and hope it never happens again!

I’ve had a lot of memorable auctions over the last 18 years.  The first on-site auction I did 15 years ago when we almost set fire to the house.  ( just a small fire on one of the tables of merchandise set up outside…we put it out).  Then there was the “mudfest” at the Cookstown Curling Club.  An early May sale that was so muddy around the building that I didn’t know how we were going to get people in or out.  (it turned out to be one of our best sales!) However, the most memorable sale was one that never actually happened! To this day I have never heard of this happening to another auctioneer. Sept 25 2010 we were to make our much anticipated debut at the Pottageville Community Centre.  It didn’t work out too well.  Here is a repost of my blog concerning that fateful event 4 years ago! I run this every year as a reminder!!!

The Saturday Sept 25 2010 auction was to be our big debut at the Pottageville Community Centre.   Well I guess we created quite a bit of talk….not about what happened…but what didn’t happen!   The auction didn’t happen!

This gives me an opportunity to explain what happened to our Saturday Sept25 auction…the one that was cancelled at the last moment!

The sale was almost completely set up, on Friday.  At 5:00 pm we were visited by a very nice young woman from the recreation department explaining that there was some confusion as to the auction date.  I believed we had a three day booking,  Thursday, Friday and Saturday of course. But it was brought to my attention that it was booked for Thursday 9:00 am until Saturday 12:00 am.

Ok so what was the problem?  We had all day Saturday to do the sale right?  No, actually 12:00 am Saturday is just past midnight Friday…and that is when we were to be done with the hall. There was another booking for the hall on Saturday, and we would have to have the hall cleared by 8:00 am Saturday.  Now I am not going to cast any blame here, because there was a mix up and miscommunication on both sides.  Verbally the hall was to be booked for 3 full days, but when the contract arrived I did not notice the Sat. 12:00 am mistake.  The point is, we had no choice but to clear the hall.

It took us two days to set up the sale, and now we were going to have to empty the building in a matter of hours.  I was overwhelmed and a little distraught, but it had to be done. I called back all my incredible staff, family members, friends and some consignors, and began the task of repacking and removing an entire auction! It took until 4:00 am, but we had the hall cleared and  contents stored in various locations.

I put a notice on the website at 10:00 pm, which was the earliest I could access my computer, and sent out the email list at 4:00 am hoping to catch people first thing in the morning announcing the cancellation

. Dave and Carol Beasley also sent out notice through their email listings, as well as Tom Clarkson Auctions, so we did everything we could to spread the word. I made a few early morning phone calls to people I knew were traveling a distance, but this is all I could do.

With about one hours sleep, I went down to the hall for 8:30 am Saturday and delivered the bad news to those who did not receive notice and showed up expecting an auction.   I was absolutely amazed at how understanding and considerate everyone was.  Not a single complaint from anyone….just inquiries about when the next auction was!  I really do have some wonderful customers!

At this point I want to express my deepest appreciation to everyone who came foreword to help.  The people I work with are not just staff, they are friends and family.  And they came to my aid as good friends and family would. Everyone showed up when I called, pitched in and did everything they could to help.  It was just amazing

. So here are the people I want to express thanks to on-line…I have thanked them over and over again in person, but I want you to know. Mom, my brother Brian, sister Kris and brother in law Gerry, Dave and Carol Beasley, Raymond and Cecile Bates,  Don Garner and his wife Audrey, and last but not least Charlie McAteer, who worked with me through to 4:00 am.  Also consignors who I called to pick up their merchandise, but would prefer I did not announce their names.  I was truly overwhelmed by the effort everyone put forth!

Also the many emails and phone calls from customers who offered whatever help they could. So a bad situation was made as good as it could be, and I once again thank everyone. Yes it is an experience none of us will forget, and a lesson for me to read the contracts carefully!

..and there are not many of them left.

