Five Tips for Selling at Live Auctions

Ah, the old-fashioned country auction! The idea of a country auction conjures up certain images for people. The image of a fast-talking auctioneer offering up an antique table or chair is a popular example.

People who are buying household goods or collectibles are looking to get their items at the lowest price possible. However, the people who are selling their items at auction are hoping for the highest price!

Unless a person is in the business of buying and selling antiques or other items, not a lot of thought goes into how goods are prepared for sale via the auction process. However, if you are one of the growing number of people using auction venues to sell your collectibles or other inventory, there are a few things to learn first about how to sell at auction before you bring a truckload of stuff over to the next event.

Tip 1: Make sure the things you want to sell are a good “fit” for the auction house you’ll be using.

Never bring a load to an auction house without actually having been to one of the previous auctions. It’s important to get a feel for the type of goods that the house sells. For example, at one very rural country auction it was common for the owners to sell live chickens, pots and pans, car parts, and farm equipment.

After close investigation, this would not be the right venue for selling your daughter’s “Hello Kitty” collection. On the other hand, the spare John Deere parts that you bought at last week’s yard sale might be just the right thing for the buying crowd at this auction.

Tip 2: Be sure you clearly understand the terms and policies of the auction house.

Visit with the auctioneer ahead of time. Call to find out what the best days and times are to visit. One of the worst possible times to drop in for an informational visit with an auctioneer is the day of the auction. Call ahead and ask. While you’re at it, find out what are the best days and times to drop your stuff off.

Once you have a little time with the auctioneer, you’ll be able to find out what type of commission he or she takes from consigners (which is you), and what type of paperwork might be needed. Some auction houses send out Form 1099 tax forms at the end of the year. An auctioneer may need to see your identification and have you fill out a W-9. Be prepared.

Find out what happens to your items if they don’t sell. For example, some auctioneers may have a minimum starting bid. If, for some reason, one of your items does not sell, it may be grouped with another one of your pieces. Know the auctioneer’s strategy beforehand so that you aren’t surprised on pay day.

Tip 3: Make sure the auctioneer knows what you’re selling.

It might be perfectly obvious to you that the signed print you are consigning is a rare and valuable piece of art. However, the auctioneer may not know this particular artist. Make a note of anything particularly special about your items, and leave the note with the piece. Be sure to tell the auctioneer about it as well. He or she might determine that this is something to highlight on the company website or in the newspaper listing.

Tip 4: Present your items neatly.

No one likes to have to dig through a box full of grimy and greasy car parts to see what treasures might be in there. Separate the parts and lay them out on a flat, or use more than one box to de-clutter the lot.

There is no need to buy fancy display boxes. It’s easy enough to go to the local convenience store or supermarket and ask if you can have the emptied boxes or flats that they are discarding.

While it’s good to present clean items, take care not to ruin the value of anything by over cleaning. For example, if you find some old cast iron cookware, clean the obvious dirt and grime, but don’t scrub it to its original finish. For many people, this ruins the value of the item. So, clean and tidy and organized is the key here.

Tip 5: Don’t complain to the auctioneer if your stuff doesn’t sell for as much as you’d like.

The phrase to remember here is, “You win some; you lose some.” That’s just the way it is. There are some days where an auction house is loaded with people who all seem to want what you’re selling. There will be other days where the crowd is sparse, and the bidding is simply not competitive.

Remember that it’s in the auctioneer’s best interest to sell your things for the highest possible hammer price. But sometimes, it’s just not going to be a stellar sale. The auctioneer is only human, and is also disappointed if a sale doesn’t go as well as planned.

If you notice that every time you bring a bunch of goods to sell that you’re not realizing as much as you think you honestly should, try another auction venue and compare apples to apples. That is, bring the same types of items to the new auctioneer and compare the results.

Unless the auctioneer is particularly disagreeable or inconsiderate to you or buyers, there is no reason to confront him or her about a sale. If you find you just don’t care for an auctioneer’s style or methods, find another one. Believe me, there are plenty of them out there!

The primary thing to remember as you learn how to sell at auction is that the business is unpredictable at best. You will have good days, some not-so-good days, some great days. The more you sell, the more experience you will gain, and the more enjoyable the business will be.

