| If you were to ask a group of auctioneers whether or | | | | to 125 items per hour. The auctions are fast paced, |
| not they should call their own auctions, most of them | | | | exciting and they provide just enough information |
| would say yes, they should. On the other hand, if you | | | | about each item to keep things moving along nicely. |
| were to ask experienced auction buyers the same | | | | On the other hand, if you were to place each of those |
| question, many of them would say no, they shouldn't. | | | | auctioneers in front of his own audience at his own |
| Why would an auctioneer who owns his own auction | | | | auction, you will find that maybe only 50 to 70 items |
| house want to pay another auctioneer to call his sales | | | | are auctioned per hour and it is no longer exciting. Too |
| when he can call them himself for free? The majority | | | | much information is given and sometimes it is even |
| of auctioneers would consider this to be a needless | | | | repeated. Items tend to be kept open longer than they |
| and added expense to their bottom line. Of course, | | | | should be instead of being quickly passed and |
| they are entitled to their opinion. | | | | sometimes bids get undercut in an attempt to get a |
| The view of many of the dealers who attend a couple | | | | few extra dollars out of another bidder. All in all, the |
| of hundred auctions per year is that it takes a special | | | | things that these same auctioneers would never do at |
| auctioneer to call his own sale. If an auctioneer doesn't | | | | someone else's auction, they do at their own. |
| have tight control over his feelings, calling his own sale | | | | Although the behavior of these particular auctioneers is |
| will take longer than it should and it will have a direct | | | | certainly understandable, it is not good for business. |
| effect on the outcome. | | | | You can only keep an audience at an auction house |
| There are some auctioneers who are very good at | | | | for so long. At a certain point in time, the buyers get up |
| doing their own auctioning because they are able to | | | | and start to leave. The few extra dollars that may |
| detach themselves emotionally. When these | | | | have been made early on by dragging out the bidding |
| auctioneers call their own sales, unless you are | | | | is lost on the back end by having fewer participants |
| keeping track of prices and know what the stuff is | | | | during the remainder of the sale. |
| worth, you don't know if they are having a really good | | | | Audiences do not enjoy themselves as much when |
| auction or a really bad one. Their behavior does not | | | | auctions are conducted in such a fashion. It goes |
| change one way or the other. This is a real gift. | | | | without saying that auctioneers want the crowd to buy |
| You can watch any number of auctioneers call | | | | as many items as possible. They should also want |
| auctions for other people and they will sell roughly 100 | | | | them to come back again. |