Auctions and Antiques

I had such an interesting day today.

My husband and I have always liked auctions.  I had a booth at a local antique mall filled with stuff I bought at auction.  We used to be regulars at estate auctions in Michigan, but here in Florida, auctions are just not the same.  I think it's because in Michigan the people are selling everything they have and are moving to Florida.  Once those people get to Florida and have an estate sale years later, they haven't acquired as much or it's all rattan furniture and medical equipment.  

You can spend a lot of money auctions if you aren't careful - the thrill of bidding can just take over.  Common sense and reason goes right out the window.

These jars were very cool.  The smallest was 11", med. 15" and the tallest 19".

Television can create interest in things, that's for sure.  Leslie Hindman used to have an auction show on HGTV called At the Auction and that's where I learned how to be a good auction participant.  I don't know if I learned how to be a good buyer from her, but after a few bad buys and a few days spent at auctions, I learned how to be a good buyer.

I heard that auction crowds increased overall during the years that Leslie had her TV show.

I always liked this commercial.

The newest shows on TV that are all the rage are American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Storage Wars and Auction Kings.  American Pickers buy stuff from pack rats (mostly) around the country and sell the items from their shop in Iowa.  The fun in their show is seeing all the places where they hunt and peck to find something terribly cool to buy.  Pawn Stars is about what gets brought into a Las Vegas Pawn store and the stories and prices behind the item.  Storage Wars and Auction Kings are all about buying the contents of storage units after the owners of the unit have stopped paying on them.  The units are then auctioned off and that's when the real discovery begins as to what was in the unit. 

I would have never guessed this was Dale Sr. ha!ha!

Not willing to be left behind, I have now officially been to my very first Storage Unit auction.  Today I attended several auctions in various locations.  It's one auctioneer that travels to four different storage unit locations.  Today there were four locations, but I only went to three.  I ran home and took a shower during one.  The second storage unit auction was almost in our parking lot, so when it was over, I came home and showered and then darted off to the final sale.

It was interesting being at one.  It certainly wasn't as glamorous or cut throat as the storage auctions on TV, but one of the units went for $625.  Then again, one unit went for $25.  I met several really nice people, too. 

The auctioneer at todays sale said that attendance has tripled since the storage auction shows hit the airwaves.  I was just one of those new faces!

We all like to know what our stuff is worth and I think we all secretly hope that we have an undiscovered Van Gogh or something rare.  Antiques Roadshow has been around forever after all.  Sometimes though, it takes buying someone elses stuff to find a treasure.

The treasures shown above I found today at an antique mall.  I didn't buy anything, per usual, but I expect that at some point in the future I'll have purchased a storage unit or make a few purchases at an auction.  Right now I've got quite a few things in my garage that need to get sold. 

I'll be sure and keep you all informed :)

Have a great day!
Kristin