How to find great live auctions for resale products

Hi my name is Walt. I Auctioneer with 25 years of experience in business and is licensed in the State auction. I own a fast service auction company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I as webmaster of my own site and on eBay for 8 years. In addition to eBay auctions, I run types most often are antiques and estate auctions, even though I run all of the business of charity auctions and auctions special event.

I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories about the auction business. My article is to help people get the most from their experiences.

Your fresh from a batch or an experienced dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.

May be as many reasons to visit auctions as there are types of auctions for participation. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy goods for resale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to provide your home with beautiful antiques, or you want to submit your home inexpensively, without compromising the quality of some people are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance you all these things.

There are Antiques and live real estate auctions, auto auctions, auctions, absolute and does not reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions that sells only one genre elements, tailgate auctions, auctions, online auctions, auction, silent auction closed auctions, charity and fundraising auctions and many more.

Indeed, you can buy for pennies on the dollar at auction? You bet! It is recommended that many times I've seen people buy and sell at the same auction that night at a good profit, though, this should be done only after the auction.

There are many ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and engage the best of them.

Visit the shops in the genre of the type of auction you want to visit. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction, stopping in local Antiques stores and ask for what is, for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listening to what they say and what they say. Often when dealer says bad about the auction, he or she is present, it is likely that they are trying to keep secret a good thing. Think for a moment, why keep lousy auction dealer visit?

Newspaper ads: I personally would find ads in the Classifieds section, rather than showy display ads. Flashy ads, typically indicates an auction that will be high prices may have reserves (set the price of an item), and normally large crowds. Although any auction may be advantageous to participate, it's usually best avoided from glitzy ones, at least for beginners.

Here is a minimum, you want to know before you go. If you have a phone number in the ad, call and ask for conditions of sale. What forms of payment they accept? This absolute auction? Absolute auction, which is not a minimum or reserve for goods. This is the best auctions visit! There are buyers premium? Premium buyers tax that anyone who makes a purchase at the auction must pay higher winning bid price. Most auctions these days to charge buyers premium, 10% was not unreasonable, but I feel a lot more than greedy, and calculates the auctioneer that counts more than 10% for most bidders do not make additional mathematics as to speed up the pace.

Fair auction will have sufficient time to vet the products, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when begins inspection to ensure that your participation! Never attended the auction, if you can't make inspection, unless your willing to play. Most appraisers to sell approximately 100 units per hour, that's why they sell "as is". They just don't have time to give a detailed description of all elements. Since almost all items at the auction are sold as is, there is sure to be some damaged, incomplete, altered and renovated objects on any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer little or no checking.

Generally good auctions will be a lot of 150-400. A lot can be a single item or group of items. Exceptions to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions, etc.

When you attend your first sale, take note of 1/2 dozen or so dealers who frequently buy. See if you can find out about other auctions area they visit.

When you find the perfect auction, visit as often as possible. Visit good sales, helps to increase the bottom line of this business. It is hard for many appraisers keep quality goods serial, so a good attendance certainly helps. And when the Auctioneer know you as a buyer, it would go out of the way for you to keep you coming back.

Participate in the auction this week, the market is one of the only places where you can set the price.

Thank you for reading and enjoy it.

Game theory, Nobel & auctions-auction Primer series-part 1

William Vickrey, highly regarded as the founder of auction theory, was Professor of Economics at Columbia University, where he published two papers in which his views on auctions:

"Counterspeculation, auctions and competitive sealed tenders, 1961, Journal of finance

«Games» auctions and tenders, 1962, recent advances in game theory

In 1996 he received the Nobel Prize "for his fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information." It is important to understand that asymmetric information is an important component of auctions, where potential buyers have different levels of knowledge about the value of the item.

Although Vickrey auction's work as "one of my overzealous abstract economy is at best marginal value in terms of human well-being, for those of us who work with online auctions, most of what he described is helpful for understanding our market.

VICKREY auctions are 4 common types:

English

Dutch

First price sealed bid

Second-price sealed bid

English auction

The most common type of auction is an English auction, although it can be also known as ascending price auction. In ascending price auction each subsequent bid higher than the previous one. This is the most popular type of auction for individual items.

Although traditional ascending price auction format is "soft-close" where bidding continues until the final proposal placed most of today's online auctions as "hard close"-also known as "interval time" auction, time-bound, regardless of the current tender. It is important to note that a "soft close», a pair of scissors that trades over the last few seconds or minutes to the item repaired once the auction is still open as long as there are applications.

