Tales of an Auction Addict

Today marks the first installment in my new weekly series--Elbow Grease and Paint Pants:  Tales of an Auction Addict.

Where do I start?

I fully blame Karen's dad, Pat, for introducing me to auctions. I've attended a few over the last ten or eleven years, but I didn't really get back into auctions until last June, when I was ready to redo my hobby room. I found a dresser and a hutch that I repurposed and got for good prices.  Love them.  I haven't been able to leave it alone ever since. 

I've been asked many times recently about how I find such great stuff and about my auction habit in general (and it is a habit, in the best and worst sense--even my little boys will say, "Mom, you're ADDICTED to auctions!").  I've had some great experiences and some fantastic finds, and I've been burned once or twice, when I learned a few things.  Now I'm ready to share!

Auctions are the lazy person's garage sale--you don't have to drive all over the neighborhood, hoping you'll find a treasure to two. In fact, now that most auction houses are online, you can surf their websites for the images up for auction that week, determine if you're even interested in investing your time, then plan accordingly.  A few of my favorite auction houses actually allow you to bid online, so you never have to leave home--kinda like eBay, but better!  The best way to find auctions in your area is through www.auctionzip.com.

A few of the laws of auctions:

• Take time to evaluate the lots in advance.  Open every drawer, wiggle every leg and arm, turn items over and  investigate.  That's what preview time is for.  Remember, auctions are buyer beware and no guarantees, unless it's electronics or appliances.  Ask the auction house for their policy.  If you get that couch home and it won't fit in your house or its arm falls off, that's a personal problem, I'm afraid.
• When buying furniture, familiarize yourself with which brands are expensive and will stand the test of time.  I always look twice at a piece if it's Ethan Allen because I know it's built to last.
• Set your maximum price in your head (or on paper, that is better for me) before you're caught up in the excitement and competition of bidding.  If you don't, you will more than likely overbid, and subsequently overpay.
• Remember when you're bidding, you still have to pay sales tax and a buyer's premium (the auction house's fees--usually between 10-15% of the purchase price).  I mentally add 20% to the final price just to remind myself what the actual price will be.
• If you lose the bid on an item, just remember:  there's ALWAYS another auction.  ALWAYS.  
• It's a game.  It's fun.  It's also vicious for some people, and they bid to win (I may or may not be one of these people.  I'll let you decide.)
• If you see something that is ALMOST what you want, and you know how to change it into what you want, buy it.  If you don't know how to change it or it's unchangeable, DON'T buy it.  It will never be exactly what you want, no matter how cheap it is.  And then you'll be sorry.

Last week I plunged into an unfamiliar auction--one that only allows online bidding and is located 30 minutes away in Phoenix. I found a few interesting lots, left a few low-ball bids online, then proceeded through my Saturday.  Saturday night I received an email from the auction house, informing me that I had won ALMOST ALL of the lots on which I had bid.

It took two trips to Phoenix the next Monday (30 minutes each way, plus loading time), and this is what I had to show for it:

Looks like a used furniture store threw up in my driveway, right?

Here's another view of all my treasures:

The two pieces in the front on the left were not part of this purchase (they're lurkers from my garage that I decided to pull out and do something with--finally), but all the rest of this stuff is from that single auction.  All told, I bought fourteen pieces of furniture:  three dressers (two of which are Ethan Allen and the other is solid hardwood with dovetailed drawers), four end tables, one antique sofa table, two bookshelves, two entertainment centers, a pair of antique window shutters, and one Ethan Allen hutch top with leaded paned glass (no base).

And those fourteen pieces of furniture, including buyer's fees and tax, were $360.35.  Seriously. Averaged out over 14 pieces, that's about $27.78 per piece! Can you believe that?  I was shocked, seriously shocked.  So were my neighbors, who kept stopping by and asking me if I'd lost my mind.

Lessons learned:   

1. Never bid higher than you are willing to pay.  Even though it was a ton of stuff, I was pleased with the prices.
2. Driving to Phoenix twice in one day is for commuters, not for stay-at-home mothers.  Don't want to do that again.
3. Be prepared to be the laughing stock of your street until you find places for all your treasures.  My Suburban has been temporarily displaced, but that's much better than the ridicule. :)

I've already started redoing a few of these pieces, and I'll share their progress with you over the next few weeks.

Until next week . . .
Going once, going twice . . . SOLD!