I’m an auctioneer, AMA 🙂

[Gavelicious]

Ever wanted to know anything about the auction world? AMA 🙂

Do you talk naturally fast in general conversation?

What first attracted you to the profession, and how did you get into it?

What was the most surprising price an item went for in one of your auctions?

Also - anything you expected to sell and it was surprisingly unsuccessful?

and how often does someone not actually pay?

Is hitting the gavel as much fun as it looks?

Do you pretend you have bids when you don't, to run up the price?

I have known this happen at a house auction.

No! I don’t really talk that fast when I’m selling either. The fast ‘chant’ is more common in livestock auctions and is very much the American style

I started buying bits and bobs are Car Boot sales many years ago to sell online, then progressed to buying at auctions and selling at Flea Markets and Antique Fairs as well, all as a hobby/side hustle while working part time. I got into it just by asking an auction owner for a job! He invited me along (unpaid) to just watch how it works and I helped out a bit for a couple of auctions, then he took me on.

How do you get into this? It always looks so exciting at places like Christies. Does anyone bid by mistake. I guess that's the most common question. :D

What industry do you work in

Absolutely! 😂
If there are any children in the room, I invite them up to have a go.

we try and do as much research as we can into items but there are always surprises! I think the most surprising was what looked a torn piece of a rug, which turned out to be an unfinished (rather than torn) prayer rug that sold for £2600.

There are a lot of things that are not selling well at the moment, including mahogany furniture the low-mid end art. If I had a large try storage barn I’d fill it with mahogany as it’ll come back into fashion (everything does) or at least the wood itself will and so much lovely old furniture will have been lost.

People not paying is actually quite common, there are usually one or two from each sale that are a problem.

No, never. A reputable auction house will never do this. The only time this is acceptable is if you are bidding up to the reserve, so if a bid starts at 20 and there is a reserve of £40, I can ‘bid’ up to £38 so the person has the opportunity to bid the reserve and buy the item. I am open about this though and will often tell the person bidding what I’m doing and am always happy to answer questions about this.

What’s selling well, getting good prices at the moment?

If can be difficult to get into. At the top (Christie’s, Sotherbys, Bonhams etc) you will usually need a Fine Art degree and it then still be competitive.
Many other suction houses can be easier to get into a job, but as they are often family businesses, the auctioneering can be harder to get into.

I started at a family auction but the children didn’t work in the business. I was just very very lucky to be given a chance. I have now worked at four different auctions, mostly at a small rural general auction (I’m self-employed so still work at others occasionally).

Bidding by accident doesn’t really happen, you can’t scratch your nose and accidentally buy a wardrobe, but I do joke about it sometimes while I’m selling 😂

It’s often surprising what is selling well and what isn’t. When we do house clearances, we always advise the owner / family not to throw anything out until we’ve visited! (We once rescued £800 of letters from poets / writers from the bin…..oh the glamour 😂)

Whats selling well:

Gold / silver (although the value is very unstable at the moment, the long term outlook is considered strong)
Studio Pottery
Eastern / Oriental ceramics
1960s/70s rock albums
Retro computer / video gaming (esp Nintendo)
Vintage toys (people in their 50s reliving their youth!)
Uranium glass has seen an upturn in interest recent
Coins (mainly silver)
Good vintage costume jewelley
Quirky, unusual, unique items
Smaller pieces of oak/pine furiture
Art Deco items
Mid-Century furniture (Ercol, G-Plan etc) although I think this is going off the boil
Militaria

Not selling well:

Large dark furniture (esp Mahogany) - the feeling is brown furniture will get stronger again but not the largest items as houses are smaller these days)
Most china - dinner services, figurines, collectors plates etc (with some exceptions)
Art - paintings/prints (what is selling has dropped in value over last 10/20 years)
Glassware
Collection of ‘trinkets’ - thimbles, spoons, trinket boxes, model animals etc

Thats just off the top of my head!

That's allowed until the reserve is reached, a brilliant auctioneer did it for us.

OP have you ever seen it done over the reserve? Obviously you've never done it yourself!

When you’re leaving the house do you announce that you’re “going, going, GONE!” as you close the door behind you?

love your username lol

How does your auction house(s) deal with digital/online auctions? Do people online bid along virtually in real time along with people in the room?Is there a feeling that in-person auctions will die out at some point, or are enough people fond of the live ‘thrill’, as it were?

I collect vintage costume jewellery, mostly brooches circa 1920-70, and I've seen the price of those absolutely shoot through the roof in the last 18 months. What was an easy find at £1 several years ago is now about £6. A 500% increase.

If someone asked for advice about what to start collecting right now, something currently unpopular with collectors where prices are currently very low, but are likely to go up in value in years to come, what would you suggest?

I have, when I was a buyer.

OMG how have I never done that??? I’m definitely going to do it now 😂

Yes, people can bid online and in the room at the auction I mostly work at, but a lot of auctions are timed online only now (a bit like eBay). All auctions had to be online only during Covid and many never went back to live auctions which is such a shame. I’m hoping live auctions will continue in the future as they are so much fun! People do love coming to the auction, it much more exciting than just bidding online.

That’s such a hard question, if only I had a crystal ball! I think things out of fashion at the moment (mahogany, low-mid end art) are at a low point and will come back in the future.
I’d steer clear of any mass produced however ‘collectible’ it is marketed as and be wary of ‘limited edition’ items - that’s o my relevant if more people want to buy the items than the number produced. A limited edition of 500 is meaningless if o my 100 people want to buy them!
Make sure anything you collect isn’t just fashionable right now as that may not last and preferably has intrinsic value. I’m wary of Jellycat toys for instance as although they nice, they are hugely overpriced and fashionable now, but if they go out of fashion (remember Beanie Babies!) they are just reasonable quality stuffed toys, not the quality of Steiff example, which can be similar prices!

Look for quality, quirky, unique items.

Retro gaming is hugely popular, especially Nintendo and every Nintendo console has become collectible, so I think those DS and Wii games that are worth little at the moment are worth hanging on to. And if you can, keep boxes for toys and pop them in the loft. Worst case l, you children might like them in the future for their children, but they might go up in value.

Uranium glass is definitely on the up and can often be picked up in charity shops and at boot sales. You can buy a cheap UV torch online (the USB rechargeable ones are good) to check for it.

There are still a lot of bargains to be found in general auctions, especially in mixed lots, and things do get missed. You can buy lots at auction for just a few pounds which can be sold for profit at Boot Sales and on eBay.

if you've got a table, say, with an estimate of £30-£50 and someone's left an EasyLive bid for £50, do you start it in the room at £50 because that's what you've got, or would you start it lower so the EasyLive bidder's got a chance of getting it for £30, if no one else bids?

I have some antiques that my late father collected that I am wanting to get rid of now. I’m not keen on selling them myself on eBay etc and was thinking of going to an auction house but I have no clue how to actually do it.

My worries are:
How to start the process (do I ring them, email, go in?)
Will I get a fair price or could they go for less than they are worth?
Is there a minimum amount of stuff to make it worth while selling at auction?
Can you sell things like vintage crockery set, ornaments, old bottles, USSR ornaments or is it just old furniture, paintings and jewellery?
Does the auction house take a cut?

I’m kind of worried the auction house will con me or laugh at me as I don’t know anything about antiques or auctions.