In an effort to minimize the shear rate and provide more of a "soft close" their "hard close" auctions eBay allows bidding for use "proxy bidding". The proxy bidding auctions is the highest price they are willing to pay for an item when they first bid. The application starts at the lowest possible level and increases automatically only beaten their original low price. For more information on the proxy bid feature "on eBay here.

http://pages.eBay.com/help/Buy/proxy-Bidding.HTML

Amazon.com currently offers an opportunity for their auctions, entitled "Going, Going, Gone". Going, going, Gone "function extends the auction for 10 minutes, if the rate effectively creating" soft close. For more information about "Going, Going, Gone" feature on Amazon go here. http://www.Amazon.com/exec/obidos/TG/Browse/-/1161360/103-1666189-8415007# Going-Gone

In terms of customers ' hard close "is preferable because they may be able to make a definitive proposal before others can react, maybe win the auction at a lower cost.

For sellers "soft close» format provides an opportunity to realize the maximum price for a time by removing restrictions on auction. As long as bidders of auction is still open.

Dutch auction

As you may have guessed, the concept of a Dutch auction has its origins in the Netherlands. Unlike English auctions using methods of increasing prices Dutch auction descending price auction and are often used when multiple auction the same elements. The Dutch auction bidding begins with a relatively high price that gradually down is determined by the application.

Dutch auction as an example let us say you have 10 items you wish to sell for $ 20 each.

Partner_A bets $ 18 for 6 elements

Participant b bets $ 17 for 5 elements

The final result is:

A participant will receive $ 6 to 17

Party b will receive $ 4 paras 17

Please note that most Dutch auctions allow parties to renounce the order on fewer items than what they are betting on. "Soft" or "hard close" format can be used with Dutch auctions, though the most common "it is difficult to close.

First price sealed bid auctions

Sealed bid auctions are different from English and Dutch in both applications are not announced to the other bidders. Individual rate is only know for attendee and vendor. This type of auction can be either a buyer bid, where the highest bidder wins the item and pays in the amount of their bid, bid, or where the seller sells the item cheaper price and is paid the amount bid. This type of auction is common to construction contracting, military procurement, foreign exchanges and other types of cargo.

Second price auctions closed trades

Another common name for the second price sealed bid auctions, Vickrey auctions (named after William Vickrey) there are small differences at the first price auction for Vickery auction. The buyer bid in the auction the highest bidder buys an item and pays the second highest bid amount. Or the seller bidding auction, low price and is paid the amount the item sells the second lowest price.

Above descriptions provide a general overview of the most popular auction types in use today. Depending on the auction site, these general categories can include a number of options and parameters such as reserve prices, public or private places, multiple elements, items, fixed price lists and many to mention a few. Before the start of any particular type of auctions make sure you explore and understand the rules for the particular type of auction, as the rules may vary from website to website.

Copyright © Stephen Woodward-all rights reserved

What is the best length for an eBay auction?

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On eBay you run your auction for a specific duration. Currently, the options are 1, 3, 5, 7 or 10 days.

But which duration is best for your auction?

In this article, I'll give you some pointers designed to assist in answering the question.

You might wonder why you would ever wish to have less than the maximum exposure i.e. 10 days? Surely running your auction for the longest time would give bidders more opportunity, and therefore a higher sale price would result? Certainly eBay.com would appear to think so, as they currently charge a fee of $0.20 for the privilege of operating a 10 day auction.

However, if you have a very popular item or if you have many identical items to sell, it may pay you to have a shorter auction duration. Also, it pays to consider the end point of your auction very carefully. In addition, if you are running a Fixed Price auction, there's a little trick you can employ to give you extra exposure.

So, let's review the elements to consider in the setting of your auction duration.

a) Start/end day of auction

In my experience, for most categories, the weekend is by far the busiest viewing period on eBay. I would estimate that around 50% of views of my auctions take place on Saturday and Sunday. In setting auction duration, therefore, the weekend peak could be important to your success.

If you can arrange to end an auction on Sunday night, you get the benefit of those who wait until the end of the auction to bid, plus the enhanced viewing traffic numbers which appear during the weekend.

This means if you're posting an auction on Tuesday night, a 5 day auction could be good.

Having said that the weekend is the busiest for most categories, some could benefit from a midweek closing date. Items in this category would include those in which goods are offered for business users.

If your item is targeted at businesses, you want people to bid for your item while they are at work. In these instances, make sure your auction covers working days, and concludes during work time. It has also been found that office equipment and supplies sell well in the morning.

