another record breaking sale!
Thanks to everyone who attended our Jan 23 auction…first sale of the new year, and another record breaking sale!
This was the largest sale in dollar value we have done in Bond Head, the longest sale at 8 ½ hours, and the third largest crowd ever for a Bond Head auction!
It was definitely crowded and we could not provide much seating for the first few hours, but the bidding was strong and enthusiastic. I warned ahead of time on this website that we were anticipating a large crowd, and it seemed like people came expecting that. As the sale progressed we made more room for chairs and by the end of the auction everyone was comfortably seated.
When you have a crowd this large, and over 700 items to sell, you have to keep the sale moving. First three hours we averaged about 100 lots per hour, so that is a pretty fair pace to be selling at!
Prices as always were strong on the good and unusual items. The country and primitive items seemed particularly strong, and I think we have carved out a niche for ourselves in this particular market. That suits me fine because I do enjoy selling the country items.
Furniture prices overall were fair…the small tables seemed a little inexpensive, but the major items were strong. The dining room suite was low in price (only $400), but that is expected in the current marketplace. I warn consignors that the price on dining room suites will be low. However, in this case, the family that consigned the dining room suite also had some other nice pieces that did well, so it all averages out. That’s the way you have to look at things when consigning to auction.
Overall I felt prices were fair to strong, and that’s the best we can hope for. Not often do I see what I think are outrageous prices on items at auction anymore. There was a day, but I think the market has corrected, and prices are fair to both buyer and seller.
Overall I have to admit I was pretty pleased with our first sale of 2010. I had some concerns about the amount of merchandise we had to put into the hall, and with a record month for website traffic, I was a little concerned about accommodating the crowd. We had over 6000 visits to the website this month, so I was a little concerned about how many would show up! I did not want to be in a position where we actually had to turn people away, and even though it was close to happening, we still managed to accommodate everyone. If this was your first visit to our auctions, don’t worry, they are not always that crowded. When we start our summer sales in May in Cookstown, we have over three times the space, so crowding is never a problem there!
So once again thank you for a great start to the new year, and I look forward to another record breaking year!
Rob
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