BUYING AT LIVE AUCTIONS FOR okay RETAIL -- WIN THE BID --INCREASE YOUR okay SALES AND PROFITS
A good way to purchase items for sale on okay is to buy at local LIVE auctions. We all know that the less we pay for an item, the more profit we make. I think Getty was credited with saying, on being asked how do you make money? Answered, "Buy Low -- Sell High." If you buy low at live auctions you can sell high-er on okay. I have gone to at least 1000 live auctions so I do know my way around them.
1. FIND LIVE AUCTIONS IN YOUR AREA. There are live auctions in even small areas of the country. (a) look in yellow pages under "auctions." (b) check under "auctions" in local papers, check every day. (c) ask around, friends, chamber of gemerce, antique or flea market owners and even family. Many auctions are weekly or monthly and you will met very nice people at them, many of whom will be your friends, some your fierce gepetitors.
2. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR YOUR BIDDING. A successful bidder at a live auction does their homework (a) All auctions have a "PREVIEW" time in which you can look at items prior to the auction starting. Go as early as you can. You may also be able to get your AUCTION BIDDERCARDat thattime,sometimes you have to wait till closer to the auction] you will need that to bid, if you can't get it then you will be able to get it prior to the auction. Ask what you will need to get one.[At most auctions you will need a VALID picture ID like a driver's license IF YOU HAVE A RESALE TAX NUMBER GIVE IT TO THEM, and they will put you into the geputer and you will be given a long card with a number on the TOP -- that is your bid number for the entire auction, you will need to get another one the next time but you will be in the geputer and on the mailing list.](b) Take a small notebook tomake a list of each item, include theLOT number [all consignees to auctions are given a number that is put on eachbox or item]and description of the item and the MAXIMUM you are prepared to pay. There is such a thing as "auction fever" where you pay more than you intended because you got caught up in the spirit of the bidding, having a MAXIMUM, even if you go over once in a while keeps you on your budget.(c)check each item for any defects, it is buyer beware. If it is a box of items, note what is in THAT box AND MAKE SURE WHAT YOU WANT IS STILL THERE JUST BEFORE YOU BID, there are thieves at auctions too and some unscrupulous buyers willmove things from one box to another, in fact,"salting" thebox they want. (d) TAKE DIGITAL PICTURES, ask first, generally you are told it is OK. This will be handy when doing your research before the actual auction. (e) MARK YOUR CHAIR, at that time you can also "save a seat" by taking a piece of paper and putting your number on it(if you have it) OR just your initials,and taping it to the front of the seat, on the back up high. Otherwise when you gee to the auction you may be waaaaay in the back. I would suggest you sit in row 3-8 on the inside aisle, generally there are "old timers" who are used to the front rows and they can be downright nasty about newbies. Trust me on this! You need friends not enemies at an auction.
3. HOMEWORK. Do you homework, (a) which includes looking up on line and closed items to better understand the VALUE of what you are going to bid on. This is why taking the digital pictures are a good idea. (b) Make NOTES in your notebook next to your description so you have them when you are bidding. (c) Make any changes on your maximum bid if needed.
3. ARRIVAL AT THE AUCTION.(a) GET TO AUCTION AT LEAST 30 MINUTES EARLY. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR BID CARD AND YOUR NOTEBOOK, you might even have a little "auction bag" for all your things. (b) TAKE WATER AND SNACK. Auction food is notoriously bad.(c) Make sure you still have your seat, that no one has removed the piece of paper with your number -- that has been known to happen; establish a "I am here NOW" presence on the seat by leaving your coat or a scarf, NEVER YOUR PURSE [remember what I said about thieves, take the same precautions that you would in any large public gathering]. (d) INTRODUCE YOURSELFto those on both sides, first name is enough, you will be sitting together for many hours! And, if they are friendly they might answer a few questions on bidding for you.
4. BIDDING (a) NEVER RAISE YOUR HAND/BID CARD at the FIRST amount mentioned by auctioneer, it is what he WISHES the bidding would start at! Wait and the opening bid will generally go lower, if he lowers the opening bid to what he feels is too low he can PASS the item, that is take it out of auction. SELDOM HAPPENS. (b) BIDDING JUMPS, almost like on okay, at lower amounts they may jump just a dollar or $2.50, may even jump at the $2.50 till maybe $17.50 then the auctioneer may try for $20 then $25. The higher it goes the higher it jumps. YOU CAN SIGNAL THE AUCTIONEER THAT YOU WANT TO BID HALF OF THE JUMP IN BID by holding up your hand, bending your wrist, and waving hand from side to side, the same way you might tell someone "that's enough coffee" by a hand movement. The auctioneer may take this and he may not. He will let you know. Generally the auctioneer or a worker will point to you and say "YUP" to confirm your bid. When it is sold, hold up your bid card so they can see your number and make sure they call it correctly. What happens to the item then depends on the auction. More about that later.
5. KINDS OF BIDS. Yup! There is more than one kind of bid on items placed up for auction and you need to know the difference, there may be a slight difference in how it is announced regionally, but the divisions are the same. (a) STRAIGHT ONE ITEM or SEVERAL ITEMS OR A BOX SOLD AS A "LOT" [describedin paragraph (4)] (b) SEVERAL ITEMS UP FOR BID AT ONCE AND THEY ARE OFFERING "FIRST CHOICE" this means that upon the winning bid, bidding process is the same, you are offered "first choice" that means you can chose ONE or more of the items at that time but you will PAY your bid price for EACH item. If your high bid was $10 and you picked out four items, you just spent $40. (c) After that they start the auction again with the remaining items and you are now bidding for "SECOND CHOICE" where your winning bid may be much less than the first choice bid, again you have to take one but can take as many as you want at that price (d) Sometimes there is a "THIRD CHOICE" managed the same way, after that they usually say "REMAINDER" and everything left in that lot is sold for one price for all of it. (e) I call the next one "SO MUCH EACH AND TIMES THE MONEY" this is where for example there are eight chairs, your winning bid will be multiplied by eight and you have just bought them all. Out of all the auction types this is the one that people mostly make a mistake on, theyTHINK it is for "all of them at one price" or "first choice" and they only want one. OUCH. If you get caught on this one, well as we say you just "paid tuition" for the lesson not to do it again. If you bring it immediately to the auctioneers attention, via a worker, they might, I say "might," let you out of the bid if you are new --if you have been around a while you are definately stuck.
MOST IMPORTANT, WRITE DOWNHOW MUCH YOU PAID FOR EVERYTHING YOU BUY AT THE TIME YOU BUY IT
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