On Friday April 23, 2015, we launched our brand new website, almost 8 years to the month, after we launched our first website. (more…)

It’s been an interesting week to say the least (more…)

a few reflections.

16 years ago this month (July), I made my foray into the auction business. Yes 16 years, 210 auctions, over 100,000 lots sold. I don’t remember a lot of the details of our first auction, other than me being very nervous and almost hoping something would happen so I didn’t have to go through with it!  However, I did go through with it, and the first sale went pretty well.  Probably was a 6 hour sale and lots of stuff…so that’s where not much has changed! In the beginning myself, Mom and Dad, and David Beasley set up the sale, and during the auction we had David, Dad and my brother Brian doing the handling, while Mom clerked and Carol Beasley and Patti Bradley took care of the cashiering.  My sister and brother-in-law Kris and Gerry Jansen did the food booth, and have done almost every one for the last 16 years. One of the things I am most proud of, is the fact that we have had so little turnover in staff over the years. Donnie Garner came on board a couple of years after I started and of course is still with us.  About 7 years ago Charlie McAteer joined us and is still with us. We now have Susan and David Niven helping out, as well as Tylor Fairbrass . and on occasion we call on Lisa Ferrie gives us a hand as well as Vivianna Beasley when we need some additional help on the cashiering end. My Dad passed away in 2004 . Patti Bradley hasn’t worked with us since we went to a computerized system and did not regularly need two people cashiering. I have always had a wonderful staff and I like to think we are now friends rather than co-workers.  There have been a few tough set ups and a couple of rough auctions, but over the years we have had many, many laughs as we worked together. Other than the fact that I am generous to a fault when it comes to paying my staff,  I think the fact that we all enjoy working together, is a big factor in staying together. So what have been the biggest changes over the last 16 years?  Moving the summer sales from the Bond Head hall to the Cookstown Curling Club 5 years ago was the first big change.  Then of course moving all the sales to Pottageville two years ago, has been a huge change and step forward for us. Starting my website 7 years ago was another huge step forward.  In fact the internet in general has been a big plus for the auction business overall.  I spend a lot of time working on photos, doing on-line advertising and promotion, Facebook etc, and I firmly believe it really has paid off.  Average attendance at our sales has increased by about 30% over the last 7 years, and I believe the internet is a key tool for reaching new customers. Another big change has been in the antique market overall.  Yes, there are many items that no longer bring the prices they used to, but there are also many items selling very well now, that would have been barely worth trying to sell a few years ago. The market is always changing.  Remember, the antiques market is decor driven.  Some items are hot…others are not.  That’s the way it has always been and always will be.  It is just a matter of trying to stay on top of what is hot, and meeting the demand.  This past year we have had record crowds to our auctions, so obviously there is a strong interest in auctions…you just have to make sure you are selling what people want to buy! So where do I see our auctions going in the future?  Well for the next few years I do not see many major changes.  I am happy with the direction our sales have taken.  There are still areas I need to work on.  Particularly I would like to eliminate more of the bottom end items and focus more on the mid-range items.  Smaller sales would be nice, but I still have to do a certain dollar value to make the sales feasible.  With that in mind, I do have some ideas, so hopefully they will come to pass. However, overall I am pleased with the quality and quantity of items that come our way. One thing I never want to change, is the over-all experience of our auctions.  I want them to continue to be fast paced, friendly and entertaining,, and that is something I will not change.  I truly believe auctions should be a fun day or night out.  When people enjoy themselves they will come back…hopefully again and again and again! So I will take this chance to once again thank my wonderful staff who have been with me over the years, my many long time consignors, and of course everyone who continue to attend our auctions. It has been a great 16 years, I consider myself to be very fortunate, and I truly look forward to many more! Rob

great way to start off 2015!

We started off the new year on a high note…our Jan 24 antique auction in Pottageville was one of our best!  Large crowd, strong bidding on most items….the kind of sale I like! (of course) (more…)

really!!! So quickly! (again)

Well another year has come and gone….seems like I was saying that just a few months ago! (more…)

hope you have a great one!