Be conscious of the time when you post your auction, as this is the exact time it will finish a number of days ahead. There's potentially a great deal of difference between an auction closing at 10 o'clock on Sunday night, and 10 o'clock on Sunday morning. If you can pitch your auction to be the former, you could benefit significantly from those extra weekend viewers. (Note the section on Time Zones later.)

b) Known popularity of the item

If you know your item is very popular, and your past experience shows that you will always sell at or more than the price you want, even outside of normal peak periods, then a 1 or 3 day auction could be appropriate. The benefit of a 1 or 3 day sale is that you can sell more items, more quickly.

c) Awareness of eBay sort facilities after searching

Whenever eBay's search is used by an eBayer, the default is that it returns auction titles in the order of how long auctions have left to run. Auctions which have minutes, or seconds to run, will appear first in the returned list. Auctions which have 9+ days to run will be at the end. And the list may run to many, many pages.

Experience has shown that eBayers tend to look only at one or two pages in returned lists. This means it is important you get your auction onto these first two pages at some point in its life - another reason why a 1 or 3 day auction might be better than a 7 or 10 day duration.

Be aware too that a high proportion of bidding activity takes place towards the end of an auction. This is natural. Buyers are on the lookout for bargains. If they can nip in with a bid at the end of the auction, they might get the item at a good price and there may not be time for others to top their bid. (Buyers can also use "sniping" software, designed to place a bid at the latest possible time on auctions which are of interest to them.)

However, the searcher can easily re-order the returned titles list. A popular option is to re-order the list into "newly listed" sequence. The top of the list will now show auctions which have been newly added to eBay. This is why there is sometimes a blip of bidding activity at the beginning of an auction as well as at the end.

d) Time Zones

eBay's default is to commence your auction from the time you submit it. As you know, this means it will terminate at that exact time, the number of days ahead that you select as the duration. However, if you're offering your item internationally you should give consideration to the time zone you're aiming for in terms of auction finish point.

For example, in the USA half of all eBay members reside in the Eastern Time Zone. So an auction ending at 10pm Pacific Time is fine for west coast eBay members, but over on the east coast this is 1am! So you're effectively losing around 50% of potential bidders at a critical point in your auction.

eBay does provide an option whereby you can schedule your auction to commence at a specific time (and on another day). In fact you can set your auction to start at any time and day up to 21 days ahead. This means you can commence your auction according to the timing you believe will attract the most viewers. There is a small fee for using this feature.

This is a useful capability if you want to create your listings in advance, and then have them released onto eBay in a phased sequence.

e) Fixed Price auctions - Single Item

I mentioned a little trick earlier. Well, here it is. With a Fixed Price auction for a single item you could consider managing your auction duration dynamically. You need to be monitoring your auctions closely i.e. throughout the day, to undertake this technique.

When bidders do a search on eBay, you know the auctions with the least amount of time left appear at the top of the returned list. So it is advantageous to keep the remaining time on your auction as short as possible. This is a way in which you get four bites of that cherry for a single listing fee.

1. Start your Fixed Price single item auction off with 1 day duration. Wait for someone to buy.

2. When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 3 days. Yes, you can do this - as long as there is at least 12 hours left. Wait for someone to buy.

3. When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 5 days. Wait for someone to buy.

4. When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 7 days. Wait for someone to buy.

5. When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 10 days. (Don't forget this will cost you a small fee on eBay.com) Wait for someone to buy.

6. The auction concludes naturally.

This might look complicated, but it isn't really once you get the hang of it. Of course, at any point during the above process someone could buy your item and your auction closes automatically. If you have another of the same or similar item to sell, you can re-list it.

f) Fixed Price auctions - Multiple Items

With a Fixed Price auction for multiple items, I would recommend you set the auction duration to the maximum - 10 days, or 7 days if you're not prepared to absorb the extra fee on eBay.com.

When you have multiple items it is not advisable to use the ploy described above for Fixed Price single item auctions. This is because as soon as you receive a bid (in this case it would be a Fixed Price sale), you are unable to modify the auction duration even though you may have many of the multiple items still to sell.

If you sell all your items within your chosen 7 or 10 days, then the auction closes automatically anyway.

g) Value Based Formula

If you are happier using a value based formula in setting your auction duration, here is my rule of thumb for items that I have not tried to sell before:

Min Bid amounts Set auction duration to

£5 - £25 ($10 - $50) 5 days

£25 - £100 ($50 - $200) 7 days

Over £100 (Over $200) 7 - 10 days

If you're selling items which from experience you know will definitely be bought at acceptable prices, then you can reduce the duration.

I hope this outline of selecting the best auction duration proves useful to you.

