I SPOT You!

Hey everyone!! Thanks for reading!

Well...this past Saturday I had the opportunity to help out at a new business in ARANSAS PASS called THE AUCTION HOUSE! Before Saturday...I had NEVER been at an auction like this. The Auction House takes CONSIGNMENT PIECES and auctions it off for people.

The back of our shirts :)

There were ALL KINDS of things there: Refrigerators, dishwashers, trailer hitches, saws, couches, dishes, art, home decor, cowboy hats, dressers, dining room sets, tools, boats, Wizard of OZ collectibles, children´s toys, coin collections, estate jewelry....I could go on for DAYS! They really had a little bit of everything. I´ll be honest...the buyers/bidders got some PRETTY SWEET DEALS! Anyone that is in the area...needs to check this place out!

Good shot of some of the items that were auctioned off.

Like you all know (at least my followers)....I DO NOT have my license yet.What that means is that I can´t help AUCTIONEER yet. I wanted to get some EXPERIENCE though in some different types of auctions. All I´ve really seen are CATTLE AUCTIONS, FUNDRAISING AUCTIONS, and very few CAR AUCTIONS. I really want to learn what works for consignment auctions and auction houses. So....I emailed the two contacts on their website a few weeks ago and I get a phone call and email back. They wanted to meet me!!

They asked me to show up to their next auction (which was this past Saturday). My main job was WORKING THE FLOOR - SPOTTING THE BIDDERS, TRYING TO LIVEN´ UP THE CROWD A LITTLE, MARK THE BOUGHT ITEMS WITH THE BIDDER NUMBER, SHOW THE NEXT ITEM UP FOR AUCTION, ETC. It was kind of a slow start, but then people started THROWIN´ THEIR HANDS UP :).

I got a chance to talk to some of the bidders after the auction and EVERYONE I talked to was really nice. Two ladies that were sitting outside (that bought A LOT of items) stopped me and told me I did an AWESOME job SPOTTING the bidders and asked if I´d be back for the next one - which I will :). They said everything ran smoothly and they´ll be back for the next one. I´m really not trying to TOOT MY OWN HORN (toot...toot :)). I just REALLY like it when I get positive feedback. Remember....this whole idea was A SHOT IN THE DARK...seriously. I LOVE IT!!

The auctioneer is in the big podium and there are all kinds of collectibles on those shelves (Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, etc).

The other cool thing about this entire JOURNEY I´m taking is that I am getting to meet A LOT OF REALLY COOL PEOPLE that I may not have, if it wasn´t for this. WHEW! I feel BLESSED!

So...what did I learn? Well...I´ll say that - IT´S A LOT DIFFERENT THAN A FUNDRAISING AUCTION. Getting bids can be like PULLING TEETH on some items. You´ve really gotta do your ABSOLUTE BEST to sell that item. Talk it up! Get the audience engaged. Explain to them WHY they need it OR the SWEET DEAL they´re getting. At benefit auctions people plan on spending some $$. At The Auction House...they are trying to spend as little as possible. The Coca-Cola products and money and coins seemed to be pretty popular, BUT...it all depends on the crowd. Next time...there may be a couple of people looking for nice tools and they could be the most popular items.

There were copy machines, washing machines, dishwashers...all kinds of stuff back there.

It´s a whole ´nother realm of the AUCTION INDUSTRY and I LOVE it too!! (I realize that what I just typed is so grammatically incorrect - but I typed it anyway.)

Let´s just say that I really enjoyed myself and I´m INTRIGUED :). A BIG THANK YOU goes out to everyone over at The Auction House in Aransas Pass - John King (the auctioneer) and his wife Jeanne and their two girls, Mr. and Mrs. Davis, Tim and Miranda Wooten, and all the other staff there. They have WELCOMED me with OPEN ARMS. I´ll do all I can to HELP them anyway I know how.

All you LOCALS reading this...go check them out in Aransas Pass and bring an item or two and see if they can make ya´ll a little money. WHO KNOWS? You might walk away with a SWEET DEAL too!

AUCTION SCHOOL is right around the corner and it´s fixin´ to be time for me to BUCK UP BABY!! I can´t wait!! The next auction I´m helping with is at THE AUCTION HOUSE - in Aransas Pass again, then the Ledbetter Fireman´s Feast, and then AUCTION SCHOOL and my licensing exam :/. Time is FLYING!