Saturday, December 14, 2013
Well, I have medical insurance for 2014. I suspect I'm not going to be happy with it, but, we'll see. The cost is low, but it's a Medicare Advantage plan, and it's an HMO. I always swore I'd never go into an HMO, but there it is. The only plan of any type that I was eligible for that allowed me to choose my own doctors was extremely costly. So. At least that's done.
-----------------------------------
The country house is under storm alert this weekend. 10" of snow and then sleet. Since the house is higher up, I suppose there will be at least 12" of snow. We always got about 20% more than lower down. Or more. Temps in the low 20s. I am worried about losing power there. Sigh. Another week I won't be going north.
------------------------------------
I got an email a few days ago from my old auctioneer, George, saying he was going to be on a show on the Travel Channel, so I watched it. It was another of those stupid shows that seem to be so popular recently --- you know, where we follow some "experts" while they buy unseen storage facility contents, or race through antique centers looking for bargains, or poke around mountains looking for gold.
This time, we had three "expert bidders" at George's auction. It was very obvious the whole thing was staged. He had a full room of bidders, but no one else bid on any of the boxes that were obviously solely for these "experts" to battle over.
It was so stupid. THEY were so stupid. They were bidding on unopened boxes and bags, no idea what was in them. Number one, George never sells unopened stuff. Number two, these "experts" didn't do their research. One idiot kept saying "There's lots of mansions in [this village]. Huge estates. This is an estate auction so these boxes are coming from the attics and basements of these wealthy mansions. You KNOW it has to be good stuff!"
First of all, the statement that there are lots of mansions in [the
village]. Yeah, that general wider area is full of mansions, yeah, but
most of them are run as tourist destinations by the national park
service, like the Vanderbilt, Astor, and Roosevelt places, and a few
other piles of marble with names and history. There are a few private
mansions around, but these days almost all of them are empty, like the
place where Chelsea Clinton's wedding reception was held. (It's for sale
and the owner volunteered it hoping for free advertising.) So, there's
no good stuff coming from mansion attics! Do your research, you fool!
Second, the "expert" doesn't even know what an estate auction is!
"Estate" in this sense doesn't mean mansions and land, anyway. It means somebody's Aunt Sally died and left all her worldly goods to somebody who is now selling off the excess. "Estate" in the sense of the disposals of a legal will. Sheesh. And these folks are "experts"?
(Sometimes George does sell items from a mansion, but when he does, he tells you where it came from, "Sale of the Contents of Blah Blah Mansion", and the auction is exclusively those items. In 10 years, I've seen only two of those auctions - one being Larry (Hustler) Flynt's place. Usually George's estate sale stuff is bits from hither and yon all over the northeast.)
Third, one of the "experts" attempted to figure out what was in a locked duffel bag by SITTING ON IT! Well, there goes that Faberge egg, eh! How stupid is that. The other guy was shaking boxes violently. Duh.
It got to where I was yelling at the TV.
I will never watch any of those things again. Bleck. I will not miss cable.
.
Showing posts with label auction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label auction. Show all posts
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Saturday, October 13, 2012
3641 Pretty feet, so there!
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Have you ever heard of Morton's Toe? See http://www.integrative-healthcare.org/mt/archives/2010/12/mortons_toe_one.html. That's where the second (index?) toe is longer than the big toe.
Believe it or not, it's considered a deformity, a disorder. 10% of the world's people have it. The articles insist that 80% of the people who have it suffer foot pain, and it causes (domino effect) hip and back pain (and apparently practically every other pain in the body, including fibromyalgia and TMJ pain. I think they're going a bit far with that.)
The Greeks considered it the height of beauty. A Morton's Toe foot is called a Greek foot. The non-Morton's are called Roman feet. Most ancient Greek statues have Morton's Toes, and the statue of Liberty has them. When I went to the Mensa world gathering in Orlando a few years ago, there were a few thousand Mensans from all over the world all wearing sandals, and I did my own informal survey. Four out of five Mensans there had Morton's Toe. That's an extremely high proportion.
Everyone in my family has it (so far as I know), so it never struck me as odd. It makes the foot look nicely rounded, much prettier than those ugly feet with those sticking-out pointy big toes.
---------------------------------------------
The auction hall near my country house has scheduled an estate auction next Saturday. (I bought most of my furniture there over the years.) It's going to be a combination of a few estates, and one is Jimmy Cagney's. "The" Jimmy Cagney, I wondered? So I did some research.