7 tips on how to choose a good fundraising Auctioneer

While this may sound cliche, it's true. Auctioneer is not good costs you money. A good fund raising Auctioneer will make you money. Really good Auctioneer might be worth its weight in gold, because they can raise your entire budget and ... in one night.

When your group or organization looking for fund raising auctioneer, here are seven important tips to help you choose the best Auctioneer for you.

1) Auction industry experience: Auctioneers, not all the same. Just as doctors and lawyers have different skills and different fields of specialty, so do the evaluators. Some auctioneers have considerable experience, while others are fresh from the auction school. Most appraisers are experts; others are professionals. Some have an excellent reputation, others do not. Some specialize in fund raising auctions and some could care less about them. And if you chose the wrong Auctioneer to handle the event that your decision may cost you dearly. Your goal should be to find an Auctioneer with considerable experience, impeccable reputation, and someone who understands the complexities of running a highly successful auction from start to finish

2) mobilization of auction experience: not all auctioneers make good assets Appraisers. Automobile appraisers are often considered to be the best in the business, because they speak quickly and sell quickly, perhaps 150 cars per hour. That approach works well with fast cars and television (can we say "Barrett Jackson auction"). It's not always good with fund raising auctions because most attendees at your event is not an auction-based. Some auctions because she is new to them. Many had never attended an auction before, and your Auctioneer to move more slowly, to meet their needs. Seasoned funds Auctioneer will understand how to deal with your audience, how to read your crowd and how to create more money for your business.

3) Reputation and name recognition: your goal is to hire the best available means of Auctioneer. Which one are you hire? Often the best approach is to figure out which use other non-profit groups in your area. If the same name keeps popping up, it appears for a reason. And because these groups are glad that the performance and Auctioneer, which raises money for their group Auctioneer Some auctioneers have a remarkable reputation and is highly regarded in the community; others are not so high. Make sure you find one that will represent you well.

4) Highlighting ideas and innovation: an experienced fund raising auctioneer tend to have a better understanding of how to run these events than your entire Committee. The non-profit fund raising committees have one or two paid staff and other volunteers, often with little or no auction. Traffic Committee usually means that experienced volunteers will be replaced by inexperienced volunteers, which further compounds the problem. A good fund raising Auctioneer will walk you through it. They will meet with your Committee prior to the event. They will help you figure out what sells best that don't sell, how and where to buy the sold goods and how to run a smooth and successful event. We know of cases where Auction revenues more than doubled in only one year as a result of recommendations made by the Auctioneer. This service is only any fees that you pay your Auctioneer.

5) Enthusiasm for your business event &: you can find the best Auctioneer in the world, but if they aren't enthusiastic about your event, the other Auctioneer. Enthusiasm is contagious, and your crowd will clearly make sense if your Auctioneer believes in what you do, or just goes through the motions and really don't want to be there. Your Auctioneer is your organization on the catwalk, so some hire someone who projects the image for your group.

6) trading. Ability to work a room: this is what separates professional Auctioneer from volunteer experience. All too many groups have the mistaken impression that if they provide unpaid volunteers to call at the auction, they will save themselves money. But the truth is that it costs money. The Auctioneer, volunteers "usually someone known to the group, such as a member of the Board of Directors, parents, local policy or a local celebrity. This person can feel comfortable in front of the group, but they do not know how to squeeze money out of the room. Good Auctioneer can work a room, they can sense when trading is done, they will move quickly and auction will always ask for more offers from room than any volunteers Auctioneer.

7) special appeals bail: special undertaking treatment can often double or triple the amount of money raised at auction fund raising ... in only a matter of minutes. But too few groups use this tool to raise funds. If you find an auctioneer who meets tips # 1-# 6, and who is also effective for the special appeal of bail ... look no further. The Auctioneer is an experienced fund raising auctioneer, they realize the true power of fund raising auctions and will be able to raise substantial sums of money for your group ... year after year.

In General, do not judge auctioneer fees that they charge. Rather, all with the support of innovative ideas for generating funds, day auction proposal call, increased income they bring, and the overall success of your event. When all is considered, if you have selected the correct auctioneer, at the end of the night your crowd will say "thanks for letting us spend money with you. We will be back next year ... with our friends ". This is the ultimate sign of success fund raising auction.

Grab Great Britain House of your dreams on the cheap-property auctions

Did you know that every year thousands of Uk properties sold well below market value? Most of these properties are available through property auctions, where available, regular savings from 10% to 40% of market value. Despite that auctions of property continues to be used only the elite and the wise buyer/investor, this creates an opportunity for investment house/sleeping well at bargain basement prices.

