Last weekend I went to an auction that benefits the FFA in Ravenswood, WV. I heard about it sort of accidentally so I didn’t really have any sort of a plan together but I heard that there were several different qualities of junk available.
I have heard people say that at flea markets and auctions, you can only get junk…you can find your plain old, run of the mill junk up through first class junk. As I wandered around the Jackson County Fairgrounds, I was surprised. To be sure, there was a lot of junk available for a few dollars per ton. There was some really great stuff too, and since I really like stuff like this, I spent a few hours perusing the piles.
I think what I enjoyed more than anything was the sound of the auctioneers. Most everyone knows the general sound of the auctioneer’s call and most people wonder how anyone knows what price they are paying for something. If you have never heard a real auctioneer calling, take a listen to a recording I made of my favorite guy.
From the recording, it is hard to tell what is going on I suppose, but I have to tell you, in person, I was never really in doubt about what he was selling (even if he just named it a big box of junk) or what the current bid was when he was calling. If you have never been, go to an auction some time!
I think next year I will go again to this auction and this time, I will have a plan!
I have been to a few auctions and I must admit that your favorite auctioneer was very understandable, however if you ever heard the guy at one of our local stockyards you would walk away as confused as a flour beetle in a powder box. I think he must be speaking a different language spoken only at livestock auctions because some people seemed to understand what was going on, while the rest of us wondered what the heck just happened. Sadly the benefit auctions I have attended have always been way over priced. I understand that the idea is to raise money for a cause, but seeing stuff go for twice the price of retail is above my idea a good buy. I attend our local flea market often and as you say there is a lot of junk. But one mans trash is another mans treasure and I have made a few good purchases. But you have to haggle for a good price and that is the fun of the whole experience. Sometimes vendors know the value of what they are selling and sometimes they haven’t got a clue. And when I go as a vendor I usually have my stuff starting at a fair price and have found that if you are selling at a price below the average that people will just walk around you figuring that your merchandise must be flawed. Last year I went to sell some rabbits and fowl, I took along some of my old military rifles as a draw item. I priced them at a little more that what I had paid for them years ago, but it was way below todays market value. Even tough they looked and worked perfectly no body was buying. My line that I just didn’t use them any more and was tired of cleaning the dust off them, seemed to turn prospective buyers off. However, it did work as planned and I sold everything else. If even one of them lookers had taken my advice and come to my house to shoot the guns, they would have found that I wasn’t lying about the accuracy or function and walked away with a darn good purchase.
My uncle owned a livestock sale barn in Carrington, ND. I LOVED to listen to him as he auctioned off the cattle and horses. I was just a little girl and I’d lean in, thinking I’d understand what he was saying if I was just a bit closer. I rarely understood any of it, but I loved the way it sounded.
I love auctions and go to them quite frequently. After listening to the caller, who was slow by some standards, that must have been first class junk to sell for $13! At the last auction I attended, I bought a vanload of books for $7!
I love the auctions!
You are an education Warren, I was not aware there were “several different qualities of junk available”. Now I know!
Wasn’t it fun? We came home with some great stuff–best probably those chestnut church pews. But listening to the auctioneers, yes, that’s a treat all in itself.
Nice seeing you yesterday!