What I Learned From Working in the Auction Business

Sometimes people are just there to watch the show

    Since the 1980s, my Dad has owned and operated his own auction business. He's highly regarded by anyone who has ever attended one his sales, although he's moved to online-only since about halfway through the pandemic. 

    

    Up until that point, he called sales the way you've seen in movies and tv shows. (Except that he's a bit faster than most I've seen.)

    I started helping out at auctions when I was twelve. I just turned thirty, but eased away from the auction business due to acquiring other skills and finding various opportunities in digital marketing when I was twenty-five or so. That means I had 13+ years of watching a successful small auction business operate. 

    So, without further ado, here are a few things I've noticed over the years. 

Sometimes a Brand's Face Makes All The Difference

    Live auctions aren't just a place to buy unwanted items and antiques. When an auctioneer is both great at calling an auction, and entertaining, people are willing to show up just for the spectacle. 

    

    If you've ever watched the Kentucky Derby, you've probably noticed how many people are there who clearly have no interest in horse racing. They drape themselves in fancy, colorful clothes, with equally wild and extravagant hats, and spend the time taking it all in with the other attendees. But at no point do they actually pay attention to the race itself. 

    That's kind of similar to an auction. Except, the main different is, people will still buy stuff even if they didn't plan to originally, when the auctioneer is engaging them enough through skill and charisma. And that's precisely what my Dad excels at. 

    People have been telling him he's an amazing auctioneer since before I was born. When I was younger, I assumed these were his friends or even distant relatives I'd never met before. But, as I aged, I realized these were random people who'd attended countless other auctions called by countless other auctioneers. Their compliments were for real.

    Point is, my Dad's the face of his auction business. He offers qualities you can't just assign to a person's name and hope it sticks. He's proven that he'll do a great job, that the signed contracts will be fulfilled entirely, and that people will show up just because he's calling the sale. He talks to everyone who comes in before the sale starts, entertains the crowd while they're there, and has quick conversations with everyone who sticks around after. 

    That's how branding works best. When you're continuously engaging the audience because you  actually care about their opinion on your products or service, and when you have a face people can trust and rely on.

Sometimes The Customer is Right. Other Times, Not So Much

    If you, yourself have ever been to an auction, you've probably seen people scoff at the prices of sold items. Usually they lost the bidding war first though, which makes it entertaining to watch. Most people are good sports starting a few minutes later, and sometimes even congratulate the winner.

    However, I've also witnessed people make a huge scene over not winning an item. In fact, it happened to me the one time I called at my Dad's auction. (Realized I wasn't an auctioneer that day. Even though it wasn't my fault.) But let me break it down and show you how the auctioneer knows who bid. 

    Say you're sitting in the audience toward the back. At Dad's sales, you'd see him on a platform up front in the center, high above everyone else, so people could see him better. Behind him, a person running a computer and manually inputting each item, the selling price, and the person's number that bought it. On the flanks, you'd see two people, each bringing items up to be presented and sold in a back-and-forth fashion. 

    Now, while working, it doesn't matter where you're standing/sitting in this instance, you're watching the crowd for bids. If someone raises their hand, or number, you call it out and either nod to the person or point at them. And you call it out loudly. This makes it quite clear to both the auctioneer and the other bidders, that someone has raised the bid. Makes sense, right?

    But every now and then, you get that one person who throws a tantrum over not winning. I can say with complete confidence that they're wrong 99% of the time. The other 1% is when someone bids in silence standing behind all four people working the sale. I'll let you judge that though. (And a side note, if we did notice that a genuine bid wasn't taken, Dad would just restart from the last bid accepted. It wasn't a big deal.)

    Basically, the audience has its fair share of people who are always trying to get a better deal through mischievous tactics. They'll attempt to tell you that you're wrong, have a "staff filled with idiots", and essentially try to strongarm you into winning. It's embarrassing. When a customer has a genuine complaint, then yes, apologize and reward them. But understand that not everyone has good intentions, and some are just there to screw up a good business due to their own insecurities. Human nature can be a strange thing. 

Unique (And Valuable) Products Can Sell Themselves

    At every auction I've ever worked at, there were higher-end items with sizeable price estimates. This could mean a tractor, a car, or even an old Rolex watch from a hundred years ago. Since my Dad does primarily estate auctions, you're bound to get an interesting mix of miscellaneous items. 

    A week or two before the auction, Dad would, and still does, advertise the auction in local newspapers, advertise in auction specific newspapers, and online in various places. He does this to spread awareness for more valuable items to those who are out of state, and sometimes even out of country. In fact, at the last online auction he had, there were Canadians who bought some items, which was cool to see.

    But my point here is, having a unique, (or antique), product can be enough to draw hundreds, if not thousands of people to an auction. These are usually older items that experts are well aware of, but even now, you can still develop products that are unique to your niche or general market field. It requires using your thinking cap, of course, but if your product is both amazing and genuinely unique, customers won't forget your name anytime soon. Plus, you might even find yourself with a staple product that you improve and transform over time. Sounds ideal, in my opinion.

    With that said, don't just attempt to be different for the sake of it. Study your products and see how you can adjust or alter a few things to make them stand out a little more. Or you can even study products from other fields that have done well, and trace their evolution up until they really blew up. Just understanding the thought process behind the changes could offer some wonderful hindsight for you to use.

   

In short...

    I could go on for hours about things I've learned at auctions. Some are business and marketing based like these, while others are more from the entertainment and psychology fields. And while I don't work at auctions anymore, they were always both an interesting, and educational, experience. 

    Hopefully this post helps at least one business owner out. If so, I've done my job. 

    P.S. my favorite quote from every auction ever: "Just sell it already!"