It is his stuff. He died about 26 years ago, so it's a bit late for his things to be auctioned. Maybe it was a heir who's getting rid of some things. Maybe his wife? It turns out he had a large farm in Stanfordville, less than 20 miles from my country house, where he'd lived for the last 30 years of his life. He enjoyed painting, and a few of his paintings will be auctioned, among other "smalls".
That was something interesting about that area. There were/are a lot of very famous people living up there, and sometimes you'd see them on the streets or in the village shops, and nobody said boo, nobody takes photos, nobody asks for autographs. No fuss.
.
Polls reveal attitudes; they do not predict behavior. Just because a poll says 50% of the polled will resign their job if X occurs doesn‘t mean that anyone will actually resign when X occurs.
We forget that attitude and behavior are, for obvious reasons, different.
-- [To keep in mind during this time of rampant OMG polls] --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you ever heard of Morton's Toe? See http://www.integrative-healthcare.org/mt/archives/2010/12/mortons_toe_one.html. That's where the second (index?) toe is longer than the big toe.
Believe it or not, it's considered a deformity, a disorder. 10% of the world's people have it. The articles insist that 80% of the people who have it suffer foot pain, and it causes (domino effect) hip and back pain (and apparently practically every other pain in the body, including fibromyalgia and TMJ pain. I think they're going a bit far with that.)
The Greeks considered it the height of beauty. A Morton's Toe foot is called a Greek foot. The non-Morton's are called Roman feet. Most ancient Greek statues have Morton's Toes, and the statue of Liberty has them. When I went to the Mensa world gathering in Orlando a few years ago, there were a few thousand Mensans from all over the world all wearing sandals, and I did my own informal survey. Four out of five Mensans there had Morton's Toe. That's an extremely high proportion.
Everyone in my family has it (so far as I know), so it never struck me as odd. It makes the foot look nicely rounded, much prettier than those ugly feet with those sticking-out pointy big toes.
---------------------------------------------
The auction hall near my country house has scheduled an estate auction next Saturday. (I bought most of my furniture there over the years.) It's going to be a combination of a few estates, and one is Jimmy Cagney's. "The" Jimmy Cagney, I wondered? So I did some research.
It is his stuff. He died about 26 years ago, so it's a bit late for his things to be auctioned. Maybe it was a heir who's getting rid of some things. Maybe his wife? It turns out he had a large farm in Stanfordville, less than 20 miles from my country house, where he'd lived for the last 30 years of his life. He enjoyed painting, and a few of his paintings will be auctioned, among other "smalls".
That was something interesting about that area. There were/are a lot of very famous people living up there, and sometimes you'd see them on the streets or in the village shops, and nobody said boo, nobody takes photos, nobody asks for autographs. No fuss.
.
Saturday, August 04, 2012
3587 Buying and selling
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Jasper gets canned food once a week, on Sunday. Last weekend I somehow decided Saturday was Sunday, and gave it to him a day early. Today he is pestering me, underfoot constantly and biting my ankles when I sit down. I guess he knows it's Saturday because of the different noise patterns outside.
-------------------------------
Last Monday evening I watched Antiques Roadshow. After that, something came on named Market Warriors. I didn't watch the first half, but I gather it went something like this: four people were turned loose in one of those antiques dealers' halls, where there are many stalls with dealers selling stuff. The four were given assignments to buy things fitting certain criteria, like advertising prior to 1970, "smalls", toys, and so on, and then the items they chose for each criteria would be put up for auction and the winner would be the one who made the most profit.
When I figured out that's what was going on, I about cracked up. You don't buy things from an antique dealer, then sell it at auction! NO! WAY! Dealers buy things at auction, and then mark them up by like 100%.
There's only one way to have any hope of not losing money.
First you research the auction. Who's attending? Dealers? Homeowners? Collectors? Decorators? And about how many of each? You're not making money selling to dealers or collectors at auction, since they know exactly what an item will sell for in a shop (shoppe!) and won't pay more than that. Homeowners are looking for yard sale prices, things that work, or particular decorator pieces. Your best bet is a room full of decorators. Big city professional decorators will buy almost anything at almost any price, since they usually have a decor or two in mind, so if they see something currently in fashion, they'll just wrap words around the item and can charge their customer whatever it cost. They don't have to worry about it taking up room until they can sell it. And even then, you'll need at least four or more bidding against each other.
If you find an auction that decorators attend, next you check out some decorating magazines. What's hot? Cast iron lawn furniture is always good, beat up chests and cabinets with multiple layers of chipped and worn paint, that sort of thing. What's big this year?
If you have to make do with an auction hall full of collectors, dealers, or ordinary civilians, you have little hope of turning a profit on anything you bought from a dealer. Kitschy is your best bet - stuff with little real value, but it's cute and appealing.
