Search This Blog

November 9, 2011

Live Public Auctions

For some reason, I think of laundry when I think of live auctions. It must be my Mom's fault somehow. She loved the Saturday auctions, and once bought a gas dryer for $5. She used that dryer for the next 20 or 25 years. What a bargain! And bargains like that are still out there, if you happen to be sitting in the right place at the right time. (In good conscious I have to take this moment to tell anyone considering bidding that auction houses rely on this belief to keep their doors open.)

Public Auctions are great places to get a few bucks out of something you might otherwise have to pay to store or dispose of.  And fun places to buy something really cool that you weren't planning on buying, and
probably didn't need either.
I sure didn't need this fountain for my back yard.
But I really wanted it! 

The same can be said of Estate Auctions and Distress Sales.  You just never know what you'll find there.  But it pays to remember that the regular dealers and merchants know exactly what they want and how much to bid for it. And at the end of the day the auctioneer and the auction house may be the only people really making any money.

I highly recommend a Saturday morning at the auction if you happen to find yourself in Vegas with nothing much to do, especially if you just love to buy stuff.  (Yep, we love to buy stuff, too.)

This life-size plush pony
was almost too sweet to resist.

If you happen to be in the market for a good price on quality pre-owned furniture, including paintings and light fixtures, this is definately the place to be. Most of what we saw looked to be in excellent or even new condition. Many display models and showroom pieces, therefore top of the line and barely used. I was very covetous of a couple of bedroom sets I saw, and for the most part it was selling really cheap.

This sleigh bed featured diamond tuck black leather.

The table Larry bought.

The table lots can hold a variety of surprises and may be the most fun to buy.  You are allowed to look through everything, but you really never know what you're getting until you get it home.  We found some nice pieces of sterling silver jewelry and a strand of real pearls in the table lot Larry bought.

With regard to every single item in the building, however, one should always remember that the motto at any auction is

Let The Buyer Beware.

For example, this wonderful pair of 1940's beaded wedding boots was identified as being from a Plateau Indian tribe.  Larry really wanted it, and I really enjoyed buying it for him.  The shadow box is fantastic, built by a true craftsman.  It's the most beautifully grained wood I have ever seen.  And the condition of the boots themselves is unbelievable.  The beadwork is in like new condition, and the colors are fantastic.  (I only wish we had a place in our house to display them.)

I'm not saying we were intentionally mis-led or anything.  We love the boots, and we paid a fair price.  But I have shown the piece to a number of experts, and at least a couple of them were of the opinion that they are Cree boots, possibly from the Cree/Chippewa Nation in Montana.  That would make them the work of Great Plains Indians.  So it's important that you know what you're bidding on.

We didn't resist these 1940's beaded boots.


If you're interested in going, check out their web-site for the weekly inventory. They specialize in lots and bulk groupings, making them a great place to unload the two boxes of mis-matched stemware you found in that last storage unit, or the 13 boxes of pen-lights you've been stuck with since last fall. They take the biggest bite from the sellers, but bidders do have to put up a deposit in order to get a number, and there is a buyers' premium to be paid as well.  The doors open weekly at 8 am for previewing, and the bidding starts at 10 am. They close the doors when there's nothing left to sell, and not one minute sooner.  Have fun!


(To see more photos or buy these beaded boots
click the link to our eBay Store.)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Auction Schedules