Auction Sale or Retail Sale, What Is It Really?

To our valued auction customers:

Why Do Auctioneers Sell at Retail After the Auction Sale Has Concluded & Why Do The Bidders Buy This Way?

A number of Auctioneers have started appearing across the Province of Ontario advertising under the banner of "AUCTION SALE" through flyers delivered direct to your homes and businesses. Bidders are reporting that when you attend these sales, an auctioneer or an individual who stands at the front of the room and claims to be an auctioneer conducts somewhat of an offering of products for about an hour or 90 minutes. Once he has exhausted all the higher priced items in the room he then shuts down the auction sale, and tells the audience/bidders that he will now deal with them one on one if they want any of the items that were not purchased by auction.

The room then opens up on a retail selling level and bidders actually buy and pay more than they would have by auction. This makes no sense at all as an auction is where you determine what you pay for the items of interest.

This format only shows that the items were all reserved and had minimum bids that were not achieved when offered for auction. The public should be aware that any company that offers items for sale after the auction has concluded are not really auctioneers. They are simply using a method of advertising to assemble people in a room and hope that they can sell them one on one, rather than through the true auction process and experience.

Why would any bidder attend an auction sale, bid $500.00 and not be successful and then pay $1000.00 for the same item after the auction by private negotiation with the auctioneer.

One auctioneer in particular who seems to do this at every auction sale he appears at is "John D. Marshall". Bidders are reporting that they will not even stay at the auction sale after the preview period when they see who the auctioneer is. Charity events have also reported that this auctioneer performs in a similar manner at fundraisers.

This process is damaging to the auction experience and gives the bidder a false hope of obtaining items by live auction when advertised. Bidders should ask at the registration desk if the auctioneer sells after the sale has ended, if the answer is yes, you can assume the items carry very high reserves and that the majority will not be sold.

This happens quite often in the Real Estate Auctions, however the bidders are well aware that there is a minimum to moderate reserve on the property. Results have shown that the reserves also are too high and the process is not working for the buyer.

The flyers you find in your mail and newspapers should be the first tip off that the auction sale advertised is simply a retail sale. Bona fide "Auction Companies and Auctioneers" generally place their advertisements in dedicated auction sections of the newspapers and on their websites.

Chances are, any company advertising an auction sale by way of direct flyers to your home or business are in the retail business and conduct auction sales with novice or unlicensed auctioneers. Most of these purported auctioneers have no background in the Professional Auction business and it can be seen by attending any one of their sales within the first ten minutes of any sale.

Guest Comments

Name: Irene

How did you find out about our auctions?
I saw the ad in the local Era Banner newspaper.

What did you think about the selection?
I am amazed at how much and how varied the selection was of everything from jewellery, furniture, artworks, decors pieces and memorabilia etc.

How did you find our auctioneer? (clarity, informative, speed, comments, etc.)
Excellent delivery --kept the auction moving along! I found his background information and comments very useful.

How often do you attend our auctions?
I went to the first one last week in Aurora but will definitely check out the others I find out about.

What other auctions have you attended in the past?
I've been to a number of charity auctions in the past.

How did you find our check out staff? (comments)
If you mean the men who were showing the various items -- the young men showing the jewellery were very attentive and the one main helper very funny at times.

How did you find our delivery service? (comments)
It was not necessary for me to use the delivery service this time around.

How did you find our front desk registration staff? (comments)
The young lady at the front desk was very very helpful, patient and very kind in explaining everything to me ---ie a novice being there for the first.

Will you attend our auctions again?
Yes, definitely.

What did you think of the prices overall?
I think very good - you definitely could come away with some excellent bargains.

Would you recommend this auction to your friends?
Yes, definitely.

Other Comments:
I was very happy with my first attendance at your auction. I saw the ad in the paper which included a Jack Lalanne juicer. For that specific item, I went on the spur of the moment that very night to catch the auction's preview. I put a yellow sticky tab on the juicer to mark my interest and those items that had been tagged were put up earlier in the evening. I bid and WON! The juicer was a premium stainless steel version and even with the auction premium, I got the new item for at least 50% (or more) off the regular retail price. I actually got exactly what I wanted in the very first few minutes of the auction but stayed because it was so entertaining and interesting. (Next time I'll come prepared with a tape measure and room dimensions so I can maybe bid on some of the furniture items that were very attractive).I tried my juicer that very night and was very thrilled with it! Thanks so much!