Catalogued Auction

Today's is a catalogued auction, the best kind, for a variety of reasons.

First, everything in the auction has a higher value than regular or "junk" auctions. It has to, in order to justify the labor and expense of giving it a number and description, printing out a catalogue, and putting a photo of it on line. We do this for our Antique and Collectibles month-end auctions, and specialty auctions such as the three we held for the 2300 piece Shawnee collection. It's more fun watching the bidding go up and up on some items, unless of course, it's stuff I wanted myself.

Second, we can tell when something is likely to be sold, since we go in number order. Doug's goal is 100 items an hour. We start promptly at noon, Doug's time, which means 12:10 everybody else's time, so a rough estimate based on item number will tell you that since you want item 43, if you also want to step out for lunch just before the auction gets going, it had better be a mighty quick lunch. If we're at item 146 and you're interested in 152, better postpone that bathroom or cigarette break. Today we have some 460 items, so it'll be long and the rear will be sore by the end.

Third, the number tag also comes with a description, so you know if that piece of carnival glass is Fenton, Imperial, or unidentified by maker. You can distinguish between two similar items, knowing that toy truck #57 is one you want more then #235 and will pay a higher price for. You can mark the heck out of your catalogue, making advance notes on the items to buy and not to buy, how much they're worth to you, and what you paid in the end for each. In other words, you know when you've blown the budget, or that you need not to until after item 369 goes by.

All this is easier for the customers, including me. What makes a catalogued auction easier for me alone is my job is much simpler when the consignor number and item description are already typed into the grid in front of me. We almost never have a single consignor for any given auction. Multiple sources mean variety of product, making wider range of appeal to more customers. But every consignor has to be paid for their own items, skipping none nor getting paid for someone else's. Each is assigned a number. I'm #34, whether it's brought in for today's auction or it came through last year. We skip around a lot, so in a regular auction we might sell 10 items from Marie, two from Nancy, one from Gary, ten from Doug, one from Gary, three from Marie, and so on. Somebody has to tell me a number before each item sold. Sometimes I have to stop the auction in order to get that number. Doesn't look good, except maybe to consignors who want to be paid accurately.

When the item description is already typed in, not only does it mean I don't have to, it prevents mistakes. Typos, mostly, but there are times I can't actually see the item being sold, and the verbal description is a bit lacking because everybody else in the room can see the item. Again, I have to stop Doug and ask him what we're actually selling. No way that looks good either. And if you only hear "capo di monte", how can you tell whether you're spelling it right? Is it "Sawzall?" "Saws All?" Or something completely different?

When all that is already settled, I just need to pay attention to the price and buyer number. This gives me time to watch the room during the bidding. It's better for Doug, because occasionally I can see a bidder who's not in his line of sight before he declares something sold. It's better for me because it's more fun. I get to people watch.

When I have a face to go with the name of the winning bidder that pops up on the screen as soon as their number is entered, I learn who the customers are. Next time Mrs. W comes in the door, I can greet her by name. I also learn that she's the one who buys household item and toys and games for her grandson, who also comes occasionally, along with his dad, the younger Mr. W. I learn that Barb buys antique furniture that needs refinishing, that the F. sisters buy the same kinds of glassware I like but have a much bigger budget, that Christine buys DVDs and music discs, willing to outbid nearly everybody every time, and has now started collecting books as well. I know Jack buys tools and Mrs. Jack likes a certain kind of decorative item, and that Curt buys a lot of new-in-the-box items just to give away to folks in need. Mr. O buys marbles and Mrs. O likes coins of a certain type, but Bill and Dwayne often outbid her for the coins because they're more serious about it.

It's not just about the buying. I learn about families. Woody used to come in with his daughter(s), but that was when auction were in the evenings. Now the daughters work on Saturdays. They might pop in before work and tell Dad what they want, and he'll sit there and bid for them and for stuff for the rest of the family. Shannon comes in with her mother. If there are tools, her father will be there too. Her husband has attended twice, but not for over a year. When I first started, Shannon was pregnant. After a bit, she started bringing in this adorable little boy in his carrier. Then he started going between Mom's and Grandma's laps. Now he walks around and one of them is always chasing him or feeding him, and sometimes taking him outside to stretch his legs. Oscar always comes late, a couple of hours after the auction starts, and brings his daughter, a quiet cutie who looks about 8, but who isn't too shy to come up front and pick a "choice" item off the front table after their winning bid.

I also get to watch what's going on behind the bidding. One bidder will "hide in the weeds", waiting until bidding reaches a certain level before jumping in. Another will put her card up and get mad at being ignored, but in watching the bidding she's never still in it at the end anyway. Once the price goes over her head, she relaxes again, but occasionally Doug - who also sees her - throws a comment her way that he actually does see her. Still, they both know that she's only going to go so high, and rarely goes home with much. She will occasionally score. She must be OK on the whole with the system. She keeps coming back.

But I have an hour now before I have to show up today. That's about perfect for a shower, getting dressed, collecting pop, cough drops and a few chocolates to nibble on, and driving over there. There are two "must-have" items today, and 5 I'm selling. The most expensive one I'm selling will tell me just how "must-have" those "must-haves" really are, or whether I'm just going to let them go. But however it turns out, it's going to be fun.

It always is.


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Afterword:

The auction was packed, setting a record for number of attendees. That's always good news for sellers, and today was no exception for me. My items pulled in several hundred more than my cross-your-fingers-and-hope bottom line, and my two must-haves are sitting on the kitchen table, at less than what I was resolved to pay if necessary. (The F sisters were late, arriving after I won both.) While it went extra-long, Doug was pleased enough with the results that he took the crew out to a local Chinese buffet for supper. I didn't get home until after 9:00.

Steve was finally well enough, after his pneumonia, to come and work today, minding the coins while potential bidders examined them and handing them out to the floor staff in the order of their sale. He was, however, too tired afterwords to do anything but go home and crawl back in bed.