AFTER you find out who will be at the auction, then you select things to sell. You are still doomed to failure if you buy from a dealer who knows what they've got. Instead, shop yard sales, and little "junk" shops off on the side roads.
Our four shoppers had no idea what the bidders were likely to be looking for. I was shocked that there were so very few people attending the auction, although there were some phone-in bids, too. It went about as I figured it would. Only a few people bid on each item. The "contestants" had in many cases bargained the shop owner down from his or her original asking price, which they took pride in, but at auction they got much less.
Duh. No kidding.
The only thing that sold for more than the guy had paid for it was a wooden rocking horse that wasn't even the antique he'd thought it was, but it was pretty. Pouf decor item.
--------------------------------
I had an interesting experience this week. I bought a necklace on Etsy. The seller seemed to think it was a "vintage" "Bedouin" necklace with "coral, turquoise, and silver". Well, I knew by looking at the photo that it was not old, or real Bedouin, or silver, and that although there were some coral and turquoise nuggets strung among the beads, most of it was glass - it's a tourist trap piece. But it would look very nice with one of my caftans, and it was cheap, like $20, with free shipping. The seller was in the Netherlands. The necklace arrived packed in bubble wrap in a flattish metal box inside a padded envelope.
I could have thrown the box away. Daughter certainly would have immediately, without a second thought. But I got curious as to what it was. I looked it up on the internet. It's a Belgian cigar box from the 1950s without a dent, scratch, stain, or spot of rust on it. Ones like it in much worse condition are listed on collectors' sites at $60-$100.
(Hmmmm. Obviously the seller of the necklace knows nothing about what she has, good or bad. Quick! Buy something else from her!)
I have this guilty feeling, like that I should alert her. Then again, I want to buy more from her to see what it might arrive in.
.
Dean Koontz, The Face: The hero wants to arrest a motivational speaker
on charges of felony cliché and practicing philosophy without an idea.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Jasper gets canned food once a week, on Sunday. Last weekend I somehow decided Saturday was Sunday, and gave it to him a day early. Today he is pestering me, underfoot constantly and biting my ankles when I sit down. I guess he knows it's Saturday because of the different noise patterns outside.
-------------------------------
Last Monday evening I watched Antiques Roadshow. After that, something came on named Market Warriors. I didn't watch the first half, but I gather it went something like this: four people were turned loose in one of those antiques dealers' halls, where there are many stalls with dealers selling stuff. The four were given assignments to buy things fitting certain criteria, like advertising prior to 1970, "smalls", toys, and so on, and then the items they chose for each criteria would be put up for auction and the winner would be the one who made the most profit.
When I figured out that's what was going on, I about cracked up. You don't buy things from an antique dealer, then sell it at auction! NO! WAY! Dealers buy things at auction, and then mark them up by like 100%.
There's only one way to have any hope of not losing money.
First you research the auction. Who's attending? Dealers? Homeowners? Collectors? Decorators? And about how many of each? You're not making money selling to dealers or collectors at auction, since they know exactly what an item will sell for in a shop (shoppe!) and won't pay more than that. Homeowners are looking for yard sale prices, things that work, or particular decorator pieces. Your best bet is a room full of decorators. Big city professional decorators will buy almost anything at almost any price, since they usually have a decor or two in mind, so if they see something currently in fashion, they'll just wrap words around the item and can charge their customer whatever it cost. They don't have to worry about it taking up room until they can sell it. And even then, you'll need at least four or more bidding against each other.
If you find an auction that decorators attend, next you check out some decorating magazines. What's hot? Cast iron lawn furniture is always good, beat up chests and cabinets with multiple layers of chipped and worn paint, that sort of thing. What's big this year?
If you have to make do with an auction hall full of collectors, dealers, or ordinary civilians, you have little hope of turning a profit on anything you bought from a dealer. Kitschy is your best bet - stuff with little real value, but it's cute and appealing.
AFTER you find out who will be at the auction, then you select things to sell. You are still doomed to failure if you buy from a dealer who knows what they've got. Instead, shop yard sales, and little "junk" shops off on the side roads.
Our four shoppers had no idea what the bidders were likely to be looking for. I was shocked that there were so very few people attending the auction, although there were some phone-in bids, too. It went about as I figured it would. Only a few people bid on each item. The "contestants" had in many cases bargained the shop owner down from his or her original asking price, which they took pride in, but at auction they got much less.
Duh. No kidding.
The only thing that sold for more than the guy had paid for it was a wooden rocking horse that wasn't even the antique he'd thought it was, but it was pretty. Pouf decor item.
