O/T Auction Rant

I went to an auction Saturday. Half way through the trailer of boxes, garden tools, extension cords, etc. he jumps over to glassware to keep the ladies happy. When these guys have lots of small items, why don't they use two auctioneers? They had furniture, table saws and other shop/household goods. I din't feel like staying all day to play "hopscotch." Done.

Larry

been to auctions, where they have ran two/three rings, depending on how much stuff. if the are a family ran or hire helpers, that costs them.... ones i go to is a family of workers, a couple of hires, so they can get r done quickly.... remember it's all about making the mighty dollar today, less they spend, more they make.

[i:654c4848f0]"Remember it's all about making the mighty dollar today"[/i:654c4848f0]

Yup, not like the old days when auctioneers could be counted on to lose money. Don't know how they stayed in business in those days. ;o)

(quoted from post at 07:20:07 06/06/11) I went to an auction Saturday. Half way through the trailer of boxes, garden tools, extension cords, etc. he jumps over to glassware to keep the ladies happy. When these guys have lots of small items, why don't they use two auctioneers? They had furniture, table saws and other shop/household goods. I din't feel like staying all day to play "hopscotch." Done.

Larry

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That's just kind of how it works. Most auctioneers strive to keep the entire audience interested. If he concentrated on only the "guy" stuff until it is gone, there is a good chance that the buyers for the "women" stuff would lose interest and walk away. By selling a little of "this" and then a little of "that", there is a much better chance that ALL potential bidders will stay right there. The auctioneer is also obligated to whoever hired him to bring in as much money as possible, and the more money he brings in, the higher his commision will be.

That is NOT how a normal sale with a good auctioneer works. If he is alone then not possible to run two rings but then it would be a small sale. And at the start of the sale he would anounce the order of the sale and stick to it. Jumping like that will drive all bidders away and not hold any.

(quoted from post at 11:39:38 06/06/11) That is NOT how a normal sale with a good auctioneer works. If he is alone then not possible to run two rings but then it would be a small sale. And at the start of the sale he would anounce the order of the sale and stick to it. Jumping like that will drive all bidders away and not hold any.

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Most of the auctions around here are small enough that only one auctioneer is needed, and even if they did have 2, the two auctioneers would just get in each others way, and yes, they do announce the order of the sale before they start, and if there is equal amounts of glassware and hardware items, they do announce that they will start on the hardware items, move to the glassware, then back to the hardware, and then back to the glassware.

I just love the auctioneers that act like they have a bid when they don"t. Trying to trick people into bidding higher than necessary.

I've got to stick up for the auctioneers here. They are supposed to make as much money as possible for their clients. It is good to keep as many buyers at the sale as possible. Think of it this way:

You go to an estate sale that has mainly, glassware, lamps, silverware, and furniture. It also includes a beat up tractor, implements, and a power tool or two. You go to see the guy stuff. The auctioneer advertises the auction for 9 AM, which is when you arrive. The auctioneer, knowing that the lady stuff will bring the most money, begins on that and continues selling those items for 4 hours. After an two or three hours of couches, china, and clothes, all the men (including you) will probably have left.

This works the other way around as well. That is why good auctioneers devise a plan that includes the order of the sale. They start with popular high-dollar items, move into boring items while the crowd is energized, transition again into something interesting in the middle to revitalize the crowd, head back into boring items, and end the sale with a few very popular items in order to keep the crowd hanging around to the end. The order is usually published, or at least mentioned at some point. I think that auctioneers generally do the best that they can.

SF

Our local auctoiner likes to sell tractors at 1 :00(12 if its a small sale)after that all thats left is usally "junk" and is sold at giveaway prices.When I was a kid,they sold good equipment and then tractors last-kept the buyers all dayt.

In my area, the auctioneers would not do that for anything. If it is a combination sale the small household goods will ALWAYS sell first, followed by hayrack items and then machinery last. They will advertise an approximate time and sale order for each category. They won't dare make anyone angry. That kills that sale and future ones. Your auctioneer isn't thinking very well. Mike

If you don't feel like staying all day, go home. Around here most auctions take ALL DAY. I plan on coming home after dark.

We have an auctioneer in my neck of the woods that I like. He is quick. If you want something, you better bid cuz he doesn't linger. I have never seen him drag out anything. I have gotten stuff I wanted because people hesitated. Of course, auctions here are usually in 90- 100* weather.

JohnDeere720GA,

That's one reason why I quit going to Auctions.

The other is the Seller bidding on his own stuff only to get it bid up higher, if it goes high enough he lets it go if not he puts it back in the next auc I mean SALE.

The one I saw he didn't have to pay the 15% selling fee or the The 13% Sales Tax either.

I guess the auctioneer should have had you set his sale order for him before the sale.(LOL)Everyone has two things and how auctions should be run is one fo them.I go to probably 40-50 auctions a year and see amateurs like yourself that maybe hit a couple auctions that think they're experts.