I started in the antique business 30 years ago, and I was fortunate to open my antique shop, at a time when antiques where at their peak of popularity. I say I was fortunate, because it was during the time before antique malls and on-line selling.  It was the time of the “old style” antique dealer, and there are not many of them still around today. Most of the dealers I knew, myself included, bought and sold antiques for a living.  It was their only source of income. They paid the rent on their shop, and mortgage on their house, the vehicle payments, raised their families…everything on the income from antiques. Many would go to two or three auctions a week, buy privately as well, refinish the furniture, as well as work the shop.  It was not easy. I knew married couples who both worked the business.  One couple I knew lived over the shop, and their only vehicle was a cube van.  They would both show up at the auctions after a day of refinishing furniture and working the shop.  Go home with a truck load and likely not get to bed until after midnight.  They would do that two or three times a week. Many of the dealers I knew could be a little on the “crusty” side.  Most were pretty good dealing with people… however, others were terrible and I often wondered why they got into the business in the first place? Many of them could be pretty ruthless when they were buying at an auction. Very competitive and determined, and in my mind they would pay much more than they should have.  Often ego clouded business judgement. Some would conspire with other dealers to discourage some new, upshot dealers from buying at the auctions they attended regularly.  They would bid against the new dealers and run them as high as they could, just to discourage them, or at the very least, make sure they paid top dollar for anything they bought.  If you were new and cocky, and gonna show the old timers how it should be done…chances are you would get your wings clipped pretty quickly! Most of the dealers I knew where not particularly well schooled in antiques…they survived instead by knowing what people wanted.  If items were hot, they made sure they had them for the store. They followed trends…they were not ahead of the curve, or “thinking outside the box”…they just tried to get you what you wanted. I know only a few dealers like that now. We talk about what is selling…what is not selling…the outlook for the future of the business, and I really appreciate and value their input and opinions.  I need to hear from those dealers on the frontline…the ones directly dealing with the buying public…the ones who still make their sole income from the antique business. These “old style dealers” are the people I worked with and associated with for ten years when I had my store.  Nearly all of them are gone now…many passed away, while others left the antique business, when they could no longer make a reasonable living. Most of the dealers I know now, are hobby dealers.  They have retired with a good pension, or they still work full time, and just do antiques on the side. Antique malls and on-line selling, have created the opportunity for many collectors and antique enthusiasts to become part time dealers, and that is not a bad thing…it’s just very different from when I was in the business. (1984-1994). I interact with many dealers on-line, and the dealers that annoy me most, are the ones who do antiques as a hobby, but then seemingly look down on the old style, general antiques dealer.  It is fine to buy and sell only what YOU like, and complain about the buying habits of the general public.  They do shows, and sell to each other mostly I suspect, because most of the general public is no longer interested in what they are trying to sell.  One of these dealers recently commented about the “crap” some dealers are selling in order to make a living. My response was…”at least they are making a living in this business, and they are doing what they have to do in order to survive”.  That same “dealer” also has a good full time job, and never had to rely on the antiques business solely to pay the bills. So, hats off to the old style dealers.  The ones I knew and learned from. The ones who seem to be few and far between now.  The ones I will remember. Rob

looking back…I can’t believe I was that young!