For example at the last auction flat Studio was sold in London for a mere £ 9000. In another, 2 bed flat to the South coast with a market value of up to 100 000 pounds, sold for only £ 14000 at auction. A few deals that people find on auction properties. However, it is important to know the potential problems and there are problems with auctions and understand exactly where the best deals. If you are interested in getting into the world of auctions of property below for tips and tricks of the trade should be very helpful.

TYPES OF PROPERTIES FOUND AT AUCTIONS

United Kingdom property auctions house contact

Below is a guide to help any unlock value through United Kingdom property auctions. Thousands of homes are available at any time with auctions of property, most of which are sold at prices far below market value. However, it is important to discover potential problems in, and there are problems with auctions, and to understand where a great deal. Detailed information on thousands of cheap, repossessed and auction properties are also on the property auction transactions.

It is perfectly reasonable to expect to pay from 15% to 40% less for properties at auction than you would for a single property through a real estate agent. For example at the last auction flat Studio was sold in London for a mere £ 9000. In another, 2 bed flat to the South coast with a market value of up to 100 000 pounds, sold for only £ 14000 at auction. And this is just a few examples of the many deals that people find on auction properties each week.

TYPES OF PROPERTIES FOUND AT AUCTIONS

Often repossessions-sorry for the previous owners, repossessions can be picked up at bargain prices through auctions.

Property investment-properties that are due to return on investment that they provide. Includes everything from individual Office/shop investment in apartment buildings.

A rundown property auctions are great places for layout properties distributed in their current state. The attraction here is if you can get such a property in a good place for cheap price, it is perfectly possible to renovate and resell at a handsome profit. Indeed there are individuals and organizations that make their lives to do so. Restore properties fall into the following categories:

Abandoned or derelict areas.

To be serious problems.

To be notified of local authorities.

When closing orders.

Offered with ambiguous titles.

Sold without access.

Sold to major fencing, paving, drainage or other similar duties.

Sold covenants or restrictions that prevent normal operation.

Exceptional properties include those that are of historic importance and sites that "get in the way ' major development projects.

AUCTION TYPES

Large composite-tend to have more than 100 lots. Expect more than 300 people to visit and place in a large hotel or Conference Centre. Large composite auctions, likely one of the auction house. The type of the property may be restricted to one (e.g., possession of unoccupied houses, factories, warehouses, etc.) or can be a mixture of different types.

The average composite-from 5 to 100 lots, and usually attract between 200 to 500 people, most likely in a hotel or Conference Centre. It looked like a big composite, only on a smaller scale.

Small composite-proposal between 2-5 lots and will attract upto 5 bidders. Most likely there will probably be something like pub, restaurant, Church, or small hotel. Small auctions typically follow the themes-such as related properties may have been part of larger groups (for example, a set of properties owned by one company) who believe will get the best returns, offering properties for sale separately.

One lot, usually on a property that is in great demand.

IDENTIFICATION OF AUCTIONS

Auctions are not so easy to find, as you might expect. Traditionally, the evaluators have more than enough interest from regulation know so they don't need to spend a lot of money on expensive advertising to the public. Here's a list of auction houses, comes with leadership becomes invaluable. There are details on each auction house, including which area covers auction house. Go through this list and determine which cover the areas you are interested in then:

Phone auction house and ask them where their next auction is likely to be held. Ask them to put you in the distribution list that details of upcoming auctions. Some may charge a small fee for it, others offer services free of charge.

Prepare a list of questions for each auction house, you contact. This should include:

You have a mailing list?

How long do you keep people on your mailing lists and can you let me know if I have to delete?

What type of property auctions?

Also it may be worth subscribing to some journals properties pedigree. These include property auction News, under the hammer and the properties of the week. Local newsstands commonly carry these.

THE AUCTIONEER WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION

It is clear that they will provide detailed information about properties, under the hammer on their auctions. They tend to be more detailed than the snippets provided by estate agents (there are laws like the 1991 law on Property Misdescriptions that make it illegal auctioneers to give out false information about the property). In General, for any given party, they will ensure:

Location

Design features

The host (for example a)

Details of residence (e.g., 3 bedrooms, etc.)

Notes (for example, repairs required)

View details

Lawyer details

Auctioneers usually publish a directory with many details-this book is about the various properties available for auction. They will usually be available within a month or less prior to the auction.