--------------------------------
I had an interesting experience this week. I bought a necklace on Etsy. The seller seemed to think it was a "vintage" "Bedouin" necklace with "coral, turquoise, and silver". Well, I knew by looking at the photo that it was not old, or real Bedouin, or silver, and that although there were some coral and turquoise nuggets strung among the beads, most of it was glass - it's a tourist trap piece. But it would look very nice with one of my caftans, and it was cheap, like $20, with free shipping. The seller was in the Netherlands. The necklace arrived packed in bubble wrap in a flattish metal box inside a padded envelope.
I could have thrown the box away. Daughter certainly would have immediately, without a second thought. But I got curious as to what it was. I looked it up on the internet. It's a Belgian cigar box from the 1950s without a dent, scratch, stain, or spot of rust on it. Ones like it in much worse condition are listed on collectors' sites at $60-$100.
(Hmmmm. Obviously the seller of the necklace knows nothing about what she has, good or bad. Quick! Buy something else from her!)
I have this guilty feeling, like that I should alert her. Then again, I want to buy more from her to see what it might arrive in.
.
Friday, August 19, 2011
3339 Stuff
Friday, August 19, 2011
I want to see the movie "The Help" when it appears locally. When a movie is based on a book, I like to read the book first. Movies tell you what happened; books tell you why it happened. Anyway, I was a bit startled when I saw the color ads for the movie on TV. Startled because when I read the book, I "saw" the movie in my mind in black and white.
I don't know why I did that, but it is somehow appropriate.
--------------------------------
I heard this on the radio, and it's SO true! "Government exists for the benefit of those in the government."
--------------------------------
A friend recently said that her doctor says she's bipolar. Ya know, I suspect that's so, and I also suspect the friend already knew that. It fits. When she's up, time with her is a gigglefest. When she's up, she does get a bit impulsive, but she controls it well. When she's down, she beats herself up a bit, but it doesn't seem to last long, and she's still pleasant to others. External happenings don't seem to "bring on" either state. It's random. I think the diagnosis fits, and it's nice to have a name for it, and a starting place for leveling things out, or at least understanding what's happening. I say congratulations, and where do we go from here.
It reminded me of a close acquaintance of a few years back who made the same announcement, that her doctor finally came up with a diagnosis, that she's bipolar. I didn't have the same reaction then at all. Nope. There was no indication of any depression with her. She'd go along just fine for a little while, and then something would happen that annoyed her, usually problems with the job or boyfriend, and she'd go into a multi-month rage. She'd attack anyone who said anything to her that she interpreted as disrespectful, and when she was in that state, she saw EVERYTHING as disrespectful. She'd have major paranoia. Most people around her eventually learned to fear her, because her rage seemed to have no limits, no controls.
I'm not a psychiatrist, but even I know that's not a bipolar thing. But the doctors know only what she chooses to tell them, and she keeps her appointments only when she's not raging. And since her rages are, in her mind, completely justified, I suspect the doctors don't know.
So she was all happy because now with a label maybe they'd get her meds right. But she was a heavy (really heavy) marijuana user, and she never told any of her doctors about it. I'm sure that has to be taken into consideration when you're talking about dosages and stuff.
I wasn't happy about her announcement. I didn't see it as forward movement. Just another misdirection.
--------------------------------
My furniture and "good" jewelry is almost entirely auction finds. Here's a photo catalog for an upcoming auction at the auction house where I got most of my stuff: http://www.auctionzip.com/cgi-bin/photopanel.cgi?listingid=1198164&category=0&zip=&kwd=. That's not all of it. George usually just lists a small taste. Note the Thunderbird at the end. I suspect it will go for less than 8K.
.
A lot of people you hire with good paper education can't actually do the work you hire them for.
They learn while doing the job or they don't learn at all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They learn while doing the job or they don't learn at all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to see the movie "The Help" when it appears locally. When a movie is based on a book, I like to read the book first. Movies tell you what happened; books tell you why it happened. Anyway, I was a bit startled when I saw the color ads for the movie on TV. Startled because when I read the book, I "saw" the movie in my mind in black and white.
I don't know why I did that, but it is somehow appropriate.
--------------------------------
I heard this on the radio, and it's SO true! "Government exists for the benefit of those in the government."
--------------------------------
A friend recently said that her doctor says she's bipolar. Ya know, I suspect that's so, and I also suspect the friend already knew that. It fits. When she's up, time with her is a gigglefest. When she's up, she does get a bit impulsive, but she controls it well. When she's down, she beats herself up a bit, but it doesn't seem to last long, and she's still pleasant to others. External happenings don't seem to "bring on" either state. It's random. I think the diagnosis fits, and it's nice to have a name for it, and a starting place for leveling things out, or at least understanding what's happening. I say congratulations, and where do we go from here.
