Our first Victoria Day weekend auction….

and I now breathe a sigh of relief!

Thanks  to everyone who came out to our Sat May 21 auction…the first time I have done an auction on the Saturday of the Victoria Day weekend. I was somewhat anxious about doing this sale.  Originally I had the hall booked for May 28, but about a month ago was informed there had been a mistake in the bookings, and I would have to re-schedule my auction! So this was the only weekend available, and I certainly had mixed feelings. I was told it was the worst weekend of the year to do an auction, and then others thought it was a good time to do one, so opinions obviously were mixed. The key would be the weather.  If we were going to have a rainy weekend, then the crowds should be good because people then would have time on their hands instead of doing yard work. So it rains for 5 days before the auction, and the only day without rain forecast was my auction day!  Even worse, two days of rain forecast for the remainder of the weekend, so the nicest day to be outside was auction day….just my luck! We had a lot of good  smaller items…lamp parts, china, primitives, artwork etc., and I was hoping if I had the right quality, they would come regardless of the beautiful sunny weather…and they did! Certainly not the largest crowd we have had, but exactly the right number of people I hoped we would have to make the sale work. The sale lasted for 7 hours and the serious buyers were there until the end.  Approx 560 lots sold, and even though there was a fair bit to pack up after the sale, I was pleased with the results. We didnt have the quantity of furniture I normally have….approx half the amount, but that was the way I wanted it.  Not the sale to be trying to sell 150 pieces of furniture…the 75 pieces we had was about right. Having said that, there were some very good deals on the furniture…two piece flat to the wall selling for $400 was the one that stuck in my mind, but the furniture market is very volatile right now, and that is something we just have to live with.  10 piece walnut dining set sells for $500….yet 75 pieces of sterling cutlery sell for $1550 dollars, a crock for $400…Hornyanksi prints for $270 each.   The money is there for the right pieces, but if the piece isn’t right, it just does not bring the money! So overall I was pleased with this sale.  I don’t think I would do another one on the long weekend, but I have a full year to decide that! Next auction I do will be for Raymond and Cecile Bates, and that will be June 10th on a Friday night, and after that will be June 25th which is a Saturday night. We have been doing Friday night sales for years now, and they always worked out well, so hopefully that will happen again in Pottageville. I want to try Saturday nights for my general antique consignment auctions, because I would like to try something a little different for the summer months. I like the idea of a summer time Saturday night auction.  It gives people time to do whatever they have to do during the day on a Saturday, and then have a night out at the auction.  I think it is going to be fun, and I look forward to making the change for the summer months! So, as always, lots of good stuff coming your way…have fun on the auction trail! Rob