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Let's do it again! Show us your various treasues and finds from Garage Sales, Flea Markets, Antique Stores, Craigslist, Barn Picks, Grandma's Attic...
I had so much fun trying to blog all my experiences last year (and I have to catch up and add the rest!), that I decided to start a thread for 2015.
I am aware that the traditional "Garage Sale" and "Flea Market" season is still a couple months away, but my wife and I started the season early by attending an auction. Not merely in January, but the very beginning of the year: on NEW YEAR'S DAY!
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For exactly 365 days, my wife has lamented the sudden blizzard that prevented us at the very last minute from attending last year's New Year's Day auction; the local auction house spends months stockpiling the "best" merchandise to auction off in a day-long extravaganza, and we missed it. THIS year, we had been tracking the meteorological predictions in anticipation, and were ecstatic when the January 1st forecast called for clear skies...
This year's New Year's Day Auction was scheduled to start at noon. Doors opened at 10 AM, so we arrived at 10:30 to be sure we would have seats. This was a good plan, as all seats were filled by 11:00; the host spent time making sure only ONE chair per person (although the jerk directly in front of us managed to hog three chairs) but there was SRO of at least 50 people around the sides and back of the room for at least half of the auction.
With 636 lots, the intent was to move an average of 100 per hour -- which meant the event was expected to end around 6 PM. There were very few "Choice" lots, which really slows things down. While things went much slower than 100/hour at the beginning, the crowd really started thinning down as the day progressed and less than half the seats were occupied by the end of the auction.
It was evident that certain people came for specific items. After each collection of camera/sound equipment, jewelry, military helmets, prewar toy trains, and gold coins/ingots, the crowd lessened. One guy dropped $725 on four original Barbies & Kens with their clothing (there was also no beating him on the later offering of a single original Barbie). Three of the Neumann microphones fetched a total of $17,500 -- all to the same guy; all the sound equipment went at amazing prices -- I stood no chance on a prewar microphone. There were many items on which I intended to bid, but in many cases absentee bids started "too high" for my money and, in other cases, the bidding was simply too fast and furious for me to even take a further interest.
I could opine endlessly over the items offered and some of the prices paid, but that's not the task at hand...
The bidding on the antique toys was absolutely vicious! There were multiple items in which I was interested, but stood little chance. However, I was successful in winning a Steiff Owl Puppet and a Hermann Teddy Squirrel --
One of the few "Choice" lots was that of several military uniforms. From the beginning, I had my sights set on a Royal Army Ordnance Corps' Officer's Tunic which I thought would be a great "party costume" for my son, who it might actually fit. I got it, and at a price that is less than the insignia, buttons and pins would fetch separately (as can be seen in the photo, two of the original buttons are missing and have been replaced -- this is an easy fix for a guy with my resources) --
Similarly, my wife was determined to win a "Vintage Box Sled" which consisted of antique sled rails with a box bearing a 1978-dated paint job --
There were several desirable large furniture items offered, but our concerns were both transportation and the limited space for such items in our home. However, we could not resist a large "Antique Hutch with Secretary Desk Drop Side" and were absolutely amazed to get it at a reasonable price. After I won the auction, and high-fived my wife, the guy next to me leaned over and asked me: "What does that appraise for?" and I responded to him: "I don't care -- it's a good deal and we're collectors, not re-sellers," which elicited from him an astonished reaction. Unfortunately, when I later took measurements of the hutch and of my car, I arrived at the conclusion that we would have to rent a U-Haul van the next day to move this large item. (This photo shows the new hutch standing temporarily in front of our existing sideboard, because my wife and I could only move this to our first floor; we are going to need help getting it upstairs) --
Size was not a factor when my wife bid on -- and won -- a much smaller Antique Child's Dresser (I added a Mego Bill S. Preston, Esq. to the photo for scale, and also to increase the relevance to this Forum) --
As the auction wound down, and fewer deep-pockets bidders remained, there were some pretty good deals to be had. My wife swooped up a Roseville cream and sugar set (Lot 542: less than an hour remaining)...
...and with only ten items left to be sold (lot 627), she was the sole bidder (thus, only $5) on a Silverplate Basket --
I'm sure I will be adding more to this thread in the following 364 days...
