Your auction is set. As you have advertised on your website and posted at the auction, you will start in the front yard at 10:00 am and at 12:00 Noon sell the real property, and then move to the back yard at 12:30 pm to begin selling the jewelry. Bidders/buyers at auction appreciate you disclosing your plan and schedule their day accordingly.
Yet, you as an auctioneer notice some really prominent jewelry buyers are present at around 9:30 am and decide to start with the jewelry at 10:00 am. As well, several really interested real property buyers are present early so you move the real property auction up to 11:30 am and then schedule the front yard items for the afternoon.
That’s all fine … except, a real property buyer shows up at 11:48 am and the real property auction is already over (in his mind, he’s 12 minutes early) and some jewelry buyers show up at 12:29 pm to see all the jewelry is already sold (in their minds, they are 1 minute early.) Is there a problem here? Yes, there’s a big problem.
This constitutes misrepresentation and false advertising at minimum. Further, the more material the real property and jewelry is, the more likely this would subject the auctioneer and/or seller to possible litigation as the perceived damages would be equally material, notwithstanding the seller’s injuries being possibly actionable as well.
Of course, there are those who believe the auctioneer has absolute authority to be arbitrary and/or capricious and can say or do anything even if what they’re saying now is different than what he or she said before. It’s this type of thinking that drives the public to shop elsewhere.
We wrote recently about the prudence of having an “order of sale” and sticking to it: https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2021/05/17/you-dont-have-an-order-of-sale/. It’s paramount any auctioneer has a plan and bidders can count on that plan being carried out.
If the auctioneer/seller has not set a specific order to a certain auction, then they would be able to adapt to the current crowd conditions. Yet, without an order or start time, many bidders/buyers may decide they have better things to do that day than wonder when their preferred [type of] lots will be offered up for sale.
You see, auction attendees have to work, sleep, pick up the kids, get to soccer practice, help with homework, write a report for their job, check-in on their parents, and often time is more valuable than an all-day auction. It goes without saying that — generally — the more bidders, and the right bidders, help sellers to greater net returns.
It seems abundantly prudent to have an “order of sale” at minimum posted at the auction site, and further, give possible bidders an “order of sale” before they attend so they can plan their day accordingly. The arbitrary (capricious) argument in order to adapt to the crowd lessens the chance that crowd is in attendance.
For that matter, where else in commerce are items offered or sold “at an unspecified time? unless you can “buy it” whenever you want (buy-it-now?) Does the movie start when enough people are there? Might they show another movie first because more people there seem to want to view that one, instead of the other one? Of course, I’m kidding. The movies are scheduled and for good reason.
At our [live] auction last night, several people approached me to ask, essentially, “When will you be selling …?” and why was that? One, it’s a reasonable question, and two, I should have a plan so they can plan their evening. I may not have had a specific time (6:37 pm, for example) but I recited our “order of sale” so they would have a good idea.
As more and more people experience the auction method of marketing online, where specific times are intrinsic, the more they would be surprised by an answer to “When will that sell?” such as “I don’t know …” or “We haven’t decided yet.” You see, with more disclosure, transparency, and reasonable treatment of bidders and buyers, more bidders and buyers participate and thus there are higher prices and happier sellers.
Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, CAS, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years. His company’s auctions are located at: Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, RES Auction Services, and Goodwill Columbus Car Auction. He serves as Distinguished Faculty at Hondros College, Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School, and an Instructor at the National Auctioneers Association’s Designation Academy and Western College of Auctioneering. He is faculty at the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University and is approved by The Supreme Court of Ohio for attorney education.
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