So, another year rolls around and another anniversary auction. This is very cliché, but it is hard to believe it has been 18 years since our very first auction! I was the new kid in the business….in the auction business you can be 40 and still be considered the new kid. I honestly don’t remember a lot about the first auction…I was nervous and very serious…but I got through it, and overall the auction went well!  Since that day there have been over 230 more auctions, and more than 120,000 pieces sold…so it has worked out! We started out in the Bond Head hall, which is about 1/2 the size of the Pottageville hall…and  it was mostly a stand up auction with no air conditioning, and almost all the sales were packed!  Always over 500 lots and people stood shoulder to shoulder for hours on end.  I would get to the stage and look out over the crowd, and actually feel badly for the people crammed into the hall! We worked out of the Bond Head hall for almost 14 years, and then started doing summer sales in the Cookstown Curling Club.  We moved from about 2300 square feet to over 10,000 square feet, and started doing even larger sales! At the curling club, we had two rings running for most of the auction, and at one point we were selling over 200 pieces of furniture per auction.  I cut that back to about 120-130 pieces of furniture, just to make the sales a little more manageable. I have been very fortunate in getting quality and quantity for the auctions! For a year or two we did summers in Cookstown and then back to Bond Head for the rest of the year.  However, when we could no longer use the curling club, we moved to the Pottageville Community Centre, and have been there ever since. Looking back over the years I have sold a lot of good stuff…a lot of marginal stuff…and some outright junk!  There have been a lot of highs, and only a few lows…and no regrets. I’ve met some great people over the years, both as buyers and sellers.  There have been 100’s of consignors and thousands of people to our auctions, and I don’t think I could count on one hand, the problems I have had dealing with consignors or buyers. It’s been a pretty smooth ride. Looking back, the thing I am proudest of, is our staff.  The first few sales, myself, David Beasley and my mom and dad set up the auction.  Carol Beasley and Patti Vanderdonk did the cashiering. My brother Brian did hold up the night of the auction and my sister Kris and brother in law Gerry did the food booth. Dad helped doing the setup and auction until he passed away in 2004. Over the years the staff has continued to grow. Don Garner came on board about 12 years ago, and then  a couple of years later Charlie McAteer. David and Sue Niven help out when we need an extra hand, and now Lisa Ferrie works with us during the sale.  My brother Brian worked with us until last year, until the demands of his full time job conflicted with the auctions.  Pretty well the same staff for the last 18 years, and I think that says something. We work hard setting up the auctions but we usually always have fun while we work.  If you think the staff can be funny during the auction…you should hear what goes on during the setup!  (or maybe not). The auction business has changed over the years and I try and adjust to those changes.  Started the website in 2007, and that made a huge difference in my business.  I now spend a lot of time doing photos, working on-line, doing facebook etc,, and that’s a change in the business I really do enjoy. I adjust to changing prices and trends.  Prices have plummeted on some items and gone up on others, and that creates some challenges.  Too often I now turn down items I would have gladly taken into the auction ten years ago, but if there is no longer much demand for those items, it is no longer practical to take them into the sale. It is expensive to put on an auction, and in order to make it work financially, we have to average about $70 a minute in sales!  Of course that is just an average, but it points out why I have to be careful of what I take into the auction.  We have to work hard and sell fast, for at least 6 hours…and you have to have the right merchandise in order to do that. I am working on some changes in our business.  This past year I have been doing new furniture auctions for Spring Furniture in Barrie, and on June 1, William opened the Spring Auction Centre in Barrie.   That’s kept me very busy but it will also allow me to try and make our antique auctions just a little smaller, and focus more on quality.  That’s  something I have been wanting to do for several years now, so hopefully over the next few months I can make that happen. So once again I look forward to another year in this auction business.  When I wrote my anniversary news and views blog one year ago, I had no idea of the changes that were coming, and as I write again this year, the same is true. That’s one of the things I love about this business! So I will wrap up by thanking all my consignors, all the great people who come to our auctions, and my wonderful staff! Rob

but it is all a good thing!

This year has certainly been a very busy one for me…and it looks like it is going to get even busier! As you probably know, I have done several auctions of new furniture and home decor items in Barrie, for Spring Furniture And Vacuum.  The auctions have been going very well…in fact we have outgrown doing the sales in the retail store location, and as of June 1, will be moving the auctions to a much larger location in the south end of Barrie.  Sales will run every two weeks, and there are some pretty exciting plans for the future auctions. William Smith is the owner of Spring Furniture, and he has been working very hard with his staff, to bring about the opening of the new Spring Auction Centre. David and Carol Beasley work with me doing the auctions for William, and with members of my auction team, and William and his staff, we managed to make the auctions successful, despite having to work in some crowded conditions in the retail store location. So now we will be working in a large, open concept facility, and this will allow the auctions to grow and develop into something unique for Barrie and the surrounding area.  I am pleased to be associated with Spring Furniture and Vacuum, and look forward to the opening of the Spring Auction Centre! So now, this brings me to another point.  I have had a few people ask if I am going to give up the antique auctions, and just do new furniture and liquidation auctions…and the answer is…absolutely not!  The antique auctions have been a big part of my life for the last 18 years (and many years before that).  It is in my blood, and I have no plans of giving them up.  They can be very hard work, but there is an excitement and thrill of doing a good antique auction, that never fades away for me.  It is a big part of who I am. Now, I am making some changes to the antique auctions.  For the summer I am spreading them out to every 6 weeks, instead of every 4 weeks.  I want to concentrate more on quality and cut back on the quantity.  I am in the process of cleaning up a big backlog of glass, china and some lower end items, and then will concentrate more on quality items and good country items.  We do well with good pieces, and do particularly well with the primitive and country items, so I will continue to focus on those areas. Now that I have expanded into the new furniture auctions, it means that my entire income is not dependant on the antique auctions, so I can take this opportunity to adjust the antique auctions to make them even better! So there are some exciting things coming down the pipe, and the antique auctions that have been the mainstay of my business for the last 18 years, will just keep getting better!

or traditional auctions?

