Saturday April 21 Auction…

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April 25, 2012
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the big sales keep on coming!

Thanks to everyone who attended our April 21 auction…another big sale! 195 registered bidders, and of those, 149 bought, so we had a buyer rate of 76%. 8 full hours of selling, and for part of the sale selling in two rings.  By days end we sold 834 lots! Now I have been saying I am trying to make the sales smaller, and technically I have.  In March we sold 849 lots…so this sale was smaller by 15 lots.  I am heading in the right direction! It is true the sales have been large these past 4 months.  We have been averaging over 800 lots per sale, and in each sale we sell in two rings for part of the auction. This does make it a little noisy at times, but that is the way our sales have always been.  High energy…noisy…lots of stuff.  I realize that may not be the way everyone likes them, but it is what we are. The backlog of items in storage is gradually getting smaller…just give me a couple of more sales!  I keep telling that to my wonderful, but long suffering staff. There were no big surprises in this auction.  Primitives and country items selling well, furniture prices continue to be on the soft side, and when it comes to glass and china, prices are all over the board.  That seems to be the way the market is now.  I was talking to a dealer the other day who attended an auction on the weekend in the Hamilton area.  He admits he has not been to an auction in many years, and was quite surprised at the change in prices.  What used to be strong in price may now be selling for a fraction of what it did 10 or 15 years ago, while other items that used to be giveaways are now commanding good money.  The market is always changing…that’s what makes it interesting! It takes me a couple of days to do the paperwork and banking for each auction. This sale required me to process 36 consignor payment statements, and I make a point of making sure all paperwork is done within a couple of days of the auction.  When the paperwork is done…I can move on to the next sale! Speaking of which, I had a nice day on Monday.  For an auctioneer I think this is a good day.  Picked up Mom and we drove to Lucknow to pick up a consignment.  Lucknow is about 175 kms west of Barrie.  Beautiful farm country and a nice relaxing drive. When I arrived at the farm the furniture was even better than it looked it the photos they sent. Nice two piece pine corner cupboard, two piece pine secretary desk, pine dry sink, pine blanket box, 6 chairs and a few other items.  This is the kind of house call I live for! On the way back we drove through some nice towns I have never been to before, and checked out a very interesting antique shop, filled with Canadiana pine furniture, lamps, glass and stuff that reminded me of the kind of antique stores I used to see years ago before the antique malls started.  It was nice, very pricey by my standards, but nice none the less. An early dinner at Swiss Chalet and then back home.  For me, that was a good day. When I got home there was a message from my accountant telling me how much income tax I would be paying, and the windows in the sunroom were leaking. I am glad I had a good day…because it soon turned into a lousy evening! Time to get back to work…there is a lot to be done for the May 19 auction. Have fun on the auction trail! Rob TO VIEW A VIDEO SLIDE PRESENTATION OF THIS AUCTION PLEASE CLICK HERE
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