You Just Have To Love An Auction!

As a dealer I get to spend a lot of time at auctions, well pre-COVID I did and hopefully post-COVID I will have both the pleasure and pain of doing so again.

Now, I know that auction houses have to do their best for their clients and achieve the best results possible for them but it doesn’t do any harm if they let a little bargain slip through from time to time, to keep us all amused. This is what this story is all about “time.”

I was pootling about before a sale, keeping my head down with notepad in hand, thinking about my first lot, when to my surprise the auctioneer up on the rostrum welcomes us and starts making the usual announcements. Why was this surprising you ask, well it was only 9:50am, 10 minutes before the start of the sale, people were still milling about the saleroom and a quick game of musical chairs ensued for those who wanted a seat.

The auctioneer finished the pre-auction chatter, checked the two computers in front of him were ready for internet bidding and decided there was nothing for it but to start the sale with lot 1; it was still only 9:55am! Well, he couldn’t get a bid at £40, or £20 and finally offered it for a paltry £10, all the time glancing down to the computers hoping for the internet bids to start racing away. They didn’t and even though I hadn’t viewed the lot I thought it was worth a punt, it must be worth a tenner I thought, up went my paddle and the auctioneer took my bid.

Nobody in the room bid against me, the auctioneer checked the computers, he pleaded to the room again; still nothing; went back to the computers again, clearly perplexed that the expected internet bids were not forthcoming and reluctantly brought down the gavel to complete the sale.

I’d bought lot 1 for a tenner, I couldn’t believe it. A dealer by the side of me asked “Is it damaged?” and I replied that I hadn’t got a clue, I hadn’t viewed it and I just thought it was worth a go. With commission it would come to £12.50 and it still wasn’t 10:00am! The sale still hadn’t officially started.

I would like to say that I sold it on the same day but no, it did take me 48 hours or so.  I sold it for £125 and that was still cheap, there was still something left in it for the next dealer.

The moral of the story, auctioneers should wear a watch.