It has been a little while since I posted here, and my apologies for that.  Lots of things on my mind, but it has been hard to find the time to put them to print. (well digital print I guess) The last four months have been the busiest four months I have had in my auction business in the last 17 years…so that’s a good thing! Now however, I have a little time this week before the two weekend auctions, so no more excuses. I often write about the changes in the auction business and keeping up with those changes. One of the interesting changes, has been the number of on-line auctions emerging.  Not the ebay type of auction, but an on-line auction conducted from the consignors home.  Many auctioneers are now making that part of their business.  They go into a home, do the photos, set up a preview time at the house, create the on-line auction, and after usually about one week, the winning bidders come to the house, or whatever designated location, and pick up the items.  You can bid from the comfort of your home, and that is something that certainly appeals to some people. There are many situations where a consignor is not able to conduct a traditional live auction from the house, simply due to parking concerns, weather concerns, etc.  There are times when they do not have enough dollar value in their merchandise to justify the expense of a traditional on-site auction, so an on-line auction is a much better way to go. It is also getting more difficult to find appropriate halls to conduct traditional auctions.  You can run into by-law problems, occupancy and parking problems, booking problems, or the hall is just too expensive to rent for an auction. So I think on-line auctions are going to become more common.  It will be a big part of the future auction business. HOWEVER, having said all that…on-line auctions are really not for me as an auctioneer, or a buyer.  I like attending old fashioned, traditional auctions.  I like doing old fashioned, traditional auctions.  I like auctioneering in front of a live crowd of people.  I like working the crowd, joking with the crowd, getting response from the crowd…there is an adrenalin rush that comes with auctioneering.  It is hard to explain how I can sell for 7 or 8 hours straight, without taking a break…something starts and just doesn’t finish until the auction is over!  Most auctioneers will understand this…however, it is something that is hard to explain to other people. For the buyer, a live, traditional auction offers something an on-line auction can never offer. Auctions are exciting, auctions are very social, and I know people who attend two or three a week, and even though they may not buy much, they still love the social aspect of an auction.  You interact, you have fun with people, you gossip a little…criticize the auctioneer, enjoy the food booth. You remember the high prices, the low prices, the jokes the auctioneer made,, the response of some people in the crowd.  You will remember driving in the snow storm, but getting the piece you had always wanted.  Staying until after midnight and loading the van with your purchases. Standing in the rain and wondering why in the world are you doing this? Outbidding the dealers, or learning from the dealers…or both. There is an atmosphere, an energy and a feeling of excitement during a live auction, that cannot be duplicated.  It can be addictive, and it is not for everyone. You could go to an antique mall and buy your antiques, but most auction goers simply want to buy at an auction.  It is part of their personality, and they are not likely to change. The same goes for me as an auctioneer.  I already obviously spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen….working on photos and listings for the auctions… writing blogs, and I enjoy doing it.  However, that is only part of my business, and I don’t want it to become ALL of my business.  I need to work in front of a crowd…I need to be a traditional, old style, LIVE auctioneer.  I need to work with and interact with people.  It is what I love doing, and I am not planning on changing that. So, on-line auctions, can be a good thing, and they will become a bigger part of the auction business, but for the foreseeable future, this auctioneer will step away from the computer, and step up in front of the crowd.  That’s what I love doing, and that’s the way I will continue to do it. Rob

that is the question!

