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ESTATE SALES/AUCTIONS
This is one of the better formats for buyers of antiques and collectibles if you learn the rules and ins and outs of bidding at one of these sales. Estate sales are usually brought about because someone has died and the family wishes to sale everything at one time. Sometimes this is brought about because of disagreement among the family members. I will discuss later on what to do when you end up at one of these sales. At times the person who owns the estate will sell all of their belongings for health reasons or to move into a home of some type. Regardless of the selling situation it is a great place to find antiques and collectibles at a great price.
Estate sales are usually held by a auction company or a realty company using professional auctioneers. Depending on the volume of articles to be sold the auctioneer can move quite fast talking in a language that takes time to adjust to. The sales are usually advertised in a local newspaper two weeks prior to the sale, but sometimes they will be advertised only one week before the sale. When you are checking out the newspapers for estate sales be sure to note the date of the sale and the starting time.
IMPORTANT!!! If at all possible go to the auction at least an hour early to check out the items going on the block. Most auctions will have an open house at least one hour before the sale and sometimes there will be a full day before the sale to check out the items. Why do this? Well if you wait until the time the auction starts you will not have time to view the items in a matter that will let you determine if you actually want to bid on it. NEVER bid on an item without first viewing the article before the sale unless you are sure it is something that you have to have and then bid only up to a value that is within reason.
IT IS VERY EASY TO GET CARRIED AWAY BIDDING AGAINST SOMEONE ELSE. A majority of estate sales will have the same format with a few variations thought up by the individual person or company. After I had wrote this guide I got to thinking about the areas I had been visiting the last year. I found that if I was in say western Kentucky, Which has been rural for over two hundred years and is still rural the auctions were very lean on antiques and collectibles. The money or the merchandise was not there years ago for the people to buy, therefore very lean pickings.
Sure there would be the usual farm related items on the block, but that was not what I was looking for, the market is too small. But, if I was in central Kentucky, in a town that was near the Ohio river then The auctions would be full of antiques. Most of these towns are over 100 years old and have been close to commercial shipping and enjoyed a solid economic growth. So make sure you go to the right area when addressing estate sales.
The auction will be held either at the persons house, in the yard of the house or the auction company will sometimes have a building they use specifically for auctions. The sales that have the items outside is normally the best to go to, but not the most comfortable. IF YOU INTEND TO SPEND THE ENTIRE DAY AT THIS AUCTION TAKE ALONG A LAWN CHAIR. MAKE SURE THE AUCTIONEER KNOWS YOU BROUGHT THE CHAIR. Although it is not the most comfortable type of sale to go to this sale can be a lot of fun, plus you will get lots of fresh air and sunshine. There is also plenty of room to move around and inspect the items as the auctioneer is working on another part of the sale. There have been times at a large outdoor auction I would go back and take another look at certain items while the auctioneer was working on the glassware or furniture, since I have no interest in these areas it gives me a change to closer inspect areas I am interested in.
The auction is most often set up with the furniture in one area the glassware in another and so on. The junk or items not considered to be valuable are placed in another area. There will be times you will find an auction that is held by an auction house having several lots for sale, different estates being sold at one auction. This is usually the remaining parts of an estate that did not sell at the initiate estate sale. This is not a good place to find bargains, but it can be a place where you can find an item that you have wanted for a long time. Also it is a good place to go if there are no other auctions being held at the same time.
As stated above go to the auction early and spend some time checking out the entire lot that is going to be sold. There are some things not to do when you are going over the articles. There will be times you will find an auction that is held by an auction house that will have several lots for sale, different estates being sold at one auction. This is not a good place to find bargains, but it can bea place where you can find an item that you have wanted for a long time.
NEVER carry a book that relates to antiques unless you personal know the auctioneer. This is a dead give away that you know antiques and the auctioneer will possibly target you when you start bidding. He is there to make the most money he can for the owner and the auction company.
NEVER show more than a casual interest in any item regardless of how excited you are about finding it. Check out a item and move on to the next. Although I don’t recommend it you can take out your notepad and make a note of what the item is and whether or not you want to bid on it. You should wait until you leave then do your note taking in your car before leaving if you forget something you can always go back inside to relocate the item.
NEVER ask to many questions of anyone when viewing the items. Keep your own counsel and if you don’t know something about an object again use the notepad to make a note to check out the item in the books.
NEVER move articles around or try to group them for yourself This is totally dishonest and should never be done. If the auctioneer should caught you doing this you will without a doubt be asked to leave, unless you are a friend or a person who attends a lot of auctions and spends a lot of money at one of these auctions.
NEVER make a mess when you are viewing the lot. The person holding the auction has spent a lot of time, money and effort into setting up the items for display and this should be respected.
WHERE TO FIND ITEMS When you are viewing the items going on the block there are several things you need to look for at an estate sale. The most common antiques and collectibles will be prominently displayed and will be the first items up for bid. These will be the antiques that the auctioneer is familiar with and knows they will be sought after with high bids.
NEVER pass up the junk area, make sure you give that one a good searching. The American people will collect anything and that is usually what is in these areas, any and everything. I have spent an entire day waiting for the auctioneer to reach this area as this is the last place they will go to when conducting an auction. At this time the auctioneer is tired, the people are tired and thinned out, most have ran out of money or room to haul their prizes home.
You will notice if you attend one of these sales the man or woman who buys the most of this area will be flea market dealers. I have been to an auction on Saturday and saw items on Monday in antique shops that came from that auction many times. For the most part these are not high value items but there are treasures to be found here. There is one drawback to bidding on these items, you normally will have to take a box full of junk to get that one prize. The good part is that it will normally cost next to nothing for the whole box.
Example: I was waiting to bid on a small group of cameras and had been at the auction since nine that morning, it was now five in the evening and the auctioneer has finally reach the area I was interested in. He was tired, the crowd was small and he wanted to finish the auction. He picked up one box and started the bidding, no one responded so he picked up another box started the bid at one dollar, again no one responded. He grouped together five more boxes of staff, still no bids for a dollar. There were ten more boxes lined up in front of him and the cameras were in the seventh box. He added these ten boxes to the seven that were already up for bid. To make the story short I had to buy seventeen boxes of junk for a dollar to get the cameras I wanted. Those seventeen boxes gave up a lot of treasures I was able to move on the internet.
NEVER PASS UP THE BOXED ITEMS. At times the people setting up the items at an auction will not completely check out a certain box, old trunk, jewelry box, suitcases, camera cases and other boxes and cases that should be completely checked out. Make it a point to go through all suitcases, camera cases, jewelry boxes or anything that might have a hidden treasure in it. PLEASE REPLACE ANY ITEMS THAT COME OUT OF THESE CASES. DON'T MAKE A MESS.
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