While most all auctioneers have worked with other auctioneers, by either hiring other auctioneers to assist them, or being hired to assist another, true auctioneer collaboration is rare. Such is The Super Auction where a single event combines auctioneers from throughout the Midwest.
At The Super Auction, held twice annually, each auctioneer participant contributes one or more auction rings of their own items (each ring is 100-150 items, or approximately 1 hour in length). The Super Auction provides each participating auctioneer an area to display their items, and also provides registration and cashiering services; the individual auctioneers provide their own clerks and ringman.
Thus far, The Super Auction has used AuctionFlex for registration, and checkout, and charged a 10% buyer’s premium on all lots sold. Overall terms include that all is sold, “as-is” and “where-is.” The individual auctioneer participants can then have their own additional terms and conditions for their particular ring or rings.
The Super Auction has hosted rings of sports items, guns, pottery, jewelry, furniture, tools, coins and other collectibles. Buyers have traveled from over 10 different states to participate as a bidder. A few rings have hosted Internet bidding, but that has been the exception rather than the rule.
The benefits of such an event seem numerous. For any auctioneer with only 100-150 items, it would be difficult to have a stand-alone live event. Too, with upwards of 15 different rings, bidders have the opportunity to partake of 1,500 different items. Bidders may come to buy a gun, but see a coin, sports item, or tool they desire, and thus the power of a variety of items is leveraged for the benefit of various auctioneers’ clients.
David Helmer serves as Auction Manager and Peter D. Gehres is the Assistant Auction Manager.
Other benefits for customers — which in turn benefit clients — is that bidders are able to listen to and interact with a variety of auctioneers, and bid-calling styles. Also, some bidders enjoy learning about items for which they are less familiar. What was that coin that demanded over $3,000? What particular baseball card brought over $4,000? That sort of thing where auction education and entertainment comes at a very low cost, independent of the actual sale prices.
This past Super Auction was my third visit to this event, and I must say that there are signs that future events may become even bigger and better, with the addition of more auctioneers, more auction items, and other bidder attractions such as exhibits and the like.
Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years. His company’s auctions are located at: Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, Keller Williams Auctions and Goodwill Columbus Car Auction. His Facebook page is: www.facebook.com/mbauctioneer. He is Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School.
Comments