I always say the antique market is changing, and you should keep up with the changes, if you want to survive in the antique auction business. So here is something I would like to address.  Painting old furniture. Yes or no? For me the answer is yes, but with some considerations.  I don’t think you paint over good old original finishes, and I don’t think you should paint over good oak Victorian pieces, or nice walnut Eastlake pieces.  And of course you never paint over museum quality pieces! So what do you paint over?  Well, there is an abundant supply of older, lower quality pieces, and poorly refinished pieces, that definitely get a new life, and many more years of use, with a nice paint finish. Much of the furniture from the 1930’s and 40’s, had fallen out of favour with the antique crowd and the prices were plummeting. However, now  the walnut vanities, sideboards, china cabinets, in the bland brown or black finish, are becoming more sought after pieces.  They are relatively inexpensive to purchase at auction, and the ones with nice form and style, really do look much better when they are properly painted. Some skilled dealers, can now take a  walnut china cabinet that would sell for $100 or less at an auction, and with the proper paint job, can make a nice return on that piece. Personally I get a little tired of the honey coloured pieces of furniture that were all the rage 30 years ago.  Some dealers refer to it as the “honey money” period. Almost all furniture was stripped and refinished in golden oak or puritan pine stains. Now I like seeing some colour.  My preference would be for original painted pine furniture in blues, greens, yellows or reds, but they are tough to come across, and when they do come to market, usually command a pretty good price. However, I think a red, or blue, or black 1940’s walnut china cabinet can be a pretty striking piece of furniture, in the right room setting.  White or cream coloured bedroom furniture was very strong, although I think the demand for that colour is levelling off a bit. Several stores have opened in my local area in the last couple of years featuring painted furniture, and I think they are doing quite well.  Perhaps even better than most of the “traditional” antique stores. From an auction perspective, the trend to painting furniture, has helped my business.  Now I look at what may seem like a bland or poorly refinished piece, and if I think it has potential to paint, then I will take it into the auction.  Over the last few years, some of those pieces were quickly heading toward ZERO value, but now they are coming back in price.  Some were likely heading toward the dump, and now they have been given a new life, and will survive for many more years! So in summary, go ahead and paint the lesser quality pieces. Don’t paint the quality pieces, and the true antiques, but if it is a mass produced piece that really fits more into the category of vintage or older used furniture, then go ahead…give it new life!

a few thoughts.

This year (2014), marks my 30th year in the antiques and auction business….wow, give me a moment to let that sink in! I was working as a radio announcer in Newmarket Ont, and then decided to try my hand at selling radio advertising. 3 months later I decided I would quit BEFORE they fired me…and I made the right call. Now that I was unemployed, I had to decide how I was going to make a living.  I made a meagre living as a radio announcer, so I thought to myself, why not try and make a meagre living in the antique business? A friend of mine approached my with the idea of opening an antique and craft shop just outside of Bradford at the entrance to the Husky truck stop. Good location, very cheap rent, and I went into it thinking it may only last a few months, but I had nothing to lose. My friend and business partner decided she would have to pack it in after about six months. (she looked after the crafts and I did the antiques).  I changed the store over to just antiques and some giftware, and stayed there for 10 years.  It was a pretty decent business from 1984-1994…before antique malls and the internet…back in the days when people went out “antiquing”. Driving around to the small towns looking for shops like mine. It was a good time to be in the antique business. However, all things come to an end, and in 1994 my landlord sold the property, so I had to close the store.  It wasn’t a bad thing. 10 years working weekends and holidays, so I was ready for a change. For many years I thought about going into the auction business.On slow days in the store, I would practice doing an auction chant.  Once again I had nothing to lose, so I started working with local auctioneers, setting up the auctions and holding up merchandise during the sales. One day an auctioneer asked if I wanted to try selling some job lot items.  I remember very nervously selling my first item….a set of small deer antlers.  A friend of mine bought them, and as far as I know, still has them. I continued to practise, practise, practise during my spare time, and gradually sold for longer periods of time during the auctions, and even worked myself up to selling some of the better pieces. Within three years I decided to try an auction on my own.  17 years later, I am still doing it. So now I am one of the “old timers” in the antique/auction business.  I sold thousands of pieces when I had the antique shop, and have now sold over 100,000 pieces through my auctions. If you total all the auctions I have attended over the last 30 years,  I have seen over 1 million items sell through auction! So looking back over the  last 30 years what have I learned? Well I realize there is an awful lot about antiques that I still don’t know. I think I have a pretty good working knowledge. I can look at most pieces and get a feeling if they are good or not. However, I am not an expert in any one category.  There is a lot to learn about everything that has ever been made in the last 200 years. Recently I was dealing with one particular consignor, who admitted knowing nothing about antiques a couple of years ago, but decided he was going to start buying and selling. Suddenly he seemed to know everything, and took great delight in sharing his “knowledge” with everyone he came in contact with. One day I sarcastically told him, “If you want to know everything there is to know about the antique business, just ask someone who has been doing it for two years or less”. I think he got the point. So other than knowing what I don’t know, I have managed to learn a thing or two about the antique auction business.  Main thing is, the market is always changing, and it has changed dramatically in the last few years.  If I still had an antique shop and was trying to sell the same type of items I was selling  20 and 30 years ago…I would be out of business. If I was doing the same type of antique auctions, and in the same way that I was doing  them 17 years ago, I would likely be out of business as well. I have seen some items now sell for less than they did 20 years ago, but I also now seek out items that a few years ago would have been almost give-aways at the auction.  It’s all a matter of what’s hot and what’s not, and that will always keep changing. Technology has changed the auction business. Websites, and social media, have changed the way I promote my business.  I spend as much time now doing photos and working on-line, as I used to spend picking up items and setting up a sale.  I still have to pick up the items and set up the sale, but now I do the photos and on-line work as well.  However, the end results make it well worth the extra effort. I have dealt with a lot of interesting people over the years, a lot of good people, and I consider myself fortunate to now consider many of those people as friends.  Sadly I have seen a lot of people come and go, but that comes with spending 30 years in business. Looking back I don’t have any serious regrets about my 30 years of self employment.  I know I could have made more money if I had done some things a little differently, but I am still doing ok.  There is not much I would change, and at this point in my life, there is nothing else I would rather be doing. My advice to anyone going into business?  Do something you love.  It can take many years before the financial rewards come your way, and there is always the possibility that there may never be any substantial financial rewards.  You may spend the rest of your life just barely making a living, never having any “benefits”, and never receiving a pension.  However, if you spend your working life building a business that you love doing, than there is something to be said for that.  There may not be the financial rewards, but if you wake up most days looking forward to the day ahead, well I think that is a pretty good benefit. As I write this blog I am certainly looking back, but I also continue to look ahead.  There is much I want to do with my business, and I am excited about the upcoming years.  There are going to be changes, and some of them will not be easy for me.  I know there could be a time when I view this current period of my business, as the “glory” years, but I still look forward to, and plan for the future. So now I would like to thank you. Thank you for your support over the many years. Thank you for the good times you have brought to my business.  Thank you for being the most important part of my business.  Looking forward to many more years! Rob

