What is an auction and how does it work?
Now imagine you're at an auction and there's a great oak Mission-style rocker that you actually think was made by one of the masters. Somebody else in the audience thinks it's a pretty rocker that would look good in their living room, but they don't know anything about Mission furniture and its history. There's also a dealer in the crowd who knows the same thing about the chair that you do, and a collector of Mission furniture who's determined to add this rocker to her collection.
You are all willing buyers. There's only one chair. Who gets it? The highest bidder. What is the chair worth? Well that's up to you potential buyers to work out among yourselves, with the help of an auctioneer. You will determine the value, or "market value" of that rocker at this auction, in this part of the country at this time.
Now, I have an amateur's interest in real estate, and in that field you frequently run up against the term "fair market value. "Well, what is fair market value? The most common legal definition is that fair market value is the "price at which an item is exchanged between a willing seller and a willing buyer in an arms-length transaction when neither party is under duress to sell or to buy."
What better way to determine fair market value than an auction with an object offered by a willing seller and a bunch of willing buyers?
How Auctions Work.
Where does the stuff come from?
Items can come from a variety of sources.
Some items may come from an estate or family - This usually happens when a loved one dies or has moved into a nursing home and the heirs select a few cherished items for each to keep. Then they seek to reduce the rest of the furniture, furnishing and possessions into cash to put into the estate. [Wayne Bancroft Auctions has a trained teams of people who skillfully "pack out" whole houses of belongings and prepare the items for sale.]
Sometimes it is a business that is liquidating either their entire inventory or just their overstock or unneeded items. There are restaurant liquidations, Farm and machinery sales, Storage unit sales, etc.
Other items that will go into the auction find their way there via a variety of routes. Sometimes collectors put specific pieces up for auction. Often the auction house will sell these "on consignment," meaning that the owner agrees to allow the auction house to sell one or more items with an agreement that the auction house will keep a percentage of the sale price of each item. [Wayne Bancroft Auctions has 3 consignment sales each year to allow people to sell items].
From there, the items will be sold "as is." Lesser items, such as old magazines, inexpensive glass and china ware, may just sit in boxes. Sometimes these boxes are sold as a single item, not surprisingly called
"box lots".
When sellers bring their items to a Consignment Auction, there's a lot of work to be done. Items must be assigned Seller numbers, lists are prepared recording the items that will be sold, items are tagged for the sale.
At Wayne Bancroft Auctions, there is a list and photographs posted for each auction on our website.
Most auctions have viewing times of an hour or two before the actual start of the auction. This is when you can inspect the items that will be sold. It is very important that you do this. In fact, inspecting items that are offered for sale is the first step in protecting yourself against bidding too much for an item.
To read more about auctions please read the FAQ about auctions.
You are all willing buyers. There's only one chair. Who gets it? The highest bidder. What is the chair worth? Well that's up to you potential buyers to work out among yourselves, with the help of an auctioneer. You will determine the value, or "market value" of that rocker at this auction, in this part of the country at this time.
Now, I have an amateur's interest in real estate, and in that field you frequently run up against the term "fair market value. "Well, what is fair market value? The most common legal definition is that fair market value is the "price at which an item is exchanged between a willing seller and a willing buyer in an arms-length transaction when neither party is under duress to sell or to buy."
What better way to determine fair market value than an auction with an object offered by a willing seller and a bunch of willing buyers?
How Auctions Work.
Where does the stuff come from?
Items can come from a variety of sources.
Some items may come from an estate or family - This usually happens when a loved one dies or has moved into a nursing home and the heirs select a few cherished items for each to keep. Then they seek to reduce the rest of the furniture, furnishing and possessions into cash to put into the estate. [Wayne Bancroft Auctions has a trained teams of people who skillfully "pack out" whole houses of belongings and prepare the items for sale.]
Sometimes it is a business that is liquidating either their entire inventory or just their overstock or unneeded items. There are restaurant liquidations, Farm and machinery sales, Storage unit sales, etc.
Other items that will go into the auction find their way there via a variety of routes. Sometimes collectors put specific pieces up for auction. Often the auction house will sell these "on consignment," meaning that the owner agrees to allow the auction house to sell one or more items with an agreement that the auction house will keep a percentage of the sale price of each item. [Wayne Bancroft Auctions has 3 consignment sales each year to allow people to sell items].
From there, the items will be sold "as is." Lesser items, such as old magazines, inexpensive glass and china ware, may just sit in boxes. Sometimes these boxes are sold as a single item, not surprisingly called
"box lots".
When sellers bring their items to a Consignment Auction, there's a lot of work to be done. Items must be assigned Seller numbers, lists are prepared recording the items that will be sold, items are tagged for the sale.
At Wayne Bancroft Auctions, there is a list and photographs posted for each auction on our website.
Most auctions have viewing times of an hour or two before the actual start of the auction. This is when you can inspect the items that will be sold. It is very important that you do this. In fact, inspecting items that are offered for sale is the first step in protecting yourself against bidding too much for an item.
To read more about auctions please read the FAQ about auctions.