I had so much fun trying to blog all my experiences last year (and I have to catch up and add the rest!), that I decided to start a thread for 2015.
I am aware that the traditional "Garage Sale" and "Flea Market" season is still a couple months away, but my wife and I started the season early by attending an auction. Not merely in January, but the very beginning of the year: on NEW YEAR'S DAY!
-----------------------------------
For exactly 365 days, my wife has lamented the sudden blizzard that prevented us at the very last minute from attending last year's New Year's Day auction; the local auction house spends months stockpiling the "best" merchandise to auction off in a day-long extravaganza, and we missed it. THIS year, we had been tracking the meteorological predictions in anticipation, and were ecstatic when the January 1st forecast called for clear skies...
This year's New Year's Day Auction was scheduled to start at noon. Doors opened at 10 AM, so we arrived at 10:30 to be sure we would have seats. This was a good plan, as all seats were filled by 11:00; the host spent time making sure only ONE chair per person (although the jerk directly in front of us managed to hog three chairs) but there was SRO of at least 50 people around the sides and back of the room for at least half of the auction.
With 636 lots, the intent was to move an average of 100 per hour -- which meant the event was expected to end around 6 PM. There were very few "Choice" lots, which really slows things down. While things went much slower than 100/hour at the beginning, the crowd really started thinning down as the day progressed and less than half the seats were occupied by the end of the auction.
It was evident that certain people came for specific items. After each collection of camera/sound equipment, jewelry, military helmets, prewar toy trains, and gold coins/ingots, the crowd lessened. One guy dropped $725 on four original Barbies & Kens with their clothing (there was also no beating him on the later offering of a single original Barbie). Three of the Neumann microphones fetched a total of $17,500 -- all to the same guy; all the sound equipment went at amazing prices -- I stood no chance on a prewar microphone. There were many items on which I intended to bid, but in many cases absentee bids started "too high" for my money and, in other cases, the bidding was simply too fast and furious for me to even take a further interest.
I could opine endlessly over the items offered and some of the prices paid, but that's not the task at hand...
The bidding on the antique toys was absolutely vicious! There were multiple items in which I was interested, but stood little chance. However, I was successful in winning a Steiff Owl Puppet and a Hermann Teddy Squirrel --
One of the few "Choice" lots was that of several military uniforms. From the beginning, I had my sights set on a Royal Army Ordnance Corps' Officer's Tunic which I thought would be a great "party costume" for my son, who it might actually fit. I got it, and at a price that is less than the insignia, buttons and pins would fetch separately (as can be seen in the photo, two of the original buttons are missing and have been replaced -- this is an easy fix for a guy with my resources) --
Similarly, my wife was determined to win a "Vintage Box Sled" which consisted of antique sled rails with a box bearing a 1978-dated paint job --
There were several desirable large furniture items offered, but our concerns were both transportation and the limited space for such items in our home. However, we could not resist a large "Antique Hutch with Secretary Desk Drop Side" and were absolutely amazed to get it at a reasonable price. After I won the auction, and high-fived my wife, the guy next to me leaned over and asked me: "What does that appraise for?" and I responded to him: "I don't care -- it's a good deal and we're collectors, not re-sellers," which elicited from him an astonished reaction. Unfortunately, when I later took measurements of the hutch and of my car, I arrived at the conclusion that we would have to rent a U-Haul van the next day to move this large item. (This photo shows the new hutch standing temporarily in front of our existing sideboard, because my wife and I could only move this to our first floor; we are going to need help getting it upstairs) --
Size was not a factor when my wife bid on -- and won -- a much smaller Antique Child's Dresser (I added a Mego Bill S. Preston, Esq. to the photo for scale, and also to increase the relevance to this Forum) --
As the auction wound down, and fewer deep-pockets bidders remained, there were some pretty good deals to be had. My wife swooped up a Roseville cream and sugar set (Lot 542: less than an hour remaining)...
...and with only ten items left to be sold (lot 627), she was the sole bidder (thus, only $5) on a Silverplate Basket --
I'm sure I will be adding more to this thread in the following 364 days...
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