Auction Houses-Going, Going..Gone?

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Posted By: marshall barkman

Jim Vb you stated.....All auction house business is built on trust.

Consignors trust that lots they send in will be cared for, represented well in the auction, and, after the auction ends, payment will be timely.

Dude are you serious? Anyone that goes to high end auctions or are around high end auction houses know that what they are built on is generally DEATH. When folks die or are sometimes near death then the estate has to be settled,some estates contain rare art,baseball cards,furniture,silver,glass,jewelry and it generally goes to auction. Most folks also know that the attorneys are in bed with auctioneers and kick certain estates to different auction houses based on compensation through percentages which is under the table.

While all auction houses do generally mix in consignments along with estate goods most consignors know that finding a trustworthy auctioneer is impossible. I get phone calls from certain auctioneers requesting goods when they know that my consignment will enhance their estate sale and i just crack up when they say okay up for sale is this wonderful sterling silver tea set that was found packed away in the attic, ahhhhh it was not in the attic folks. The only reason i do not get F'ed with is because once when a local auctioneeer tried to burn down a vase i put in the sale i walked up and grabbed it from the runner and threw it against the back wall before it got to the buyer he was in bed with LMFAO. I'm not proud of the incident but word got around so no one has tried to burn me since and folks no longer go to his auction house and his business has damn near folded up.

America was built on free enterprise so only the strong will survive so i say let the games begin. If you want your business to be successful then start thinking outside the box and start providing special incentives for folks like here is a idea. If i currently owned a auction house then here is what i would do as a special offer. I would pick out a Hall of Famer that everyone respected and say anyone bidding in this auction that wins a lot gets their name placed on a ticket, the more lots you win the more tickets go into the hat. When the auction is over then i would pull out a ticket and the winner would recieve a free graded rookie card of the hall of famer,not a low grade either and also a signed ball and bat from the Hall of Famer. Treat customers with appreciation and give them bonuses and then check your ROI the following year.