I did it, again!

I know there are people who do miraculous things every day without even thinking about it. Doctor's save lives, teachers change lives, farmers feed us - the list goes on.

So in the big scheme of things, raising my hand with a numbered piece of paper at an auction really isn't earth shattering...but for my simple life, its a challenge I'm happy I met.
My Aunt Joan and I were just going to stop at Wehrly's Auction for a quick visit, maybe a cup of homemade soup and poke around the tables and boxes and see what goodies were going up for bid. Turned out there was a lot of great stuff and both of us were just curious enough to see how much some of these items were going to go for, so we decided to get a number and stay awhile.

Neither of us were sure we wanted to bid on anything, most of the items we liked were very collectible and there were a lot of dealers in the room, so we figured the bids were going to be a little rich for our blood. But since both of us have etsy.com shops that need inventory, we decided it was a needed learning experience - not to mention entertaining.

We went back and forth between the room with the tools and box lots...this is where I did raise my hand and purchased this adorable Cosco stool (much to the surprise of the woman next to me who had bid on it also and didn't think anyone else really wanted it - but I did)...and the room with the higher-end collectible items. I did raise my hand again in that room too and bought this antique blue mason jar made in 1858. Couldn't pass it up.

It was almost like my hand had a will of its own. The auctioneer was doing his hundred-mile-an-hour rattling of numbers and some remote part of my brain registered that I wanted the jar and the price was very good, and the next thing I knew my hand was up and the auctioneer was pointing to me and saying "sold." Yay me.

And when they were selling box lots for a dollar, but I was feeling shy about elbowing my way into the crowd to get an old vanity mirror I'd spotted, my aunt grabbed my number and was kind enough to go up to the table and stake a claim on it for me. Yay Aunt Joan.
So my afternoon was spent having a hot dog with my aunt and two of her friends she ran into at the auction - both also are artisans and antique dealers (super interesting people, great conversations) -- purchased three nice items for my etsy.com site, and conquered my fear of the auction once and for all. May not have performed brain surgery or saved the world, but not a bad day at all.


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Getting Closer

I took another stab at participating at an auction yesterday, got a little closer to actually buying something. I did register for a number and I stayed for a few hours to observe the ritual of the auction house, kind of like an anthropologist studying a unique society...and that is not far off.

Although I didn't buy anything I did get to have a cup of homemade ham and bean soup with my aunt Joan and cousin Gail...which made it worth the trip anyway...then poked through the offerings and watched, observed and studied, making mental notes.

Mental note number one: When in the room where box lots are being auctioned off, stay near the box you're interested in and don't move. There are about 20 people all huddled around the auctioneer and unless you are right there, you can not even see what is up for bid. I was so jealous when I saw a man walk off with arm-fulls of beautiful Pyrex bowls he bought for a $1, but I just couldn't get close enough to jump into the bidding.

Mental note number two: Take a little notebook (a suggestion from Joan) so you can make a note of which items you are interested in and how high you are willing to bid. The auction moves fast, so you want to make sure you're bidding on the right thing and you're not getting caught up in the action and go over what you wanted to pay for something.

Mental note number three: Mostly just for me...don"t get so caught up in the extraordinarily good people watching that you miss bidding on anything.

To understand better why I find this process a little intimidating and fast-paced, here's a little sample from yesterday's auction...

Wimp

Today was another Tuesday at Wehrly's Auction and I met my Aunt Joan and Uncle Dennis for an hour of eating homemade ham and bean soup and poking through all the stuff up for bid.

The soup and company were great, and I had a blast helping Joan, an artist, look for interesting things for her art work...see the picture below of a collection of dolls parts that prompted Joan to take out her camera - and the other auction goers to stare at the two crazy ladies laughing and taking pictures of broken dolls.

I also had fun looking for something a little unusual to put here on the blog...please see the very scared looking Easter Bunny picture below. Why so scared, Easter Bunny?
















But even though I found some cool things I would have liked to bid on, I didn't register for a number so I could participate in the auction. I could use the excuse that I was pressed for time and had to run Joan and Dennis home, but I really just wimped out.

There is something intimidating about the whole process and I want to observe how it all works one more time before I jump in and start waving my number around...and if that makes me a wimp, than so be it.

Next time I write about the auction I swear I will be showing you a picture of something I bought there...even if its something really silly, I'm going to bid!

Auction Day

For the last eleven-years, since I moved to south-eastern PA, one of my favorite things to do is go to a local auction house with my Aunt Joan. There is a small kitchen there and we usually get a bowl of soup or a sandwich, and then we walk around and poke through the tables stacked with pictures, boxes of pots and pans, costume jewelry - you name it, it's probably been through the auction house.

I love listening to the cadence of the auctioneer as he rattles on at a hundred-miles-an-hour, always scanning the room and upping the bid with each raise of a finger or nod of a head from the audience sitting in folding chairs in front of him. It's at these moments that I get completely paranoid that my nose is going to itch and I'll have to scratch it, and then the auctioneer will think I just bid on something - probably something really expensive or really horrible, or both.

Although I enjoy observing all this, I am a big chicken about making a bid myself. There is an entirely different language going on in that room, so while I like being on the outside taking it all in -- I'm actually intimidated as heck about jumping in myself.

But, now that the weather is turning colder and soon there won't be yard sales and church sales to plunder, I am going to have to put on my big girl panties (one of my husband's favorite expressions when he thinks I need to suck it up), grab my piece of paper with the number on it and raise my hand when something I want to bid on turns up. I just have to hope I understand the auctioneer enough to bid on the right thing and not pay three times what I thought.

So stay tuned, in a few weeks they will have another auction and I am determined to register for a number and pay complete attention to what the auctioneer is saying, and I will raise my hand high...or scratch my nose and end up with a $200 used-Flowbee, one or the other.