How Important Is the Fundraising Auctioneer to the Success of Your Event?

I want you to think about the term “Fundraising Auction”.

A “Fundraising Auction” is an event where items of value are gathered, and then sold in a competitive bidding situation, either in a Silent Auction format, or in a Live Auction format by a Live Auctioneer. And since typically the best items are saved for the Live Auction, arguably it is the Live Auction that should generate a significant portion of the proceeds in any Fundraising Auction.

So why do so many non-profit groups consider the Fundraising Auctioneer to be the least valuable component in a Fundraising Auction?

The Hosting Facility gets paid.
The Printer gets paid.
The Caterer gets paid.
The Liquor Store gets paid.
The DJ gets paid.
The Florist gets paid.
But the Auctioneer … the individual who is expected to raise the lion’s share of the event’s proceeds… is expected to work for Free. And is usually under-appreciated for the professional services he/she provides.

I’m not trying to underscore the value of the invitations & programs, food, booze, music, and decorations. All are important in their own way. But each of these are “Expenses”. It is the Auctioneer who is going to bring “Revenue”… and thus, the “Profits”… into any event. Which is the ultimate objective of any Fundraising Auction.

Here is a real-life example of how under-appreciated the Auctioneer can be. In two comparable events we worked last year, during the dinner portion of the event one non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) at a table with the DJ, the Interns, the Volunteer Staff, and other event “Help”. The 2nd non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) directly next to the CEO of their organization, where we chatted about how important the pending revenue would be to their organization. Which group do you think valued the services of the Fundraising Auctioneer more?

Don’t ever under-estimate the value that a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can bring to your event. The Auctioneer adds value as a pre-event consultant. And the Auctioneer can change an event from a moderate to a huge success.

A Case Study Once I was scheduled to call an Auction for a major local non-profit group. They represented a very good cause and they had a strong and dedicated following. Their event was sold out, quality Live & Silent Auction items had been solicited, and the Special Pledge Appeal had been choreographed and was ready to go. The facility was first class, the appropriate caterer was booked, and the food was ready to cook.

But quite unexpectedly, some unseasonably inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation. Despite all of the committee’s hard work, cancelling the event was the proper decision considering the circumstances.

So the Event Committee scrambled to re-schedule the event for the following weekend.

They confirmed with the Hosting Facility.
They confirmed with the Caterer.
They confirmed with the Liquor Store.
They confirmed with the DJ.
They confirmed with the Florist.
Since they already had the Mailing List of those scheduled to attend, no new invitations had to be printed as all were contacted by email or telephone. So with everything in place, the group went ahead and re-scheduled the event for the following weekend.

But guess who they failed to confirm? You got it… the Professional Auctioneer. They thought so little of the Auctioneer’s contribution that they “assumed” that the Auctioneer would be available and at their beck and call.

But the Auctioneer already had another Fundraising Auction booked for that date with another non-profit group. It was only hour away from the re-scheduled event, and things could have been easily worked out. All Group #1 had to do was start their event one hour earlier, or one hour later, than the Group #2, and the Auctioneer could have helped both groups on the same day.

But because Group #1 failed to anticipate a possible Auctioneer conflict, because they failed to confirm with the Auctioneer before re-scheduling their event, their preferred Auctioneer had to bow out and they had to scramble to locate substitute “Volunteer” Auctioneer only days before their event.

And it cost them.

Learning Points

The Live Auction is usually where the profits are made at any Fundraising Auction.
A Professional Fundraising Auctioneer can be vital to the success of any Fundraising Auction.
The better Fundraising Auctioneers usually get booked quickly.
You need to recognize the important contributions that a good Auctioneer can make to your event.
Michael Ivankovich is a Bucks County Fundraising Auctioneer based in Doylestown PA, and serves the Great Philadelphia PA area. He has been a professionally licensed and bonded Auctioneer in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, has been named Pennsylvania’s Auctioneer of the Year, and has considerable experience in conducting Fundraising Auctions. Michael loves helping groups raise needed funds for good causes and one of his specialties is the “Special Pledge Appeal” or “Fund-A-Cause Appeal” which usually enables clients to double their revenue in a single evening.

