It amazes me how many people have never been to an auction. At first I was intimidated, but then I realized fake it til you make it baby. I told myself "I watch Auction Kings, I can figure this out." I have to admit before we went I did a google search on what not to do at an auction, mainly because I didn't have a million dollars to buy stuff every time I sneezed. But it really was not hard at all.
Our auction began at 5:30pm but there was a showing of all the items beforehand. So we went early and took notes on the items we liked. Most things I adored went for lots of money, but I noticed as the night went on the auctioneer just wanted to finish. So the prices definitely started dropping. A lot of people leave after a few hours too, so we really like the later hours of an auction. Our first auction we purchased an original oil painting for $45- the artist is not famous- and a bright red modern console table for $10. They easily could be sold for way more. Being patient paid off.
The last auction we went to I bought a vintage butcher block for $15 and a gothic cast iron light fixture for $25. Most auction houses add a hammer fee on the items along with sales tax. So keep that in mind before you bid, especially on higher priced items. Our favorite place adds 18% on top plus the 8% sales tax. If you pay cash they lower the hammer fee to 15%. So find a local auction and try it out. It might be your new favorite past time.
