Photo by Kevin A. Roberts
Potential bidders preview items at Link Auction Galleries.
The historic church that Link Auction Galleries calls home is more than 18,000 square feet, but on this auction day there is no space left unfilled. Hallways are lined with graphic and landscape paintings. The rooms brim with oriental rugs, furniture, jewelry, collections of World War I toy soldiers, and skateboards clad in graffiti art. Visitors peruse rare manuscripts, proofs, and first editions by writer John Updike in large glass display cases.
A crowd of approximately 50 people assembles in Link’s auction hall—the former Methodist church’s side chapel. Two young men dressed in graphic tees and baseball caps sit casually side by side; an older woman in a pantsuit sits nearby, scribbling notes on printouts.
The auctioneer stands at the pulpit, announcing items: “Lot 154, antique two-member postal desk. Can we start the bidding on this one at $400?”
Three staff members sit onstage, laptops at the ready. They quickly alert the auctioneer when an online bid is made. In the choir loft, two more staffers work the phones, talking to prospective bidders from as far away as Dubai.
Within 30 seconds the desk has sold to a man in the front row for $200, well below the $800–$1,200 estimated price listed in the auction catalog.
“Midwestern people as a whole have always been interested in auctions,” says Shane David Hall, director of the St. Louis branch of Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers. “We are a farming community, and this region has a long tradition of farm auctions.”
In fact, the Missouri Auction School, located in St. Louis, is the largest (and, having been established in 1905, the oldest) auction school in the nation. The school hosts students from around the world, instructing them in everything from the legal aspects of auctioneering to lessons on how to chant. Students regularly practice tongue-twisters, such as a classic about a woman named Betty Botter who buys better butter to amend her bitter batter. Hear Nancy Cripe, an asset management consultant at GRS Auction Services, recite the complete tongue-twister below:
Nancy Cripe Recites "Betty Botter" Tongue Twister
Despite the focused curriculum, graduates head off in many directions, ranging from outfits selling cattle to houses selling Alexander Calder. Cripe graduated from the program earlier this year. She describes her classmates as “91 guys with boots and hats and six other women.”
Even within a single auction house, sale objects vary widely. GRS Auction Services assists companies that are downsizing or liquidating their inventories. When I visited the GRS space, in Dupo, Illinois, the showroom of auction items held a custom acid-etched table covered in urethane, sleek white couches, commercial fryers, and a vintage alcohol bottle shaped like Elvis.
Doug Dieckman is a regular customer there. He’s transforming a Hillsboro home into a bed and breakfast and has furnished most of his kitchen through auction purchases. In a recent online auction of items from the now-closed J. Buck’s, he purchased a set of plates that would typically retail for $25 each for prices ranging from 10 cents to $3 apiece.
But, Hall says, the allure of auctions goes beyond cost savings. “There is a night-and-day difference between buying an original mid–20th-century table and buying a reproduction from a store at the Galleria.” After Hall saw a faux-vintage garden table with wrought-iron base at Restoration Hardware, he spent four years searching for an authentic one.
“For the true collector, the person who is insatiable,” says Hall, “the desire for a piece takes over.”
Recently, while flipping through a collection of auction catalogs, even I—a person who has used a plastic folding table as a dining table for more than a year—was drawn to these items. They were unique, well made, and had a history. Some cost as little as $25.
“Thirty years ago, the auction scene was kind of an old boys’ club. Today, it’s a very inclusive environment,” says Hall. “This can be an intimidating world, but I think people have to get over that fear. You have to put your hand in the air.”
Photo by Kevin A. Roberts
TIPS FOR FIRST-TIME BUYERS
- Preview the work: Before most auctions, even ones that are hosted online, auction houses will provide a period in which potential bidders can look at the items in person.
- Do your research: Look online to see how similar items are priced to ensure that you’re correctly estimating your desired item’s value.
- Make plans to ship the item: Although most auction houses will offer recommendations and may be able to assist in other ways, shipping a purchased item is the buyer’s responsibility.
- Always take extra fees into account: Auction houses add a “buyer’s premium,” a charge of approximately 20 percent, to the item’s hammer price. By the time you tack on sales tax and a fee for paying with a credit card, you can expect to pay approximately 30 percent above the winning bid.
- Understand the terms: When registering for an auction, you will automatically agree to the terms specific to that auction house. Understand them to determine the buyer’s premium, shipping conditions, and more.
- Ask for a condition report: Many auction houses offer condition reports on pricier items. This report notes unusual characteristics and the type and location of any damage.
