auctions for antiques, collectibles. tractors or other what not can be both an adrenaline rush and a tedious affair. It can be a long day if the item you really want is dead last in the auction catalog. It can be exciting when you get caught up in bidding. There are tons of articles out there on auction tips. Many start out pretty mundanely, educating people about registering and getting a number and premiums. That all can be learned about two minutes by reading the catalog or being prepped when you register.
If I were to break things down into one single most important auction tip, I would actually pick five that ad to the standard advice.
1) If there is a preview several days before, take advantage of it to thoroughly inspect the items you are interested in. Unless the auction is very high profile, there won’t be a crowd there. If you are especially interested in something, this is your best bet to give it a thorough once over without drawing attention from other potential bidders.
2) If you preview the items on the day of the auction, quickly inspect an item, then walk away and inspect another. Come back and inspect the item you are interested in later, rather than spending an inordinate time at it. Don’t call your spouse, business partner or friends over to it. It may be no big deal to some, but buzzing around an item constantly does attract attention of others. They think what you are looking at must be something undervalued, or something they should pay attention to.
3) Choose your guests wisely. If you are attending with someone else, it is best to attend with someone who is interested in different kinds of items than you are. If not, perhaps you will have an agreement not to bid against each other on certain items. Or just play may the best person win. If you attend with someone who is not there to bid, but is just there for the fun, have a conversation with them about discretion. If you resell items, the worst thing is for someone to say, “hey, you can sell this!” There are advantages to revealing your status at auctions if you are a dealer, as some times there is a break on sales tax if you have proper identification or the auctioneers or helpers may alert you to other items you are interested in. Though this may be done with discretion. There is a belief that some auction attendees automatically try to outbid dealers so the precious collectible doesn’t “go to someone who is just going to sell it.” But then, how did THEY get half the stuff they have collected? From dealers.
Also, never bring someone who is going to guilt you. You know how much you are willing to pay for the item and know what it is. While you may not listen to the individual, it makes for a long day when someone tells anyone who will listen about how you just wasted your money on junk.
4) Never bid first. If the auctioneer starts the bidding off at $50, do not immediately jump to bid. If there are no takers, the auctioneer commonly drops the starting bid, often in half. Sometimes a lower bid creates a bidding war and the item goes higher than expected, but often you can get the item for under the initial bid offering or at least with a lower ceiling. If you are really interested in the item and the auctioneer has already cut the bid and there are no takers, go ahead and bid. You just might win it with a single bid, or at least not have as much initial competition.
5) Don’t be afraid to go to auctions outside of your subject matter. If you are not interested when the brochure for a farm equipment auction comes along, read the list of miscellaneous offerings. Instead of individually listed items there may be general categories. Often, antique trunks, kitchen items, or furniture can be found at these auctions without the competition of the usual crowd of the antique auctions. I remember finding a trove of vintage suits at a tool auction. I also recall finding some great tools at a collectibles auction.
What are your favorite oft-forgotten tips?
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