IDENTIFICATION OF REPOSSESSIONS

Some banks/building societies can be timid about revealing that they sell the seized properties, so you need to be alert in the auction for clues. Auction ads may reveal that a bank may be a number of the seller or the auction catalog properties can specify a phrase such as "on the instruction of the liquidator, or something similar-that should tell you that the sold property owners. If you are unsure, ask the Auctioneer directly If lot offered owners.

SEARCH PROPERTY AUCTIONS NEAR YOU

There are several thousands of properties for auction at any given time throughout the UK. It is important to understand how auctions work before buying property from one. To find out where you can get a list of United Kingdom property auction sites and Web sites from auction to sell properties to look at my resource box below. I wish you every success in finding bargains at the auction house of your dreams

Auction broker represent you without auctioneer

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Auctioneers are not all the same. Just as Doctors and Lawyers have different levels of experience and different areas of specialty, so do Auctioneers. Some Auctioneers have considerable experience, while others are fresh out of Auction School. Most Auctioneers are generalists; others are experts or specialists in a particular area. Some Auctioneers have an excellent reputation and a strong following of loyal customers, others are struggling to stay in business. Most Auctioneers are honest, some are not.

And if you select the wrong Auctioneer to handle your consignment, your decision could cost you dearly.

That's where an "Auction Broker" comes in. The difference between an "Insurance Agent" and an "Insurance Broker" is that the Insurance "Agent" represents one and only one company, whereas the Insurance "Broker" represents several companies, and is able to shop your business around with several companies in order to locate the best company, and to obtain the best rate, for your particular needs.

The same is true of an "Auction Broker". Whereas an "Auctioneer" represents one and only one Auction Company (their own), an "Auction Broker" represents several different Auction Companies and can steer your consignment to the Auction Company best suited to handle what you have to sell. This is extremely important because the key to getting the most amount of money for what you are selling at Auction is to locate the best Auctioneer for what you have. And the Auction Broker is often the best person to help you accomplish that.

Most Auction transactions involve signing a contract with the Auctioneer. That contract will specify important points such as the commission and fees involved, when you will get paid, standard terms and conditions of sale, etc.

All Auctioneers are going to charge you a "Commission". That commission will normally be a percentage of what they sell for you. For example, if your consignment sells for $10,000, and your flat rate commission is 20%, you will receive $8,000, while the Auctioneer keeps $2,000 to cover his/her staffing, advertising, administrative, and other expenses...and hopefully their profit.

If you are unable to deliver your merchandise to the Auctioneer, most will charge you to pack it and transport it to Auction. And occasionally other fees such as photography fees, listing fees, Internet fees, and other charges may apply.

In exchange for these fees you are, in effect, "renting" the following from the Auctioneer:

? The Auctioneer's Name and Reputation.

? The Auctioneer's Place of Business.

? The Auctioneer's Years of Experience.

? The Auctioneer's Expertise in the commodities you are selling.

? The Auctioneer's Marketing and Promotional Ability.

? The Auctioneer's Mailing List and Contacts.

? The Auctioneer's Knowledge of Potential Buyers for what you are selling.

So the key to getting the most amount of money when selling at Auction is to locate the best Auctioneer for what you have to sell. As an extreme example, you wouldn't want to sell your Tools through a Doll Auctioneer, because there would be few, if any, Tool buyers attending a Doll Auction. And you wouldn't want to sell your Doll Collection at a Tool Auction for the same reason.

But what if you have little knowledge of the Auction business in general? Or the specialties and reputations of local, regional, or national Auctioneers? What should you do with your consignment? That's where the "Auction Broker" comes in.

Just as the Insurance Broker can place your business with the best Insurance Company for you, so too can the Auction Broker help you to locate the best Auctioneer for what you are selling. A qualified "Auction Broker" will perform several vital services that will help you to obtain the most amount of money for what you are selling:

? They will explain the Auction process to you.

? They will explain the difference between National, Regional, and Local Auctioneers, and which Auction level is best suited for what you have.

? They will walk you though the legalese on an Auction Contract.

? They know which Auctioneers specialize in specific commodities, and which Auctioneers have upcoming Auctions in your particular category.

? They will locate the best Auctioneer for what you have to sell.

? They will help you to understand the best time of the year to sell.

? They will help you understand when to send it all to one Auctioneer, and when it's best to split your consignment between two or more Auctioneers.

? They will negotiate the fairest commission possible for what you have to sell. (Are you aware that in some instances Auctioneers will work for "Zero Commission?").

? Depending upon the merchandise, sometimes (but not always) they can negotiate a reasonable "Reserve" for you. (A "Reserve" is a minimum price below which the item will not sell, and usually has to be negotiated with the Auction Company).