Education and Education Institution’s Mafia

The most important and desirable thing human beings are gifted is the wisdom. At the outset, we are programmed in our reality of creation that we all should strive for education to acquire knowledge. In the past, many centuries ago, people acquired knowledge from those who were educated and from the experience of others. They learn how to evaluate through reasons and implement in their lives all the virtues.

Anil Sadgopal is an Indian educationist and activist, known for the Hoshangabad Science Teaching Program and for advocacy related to the Right to Education Act. The main feature of basic education is free and compulsory education for children of 7 to 14 years, education through craft, self-supporting education, mother tongue as medium of instruction, ideal citizenship and flexible curriculum.

In olden days educational institutions and teachers were very sincere and earnest in their profession. They ensured that the students were groomed into the system and they learn diligently with all sincerity. As the societies grew and spread across the globe, the education pattern has changed accordingly to suit to whom monetary benefits matters most. The respective governing bodies have issued guidelines to both government school and private schools to ensure students get the benefits. Alas! This has never been translated into factuality and the main purpose was relegated to the back and remained until to date. The government school failed in their aspect of duties whereas the private school has progressed to some extent of the huge cost of financial burden on the parents.

Bhanu Jain wrote in his Policy Institutions and Practice Term Paper and strongly recommended that the common school system is a must step that should be taken to insure the development of India as a superpower and as a developed country. Although it has been well-recognized decades ago that CSS is an essential step for attaining equality, social justice and social change until now no concrete and effective steps have been taken for its implementation.

The grave scenario is the behavior of developed and developing countries. The underdeveloped countries remain below the threshold of basic educational standard awaiting mercy from some philanthropist to elevate their academic level. It is a wishful thinking displaying their incompetence and ignorance to come to terms with reality. They get carried away by the false propaganda and modern infrastructure and doomed defeat at the end. They become victims of financial burden and remained in debt for many years.

These corporate educational institutions aim to haul maximum financial benefits from the parents and acquire properties from the government schools. The façade they create in the form of infrastructure, publicity, pomp and show besides greasing the palms of government officials. They also promote their image on social media and in print media.

On the contrary, the story is different when it comes to government school and its performance. A principal of the Urdu medium school in the old city of Hyderabad (India), Mrs. Gupta has elevated the ranking of the said school from below 250 to an astounding top 5 in the twin cities. It is to be noted that the government school in question has never raised any fee nor the salaries of the teaching staff. It has unequivocally established a fact that who is at the helm of the institution. A sincere and dedicated person will achieve a remarkable feat within the existing system and environments.

If consider, the government schools and the number of students who not only excel in academic curriculum but also in sports and other extracurricular areas. All outstanding sportsmen, whether in Golf, Hockey, cricket or any other faculty of sports has come from average families and government or private schools which do not belong to corporate school category. In the field of politics, research or administrative services majority has come from humble background and poor financial status. They all studied in regular government school in simple and humble surroundings. All philosophers, scholars and geniuses are from a humble background and not from the corporate education system.

The outstanding features of all corporate schools are hypocrisy, corrupt practices and snobbish attitude. They practice class distinction and make them conscious of their background. It is not openly reflected nor advertise, but progressively the Zionist culture infiltrated in Indian education system to create a society of corrupt wealthy group as seen in western societies.

It evidently and unequivocally established that what matters is not the corporate school, but the leadership and will to change the scenario. The foreign degrees and overseas stay for many decades are no criteria to achieve remarkable feat. The sincerity and dedication of commitments to provide valuable and meaningful education to poor and below average income group children is of prime importance.

These corporate educational institutions are slow poison which will make our societies hollow from inside. They are the termites and cause irreparable damage to the societies and their very personalities. They make feel inferior among themselves ultimately, they will be relegated in delusion in the long run. They will drift in the wilderness of chaos and confusion. They live a short life thriving on financial gain, eventually failed in their vision of faith and religious practices.

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Five Tips for Selling at Live Auctions

How Important Is the Fundraising Auctioneer to the Success of Your Event?

Education and Education Institution’s Mafia