where has another year gone?

  So another year draws to a close.  It feels like only a few months ago I was writing the final blog of the year!  The older you get, the faster time goes, and I certainly can’t argue with that. It continues to be an interesting time in the antique auction business. Throughout this year we had record high prices on some items, and then again record low prices (at least for us). Prices are certainly up and down, and I discuss this endlessly with other auctioneers and dealers. The consensus seems to be, the market is definitely changing, and we just have to live with that. I monitor other auctions, check on-line activity, and the same thing seems to be happening throughout North America. Prices may be flat in many categories, and it is an incredibly good time to buy antiques ,but quality items are still selling. We’ve had some good unusual pieces this year, and in most cases, the prices were fair to strong. Unusual, quality items still sell. The antique market has had a pretty strong run over the last 30 years, but now we are going through a period of readjustment.  Over the years, there were a lot of mediocre and in some cases, just plain terrible pieces selling for big money. I used to see poorly refinished and horribly restored pieces of furniture selling for more than what they should have, and a lot of low end collectables bringing big money.  That doesn’t happen much now.  I think many buyers are now more discriminating, because there is a good supply of most items on the market now. Most dealers have to buy cautiously if they are going to be able to sell at a reasonable return.  It’s also a very competitive market, and everyone has to work hard if they are going to make a living in the antique or auction business. However, as always, I am still very optimistic about my own auction business. The phone keeps ringing, and at times, even I am surprised at the quality of some of the items coming in!  It has always been, and still is, an interesting business for me, and there is nothing else I would rather be doing! I don’t anticipate big changes in our business in 2014.  I am going to be making some adjustments, but I do that every year.  I may diversify my business a little more, because I would like to try doing more than just antique auctions.  In October I started doing new furniture and liquidation auctions for Spring Furniture And Vacuum in Barrie, and I will be doing a third auction for them in January.  We would like to do 5 or 6 auctions a year for them, and perhaps pick up a few more on-site estate auctions, plus our regular antique auctions in Pottageville.  So I am anticipating another busy year, but let’s face it, none of us really know what the upcoming year has in store for any of us! So I will wrap this us by wishing you the best in the new year.  I sincerely appreciate my customers, both as buyers and sellers, and hope you will continue to be part of my business in 2014.  And by the way, 2014 marks my 30th year in the antiques and auction business!  More about that coming in the new year. Have fun on the auction trail! Rob