? They will help to ensure that you are not cheated in the process

Here are just a few examples of how Auction Brokers have helped clients receive the most money for what they have to sell.

? Client had several pieces of better art, some better Tiffany and Cartier sterling silver pieces, along with some more average, middle market merchandise. Arrangements were made to have the better items saved for a much better "Catalog" Auction with a prestigious Auction House several months later. These items were pictured in a 4-color, printed catalog and sold on the Internet as well as before a live Auction audience, in order to attract a national and international bidding audience. Those items not worth storing were sold more quickly and turned into needed cash faster.

? Client had mostly middle market items, along with a few better pieces of jewelry. Arrangements were made to sell the jewelry through a company that specialized in jewelry sales, while selling the lower end items through a less experienced Auctioneer who was eager to sell such items, and who sold most of the items individually rather than as "Box Lots" (i.e., selling them by the box), thereby netting the client more money.

? Client wanted to dispose of a Stamp and Coin Collection. Arrangements were made for the Stamps to be sold in a Stamp Specialty Auction, while the Coins were sold in a separate Coin Specialty Auction, resulting in significantly higher prices than if they were sold through a non-specialty Auctioneer.

How are Auction Brokers paid? They are generally compensated in one of three ways.

? Flat Consultation Fee: Here the Auction Broker will charge the client a flat consultation fee to review the items, sort them into specific categories, and make recommendations where they will sell best. If the Auction Broker is expected to pack and transport the sellable items, those fees will be additional. This usually works better with smaller consignments.

? Percentage of Final Selling Price: Some Auction Brokers will work on a percentage basis. In this compensation format, they receive a percentage of the final gross selling price of all items. This concept encourages the Auction Broker to sell for as much as possible because the higher the final selling fee, the more money both the client and Auction Broker will receive. This format works better with higher value consignments, and not as well with low-value consignments. The more work that is expected of the Auction Broker (i.e., packing, transport to the Auction House, etc.), the higher the commission rate.

? Referral Fee from Auction Company: Sometimes the Auction Broker will receive a "Referral Fee" from an Auction Company, just as the Insurance Broker is paid for writing business with a particular Insurance Company. Often this represents a percentage of the final commission the Auctioneer makes on the consignment.

The "Broker" concept is well-established in the Insurance industry, but is fairly new in the Auction business. If you regularly attend Auctions and understand the Auction process, you probably don't need the services of an Auction Broker. But if you are relatively inexperienced in the Auction field, and if you are considering selling things of value at Auction, then an Auction Broker can probably help you from making a very major and expensive mistake.

Finer points of Internet auctions

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WHAT IS A PENNY AUCTION?

Penny auctions have exploded in popularity with the massive growth of the internet. However, few people know the true origins of penny auctions.Beginnings actually stretch back to the Great Depression. Those were hard times for everyone, but even harder for farmers. Farmers struggled to bring in steady income because of droughts and crops not selling as well as they had previously. As a result, the banks would foreclose on the farmers who couldn't keep up with their mortgage payments.

The banks weren't satisfied with just repossessing the house, they wanted to raise as much capital as possible, so they resorted to selling off the possessions of the owners of the repossessed houses. There was not much the farmers could do about it so they began bidding ridiculously low prices, pennies, on the items while threatening others who dared to bid higher than a few pennies.

The auctions of today hardly resemble their tremulous beginnings. Being part of a penny auction today is exhilarating, fun, and addictive. It combines the selling format of auctioning with a little bit of chance factored in.Auctions are a game of strategy but also a game of luck.

The premise behind penny auctions is giving people the chance to win an item at a drastically reduced price.Auctions make that possible by spreading out the cost of the product among multiple bidders. In order for a person to take part in an auction, they must pay a set price for each bid. For example, if a person wanted to bid on a fifty dollar Amazon gift card then he would spend a dollar for each time a bid placed. If he ended up winning the gift card, then he would only have spent a few dollars for a fifty dollar gift card. Usually penny auctions sell bids in packages.

HOW PENNY AUCTIONS WORK!

The main foundation of penny auctions is the pay-per-bid format. It is the key that allows bidders to win items at the fraction of their retail value and allows the auction owners to keep their site profitable. Most y auction sites run on the same premise: people pay a set amount for each bid, whenever a person places a bid within the closing seconds of the auction time will be added, the last person left with a unique bid after the clocks runs out will win the item. There are a large variety of items that can be won, but they tend to be popular electronics or gift cards to popular stores.