It may appear to you like we are in a very quiet time in the auction business. Granted, there are not many auctions in December, but most auctioneers still spend the month of December working on the January auctions. I have three auctions booked for January 2014, and even in this “quiet” time, it is still keeping me a lot busier than I had planned! However, busy is good, and I am not one to complain about having too much business! This is going to be a rather short entry.  I will get into a detailed “year in review” after Christmas. I will just take this opportunity to wish you a very merry Christmas, and all the best during the Holiday Season. I hope it still is a very special time of year for you, because it certainly is a special time of year for me. I enjoy decorating the tree, I enjoy the Christmas music, and I enjoy the lights, and even though I usually don’t watch most of the Christmas specials and movies on TV, there are a few perennial favourites for me. The 1951 Alistair Simms portrayal of Scrooge is a must for me…even better when they run it late Christmas Eve. I hope to watch Charlie Brown’s Christmas and How The Grinch Stole Christmas….hard to believe I have been watching those two shows since I was a kid! I do try and avoid the “Christmas controversies”  that some people drag out every year at this time.  I just do my best to enjoy the season, and that really isn’t hard to do. I will spend time with family and friends, and that is the most important part of the season for me. I will enjoy some time off close to Christmas, but will still look forward to getting back into the swing of things in early January. So once again I wish you all a very merry Christmas and all the best during the holiday season and the upcoming new year! Rob

maybe ask someone who knows nothing about antiques?

I am fortunate to have a friend who is earning his degree in computer sciences, so he is my “go to guy” whenever I need technical support. Computer was doing strange things so he came over to help me out. He admits he really doesn’t have much interest in antiques, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to get some feedback about antiques, from the perspective of someone who has very little interest in them.  Also from someone who is in his early 30’s So I asked his impression of my place.  He told me it was filled with old stuff, and obviously things I liked and collected, but not the kind of things he would have.  I pointed to a gingerbread clock. He told me he couldn’t see how that would fit into the decor of anyone he knew.  I asked him about an early electric lamp (I had recently purchased for $200).  He thought it looked tacky. I showed him a few other pieces, and he said they were not something he would like, but they would fit into the decor of someone like me.  He then told me he personally would like old advertising pieces.  I showed him an original finish dye cabinet and a nice little blanket box, and his eyes lit up.  Yes he said, he could see people he knew, fitting pieces like that into their contemporary decor. That quick, 10 minute walkabout, summed up a lot of how I feel about the current antique market. Younger people looking for unique, smaller pieces, they use as decorator items, but they are not likely to fill the house with antiques. There are “old style” antiques and “new style antiques”. “Old style” antiques are Victorian furniture, lamps, clocks, jug and basin sets, epergnes, glass, china etc. I think “new style” antiques are wooden boxes, cast iron, deco figurals,  teak, mid century furniture, advertising, toys, vintage etc.  Usually what appeals to the younger buyers, does not appeal as much to people of my generation ( 40-60), and our parents generation. There is a glut of “old style” antiques coming onto the market, as people in that age group downsize, switch to modern decor, or sadly pass away. As an auctioneer, I have to look at antiques in an objective manner.  My friend looked at a gingerbread clock, and couldn’t imagine a place in the house.  I look at that same piece and see a 100 year old clock that is still running!  He looked at my early electric lamp and thought it looked tacky…I look at that lamp and see an 80 year old piece that looks great illuminated at night in my room full of antiques. The point is, when it comes to selling antiques, it doesn’t matter what I think…or what you think…or what your neighbour thinks…it is what the potential buyer thinks.  In an auction, if you don’t get two or more bidders who want it….it is going to sell cheap.  Currently there is an abundance of merchandise on the market right now, that does not command the interest or price, that it used to. I am a long time lamp collector, and often see lamps selling for less money than they did when I first started buying in the 1970’s.  Some pieces that sold for $80 or $90 a few years ago, now may sell for less than half of that now.  We have to accept the fact, that’s what they are worth now, and that’s the price you have to expect. Probably 80% of the antique market is decor driven.  People looking for whatever’s “hot”,, and whatever’s “hot” will eventually cool off. Chances are you bought what you liked, because at that point in time, it was “hot”.  It was trendy…and the demand drove the prices up.  Now you and I have to look at those pieces objectively, and assess a current and fair market value. That sometimes means totally disregarding what you paid for it, or what it used to sell for, and look at it in terms of the current market value.  At times that is not easy to do. So the point I am trying to make is…step back and take an objective look at what you have.  Try to imagine what the current buyers are looking for…how they are decorating…how it fits into or reflects their lifestyle, and then try and determine what would be a fair market value. Maybe ask someone with little or no experience with antiques…and see what they think of it! Rob