Auctions Q & A
1. What if it rains? We rent large tents to cover your auction in case of rain. Most of the time a rainy day is the best day for an auction. Rain, heat or cold doesn't play a big part in the auction, you just need to be prepared
2. When is the best time for an auction? Most auctions are held on the week ends but we do a lot during the week as well. The type of auction sometimes dictates the best day. Most of our Estate or household auctions are on Saturday and Sunday. Most business liquidation auctions are held during the week. If it's Real Estate only, usually we do them on a Thursday evening. As the seller you would pick the day best suited for you. Time of the year doesn't effect the auction except on seasonal items like boats or campers. Holidays are also very good auction days.
3. What about bad checks? I very seldom receive bad checks at auction. However we do assist in the collection of them and have collected every check for 25 years. We do offer a service where we will guarantee payment that day.
4. Payment: do you take credit/debit cards? Yes we take credit and debit cards.
5. What is a Buyer's Premium: This is where part or all the expense of an auction is passed to the buyer. The seller always makes the chose to charge the premium. We use this when ask to by the seller. This its typically use when a lender or attorney is involved or a business liquidation, and there are not enough funds to conduct an auction. Who gets the Buyer's Premium? In some cases this money goes to the Seller, some cases to the auctioneer, and some cases to both. There is a common miss communication that by using the Buyer's Premium it will hurt the auction. This not the case. Some of our best auctions for the seller and for me have used the Buyer's Premium. Think of it as a mark up on the item your are purchasing at a store, but at auction you set the price before the mark up. We use it less than 20% of the time. This is our opinion only.
6. What is my merchandise worth? Establishing value or market value is not hard to do. Most Auctioneers have a good ideal what to expect out of your sale. They are knowledgeable in the product they are selling. If not, most will contact other Auctioneers of Appraisers to find out the value of your items. With today's knowledge value is easier to find.
7. Tag Sale: Do you conduct tag sales? the answer is NO> The best for a seller is to use the Auction Method of Marketing to sell their goods. A tag sale is just a rummage or yard sale where someone puts a price on your merchandise and hopes that some one will pay that price. At auction competitive bidding always brings out the highest price. I have been in the auction business for over 25 years and would not want to price all your items. I can give a close estimate on them, but i would be doing an injustice to the seller if they use my value only and not that of the buyers in a competitive auction. The market changes all the time. I see typical items sell week to week and there is a big difference in the price of like items. At Auction everyone can bid on an item and are not forced to wait in line when only ten or so people can go into the house to look or buy that item. If four people were standing in line for one item and willing to pay up to $300.00 for that item but it was tagged for $175.00, that would be all it would sell for. Auctioneers are held to high standards by the State and National Auctioneers Associations as well as they must be licensed by that state to conduct an auction. The consumer is protected by State laws in regards to Auctions but are not when it comes to tag sales. And lastly, at Auction we can sell ALL your items in one day. This is our opinion only.
8.What are my duties as a seller at Auction? Basically a seller must have ownership in the items they are selling and can convey or transfer that to the new buyer. There are three basics steps for an Auction. 1 Before the auction, getting items ready for the sale. 2 The day of the Auction. & 3. After the auction is over. The Seller can chose to prepare the items before the auction or can hire the Auctioneer to get everything ready. The same is true for the day of and the days after. Each Auctioneer would go over these steps with the seller at contract signing.
Some sellers want to be involved and others want the Auctioneer to take care of everything.