There are two types of auctions: lowest unique bid auction and highest unique bid auction. Lowest unique auction sounds confusing but it is actually quite simple. A unique bid is when only one person has a bid at a certain price. Bids usually start at one penny, a bidder can then place a bid at two pennies. Until another bidder places a higher bid, the most recent bidder will be the lowest unique bid because that was the only bid at two cents and nobody bid higher. However, penny auctions generally don't stop at one penny. It is not uncommon to find auctions that end up at a couple hundred dollars based on the popularity of the item being auctioned. However, the same principles apply for those auctions. Highest unique bid auctions follow the more traditional auction format such as eBay. The person with the highest bid at the end of the auction wins the item.

Auction site owners turn a profit by selling bids. Say twenty people are bidding on a ten dollar gift card at one dollar per bid, at the end of the auction if there were twenty bids placed in total then the site owner would have made twenty dollars with a ten dollar profit.Auctions do seem like a win-win situation:The site owner makes money while the bidder gets an item for dirt cheap. However, not everyone wins in penny auctions. The people who paid one dollar each bid but left with nothing to show for their investments will not be so happy.

HOW TO WIN!

Penny auction has a lot of chance mixed into it, but one can incorporate strategy that will help raise the chances of winning. Playing smart can make all the difference between gambling and auctioning.

The first crucial tip to winning penny auctions is to know how to manage your bids. Your goal should be to win as much as possible without spending a ton of money buying bids. Managing your bids means that you should already know how much you are willing to risk in order to win an item. The amount of capital you are willing to risk will determine how many bids you can use. Once you know how many bids you have to spend on an item, then you will be better able to manage how and when you place a bid. That will keep you from blowing away all of your bids in the first few seconds of the auction.

The next tip is to practice time management. When fighting in the trenches of penny auctions, you have two enemies: other bidders and time. Knowing when to bid is a must if you want to have success. Placing a bid when there is a lot of time left on the clock is never a good idea. You have to remember that the key to winning a penny auction is being the last one standing when the clock runs out and that each bid increases the amount of time left. It would be a good practice to wait until the last few minutes of the auction before you begin to bid.

The final tip for successful auctioning is to keep your emotions under control.Auctions have a lot of similarities to gambling, and just like gambling, your spending can get out of control. If you keep your emotions level, it will keep you from making rash decisions and blowing loads of cash. Keep your mind clear so that you can gage the behavior of the other bidders and outsmart them.

HOW TO AVOID SCAM SITES!

Penny auctions are a great addition to the web whether you want to win an item that otherwise you wouldn't be able to afford or if you simply enjoy the thrill that comes with bidding in auctions. Unfortunately, scam sites have tarnished the reputation of the legitimate penny auction sites. However, there are ways that you can protect yourself from scamers and enjoy your auctioning without having to worry about losing your money due to dishonesty.

Checking the reputation of the auction site before you start spending your hard earned money is always a good idea. Chances are other people have tried the site before you and some of them have left reviews. The reviews are your way to gage whether a auction site is trustworthy or not. If a site is getting overwhelmingly negative reviews, then that is a clear indication that you should steer your business elsewhere.

Another tool you can use to protect yourself is checking the Alexia ranks of the auction sites. Alexia rank will give a solid view of how much traffic the auction is getting. If you see a huge difference in the amount of traffic Alexia is projecting and the amount of active bidders on the site, then warning signals should be ringing in your head. Some auction sites have been known to set up robots that automatically bid on projects in order to keep the auction going and inflate the price. That is known as shill bidding. You can sniff out those sites by comparing the traffic the site should be getting to the amount of users using this site.

CONCLUSION!

New legislation may come out later down the road that will officially make penny auctions gambling, but until then, it is a fun, exciting auction that allows one to win the item they've always wanted but couldn't afford.Auctions are also quite lucrative for the site owners because of the pay-per-bid strategy they've incorporated. Penny auctions had humble beginnings with farmers who just wanted to get back at the banks who kicked them out of their house. More recently, auctions have enjoyed an explosion in popularity with the rise of the internet.

There are two main formats fora auctions, lowest and highest unique auction, however they both run on the same premise where the last unique bid wins the item. Winning a penny auction will require a certain amount of mental tactic and a bit of luck. However, you can increase your odds of winning by practicing certain techniques such as managing your bids wisely, learning how to work with the time, and keeping a level head and your emotions under control. When you combine those three strategies to your bidding plan, you will find that you win a lot more often.

It is important that you do your due diligence to protect yourself when participating in auctions. Not every auction is run by honest and trustworthy people. There are people out there who just want to take your money. You can protect yourself by ensuring that you only bid on sites that already have a very positive reputation from real users.