Buoy auction in Gloucester gets lots of support

It’s no secret that Gloucester has more than it’s fair share of artistic talent and last night I was able to share in some of the glory, albeit a bit vicariously. 

That is, I got to call bids for the 4th annual Cape Ann Art Haven Buoy Auction. The room at Cruiseport was full and the bidding for junior artist’s buoys was frantic! I was amazed at the creativity and impressed with the amount of support in the room. 

Below are a few hightlghts of the Art Show and Auction.

 

Also, before the auction was an art showpenguin buoyBeautiful carved Madonna and Child Buoy. For those unfamiliar these buoys adorn our public Christmas Tree each year. Flying dog and lighthouse buoys

Buoys inspired by Henna

To find out more about how to get involved with the Cape Ann Art Haven, go to http://www.arthaven.org/

The buoys sold from $50 to $200 each at auction. Thanks to all! I hope to see you here next year!

The attraction of "like things" at auction...oh & another contest!

One of the auction phenomenon that always amazes me, is what I call the attraction of like things. This is one of the craziest, yet relaible occurences that seems to happen with just about every auction.

It goes like this: You get a few particular kinds of items for an upcoming auction, and all of the sudden, from different places, the same types of items, or what we in the biz call “like” items, seem to come out of  nowhere.

There are a  couple of explanations for this, the first is: A client may see that you have a nice item in category A, so then they bring items in the same category because confidence was instilled in them. After all you already haves some nice items in category A, so it makes sense if they bring more of the same, the pool of potential bidders will grow stronger for that type of thing.

At least this should happen if the auctioneer advertises that he has those kinds of items. Usually he/she does. Especially since advertising and posting photos on the www.Auctionzip.com website is free to advertise on and gets a lot of traffic, so has become the standard bearer in the industry. 

Simply put, almost all auctioneers with experience advertise there, and most of the auction savvy auction goers check the site religiously. 

But there may be other reasons that like items start showing up. Perhaps there is a popular culture meme regarding the items(s). Or it could be seasonal. Or sometimes, it just seems impossible to figure out.

This week I’m happy to have gotten a few nice musical instruments. It started out w/ 3 clarinests. Then a trumpet, than a set of drums, then an instrument I can’t name which is the subject of the contest below. Then a great Behringer 300watt active PA speaker. Who knows, maybe well get more musical instruments in. I hope so!

                                              The contest rules:

 Be the first person to post the correct answer to my trivia question here on the AuctionWally.com in the comments section below this post, and you’ll win a neat surprise package envelope which will contain random items from my recent estate finds! That’s it. Pretty simple huh?

Now of course, I’ll need a way to get that package to the winner, so if you’re the winner, I’ll let you know in the comments section, then send your snail mail address and I’ll fire that envelope right off to you!

In the event that no one wins the contest within 7days. I’ll post the correct answer and the contest will be closed. But don’t worry, I’ll be running them often.

Things likely to be in said envelope are vintage postcards, ephemera, books, old photos and who knows what else!

                                                The question:

What is the name of this instrumet shown below? It is supposed to have two strings. It can be played with a bow, but I’ve also seen it picked in a movie recently. The drum part, or cylinder, is covered in snakeskin. 



Get more clients, write the proposal WITH them

As an auctioneer I’ve written tons of proposals for clients. From estate executors to bank officers, nearly everyone you come in contact to do business with, will require a written proposal of some type.

This is true not only for auctioneers, but estate liquidators, clean-out specialists and just about every other professional that is in a field which requires you submit a bid.

Usually it goes like this:

A) The client contacs you
B) You review the job
C) You submit the proposal
D) The client gets back to you to acccept or deny it (or doesn’t get back at all). In some cases they may ask you to ammend your proposal.

What if there were a way to get clients to accept a significantly higher % of your proposals? Would you want in? Of course you would, you’d be crazy not to.

Well, there is.

I call it a shared written proposal. In many cases, you have a contract, or an agreement already typed out. I have a standard auction agreement which I use, and then fill in the details as I ask them of the client.

Since most basic contracts are templates anyway, why not make it a point to place importance on your clients imput and say: Gee, I’d like to write this propposal WITH you, instead of for you.”

As you’re coming to the details such as time, date, commission % etc, ask them what is best, if you can work with that, put it in the contract, and point out that this is THEIR idea, and a good one.

When you get to the end, give them a copy and again, point out that this proposal is a compilation of what they think is best for them, as well as your requirements, and when it comes time to say yes or no, you are much more likely to get a yes.

And that is the shared proposal. It’s a great way to write an agreement. In the business world, it’s not often that your clients will  come across this kind of respect afforded to them. If this doesn’t seal the deal, maybe it’s best you didn’t take on that particular job.

Good Luck!

AW

Win ephemera collectibles. Contests are back!

Now when you come to my website you can win antique/vintage ephemera & collectibles!

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Here’s how: Be the first person to post the correct answer to my trivia questions here on the AuctionWally.com in the comments section below this post, and you’ll win a neat surprise package envelope which will contain random items from my recent estate finds! That’s it. Pretty simple huh?

Now of course, I’ll need a way to get that package to the winner, so if you’re the winner, I’ll let you know in the comments section, then send your snail mail address and I’ll fire that envelope right off to you!

In the event that no one wins the contest within 7days. I’ll post the correct answer and the contest will be closed. But don’t worry, I’ll be running them often.

Things likely to be in said envelope are vintage postcards, ephemera, books, old photos and who knows what else!

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If you want to increase your chances of winning, there’s a couple of things you can do. 

1. Subscribe to this page via an RSS reader because the FIRST person with the correct answer to my contest question is the winner. 

2. Using my search box at the top of the page is a great way to find the answers to a contest question if you don’t already know it. By the way, it’s a pretty good way to research antiques values and view past appraisals I’ve done as well.

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The question for this contest is. 

What two famous styles/periods in American art collecting are close together at the turn of the century and are often confused with each other?

It's a furniture buyer's dream

Need any more proof that it's a great time to buy antique or used furniture?

This solid oak chest is $50 at the Stock Exchange, a great consignment store in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Ma.