Another Good Auction….

number 182 in our 14 years!

Thanks to everyone who attended our Monday July 26^th auction!  The hall was a little warm, but unlike the very humid conditions for the May auction, I don’t think it affected the bidding.  Maybe we are getting accustomed to the heat and humidity now and are now taking it all in stride! I had two very large auctions in May and June and this time I tried very hard to make this one smaller….I did…and I think it worked.  We had half the amount of furniture we had in the two previous sales, simply because the feedback I was getting indicated people where just overwhelmed with the quantity of furniture in the May and June auctions.  I believe that negatively affected the price of the furniture, so I thought I had better make some changes very quickly.  With half the amount of furniture in this sale, the prices seemed stronger.  We had some nice quality pieces and I was pleased with the results on almost all of them.  It is a rapidly changing market and we all have to make adjustments concerning price expectations.  What may have seemed like a low price 5 years ago, may now be considered a fair price…so we have to live with that and adjust expectations accordingly. Having said that, I felt the prices were rather low on some of the glass and china.  I did a quick check on ebay, and of course the same thing seems to be happening on certain types of glass and china there as well.  So once again, we have to be realistic and make some changes in our thinking. The month of July marks my 14^th anniversary in the auction business, and of course that makes me reflect a little. I think of the changes since I first started.  The biggest change has been the technology of course.  When I started I didn’t have a computer…no internet…no email of course.  I used to type the ads out on my old typewriter and drive them around to the various local papers.  Then I progressed to faxing them to the papers from the local coffee shop ( I didn’t have a fax machine).  A few years later a friend of mine, who was an early adopter when it came to technology…he was one of the first people I knew to have a home computer, suggested I should get a website for my auction business.  I told him I really didn’t see how a website would help my business, and basically auction goers were oriented to print, so they would not be interested in a website.  When I worked as a music director for a local radio station in the early 80’s, I listened to Michael Jackson’s new release of a song called “Billie Jean”, and promptly announced that disco was long dead, and there would be no interest in Michael Jackson. So in my lifetime I have totally underestimated the power of the internet and the popularity of the King Of Pop! Maybe it’s a good thing I make my living with antiques…I am better at looking backward than forward! However, 14 years in the auction business and I have seen a lot of changes. Prices drop on some items, rise on others.  Trends change…people come and go.  I have seen a few people come into the auction business determined to show us all how it should be done….and then seen them disappear just as quickly.  Also some of the established auctioneers have left the business, and the old style auction places that sold everything from household junk to antiques, have almost all gone. I am proud to say one of the consistent auctions in the auction business, has been my own little business.  I am still basically doing what I started out doing 14 years ago, with almost all the same staff, and some consignors who have been supplying me for ten years or more. Dave and Carol, Mom, my brother Brian and sister Kris and brother in law Gerry, have been with me since the beginning.  Don Garner has been with us for almost ten years now and Charlie McAteer for about the last five.  Great people who have all been a big part in making my business work. I started doing the sales in Bond Head, and then switched the spring, summer and early fall sales to Cookstown, and now will be moving the fall, winter and early spring sales to Pottageville.  I am planning some adjustments over the next few months, but that is an important part of any business. However, I will still continue to do “fun, old fashioned country auctions”.  It is more than just a motto…it’s what I truly believe in, and it was the reason I got into this business in the first place. Some good things happening…hope you will continue to be part of them! Rob IF YOU WISH TO COMMENT ON THIS OR ANY OTHER POSTING JUST SUBMIT TO  rob@robsageauctions.com I ALWAYS LIKE THE FEEDBACK.