It reminded me of a close acquaintance of a few years back who made the same announcement, that her doctor finally came up with a diagnosis, that she's bipolar. I didn't have the same reaction then at all. Nope. There was no indication of any depression with her. She'd go along just fine for a little while, and then something would happen that annoyed her, usually problems with the job or boyfriend, and she'd go into a multi-month rage. She'd attack anyone who said anything to her that she interpreted as disrespectful, and when she was in that state, she saw EVERYTHING as disrespectful. She'd have major paranoia. Most people around her eventually learned to fear her, because her rage seemed to have no limits, no controls.
I'm not a psychiatrist, but even I know that's not a bipolar thing. But the doctors know only what she chooses to tell them, and she keeps her appointments only when she's not raging. And since her rages are, in her mind, completely justified, I suspect the doctors don't know.
So she was all happy because now with a label maybe they'd get her meds right. But she was a heavy (really heavy) marijuana user, and she never told any of her doctors about it. I'm sure that has to be taken into consideration when you're talking about dosages and stuff.
I wasn't happy about her announcement. I didn't see it as forward movement. Just another misdirection.
--------------------------------
My furniture and "good" jewelry is almost entirely auction finds. Here's a photo catalog for an upcoming auction at the auction house where I got most of my stuff: http://www.auctionzip.com/cgi-bin/photopanel.cgi?listingid=1198164&category=0&zip=&kwd=. That's not all of it. George usually just lists a small taste. Note the Thunderbird at the end. I suspect it will go for less than 8K.
.
Friday, January 01, 2010
2726 Happy New Year
Friday, January 1, 2010
I did go out last night, but all day it was a tossup.
By noon yesterday, there was (were?) two inches of fluff in the driveway. Two inches is no problem getting up or down the drive. Three inches is difficult, possibly dangerous. Four inches is impossible. The snow had stopped, but more was expected during the night. I checked five different weather prediction sources, and the totals expected by this morning ranged from two to six inches.
So I called the plowman and paid $55 to have two lousy inches plowed. That way, maybe I'd be able to get up the drive at 2 am if three more fell. If it was four more, I could be in big trouble, since I can't leave the car on the road - I have to at least get it past the plow hump and into the driveway.
I was also very angry because the town plow hit my mailbox again, and this time they sprung the side away from the base, and now it won't close at all.
All very discouraging. But in the evening I got dressed anyway, and by damn I looked so good I didn't want to waste it, I'd hate myself if I did, so I went. I figured that if things got complicated, I'd figure it out later.
The party was in Connecticut, an 80 minute drive. It was sponsored by several Meetup singles' groups, at a fire hall, and the cost when I'd registered was only something like $45, which is really cheap for a New Year's Eve party, so I wasn't expecting much.
It was amazing! There were probably 160 people. The male/female distribution was good. The announcement had said "dressy casual, but formal is ok too." There were lots of sequins. I never saw so many skin-tight dresses all in one place! (Um, someone should tell women that when you have back rolls, skin tight is not a good choice.) And lots of pushed-up pouter pigeon breasts. Me, I was pretty well covered in my Assuit dress (the mid-priced soft one, with real silver), but still intriguing because I wore it over a spaghetti-strap long leotard.
The food was terrific: chicken in a beautiful mushroom sauce, tender roast beef carved on command, crab casserole in oyster shells, interesting breads, salad, green beans with pimento, and more. The bar was all free, and it wasn't just wine and beer. They had everything. I had one of my favorite sweet liquors, and they filled the glass to the top. The band was really good. The lead guitarist and singer was a red-headed kid that didn't look more than 16, but he was incredible. He had performed with and was a protege of Les Paul.
I sat at a table with four bawdy broads slightly younger than I, and a younger man. I enjoyed them all.
About 10:30 they did the bachelor auction (the auction was to benefit Ann's Place, a cancer support center). The guy I had my eye on wasn't there, which was disappointing, but there were about 10 others. They were going for like $25 to $75, it was sort of pitiful, so I bought two. I haven't decided whether I'll actually collect on the dates. I consider it a donation.
They had a bunch of other things for auction, too. They went at rock bottom prices because they had not been advertised, so no one had done the research or come prepared to bid on them. There were fancy watches, and jewelry. There were huge framed concert posters that went for maybe $50. The auctioneer was almost crying. "This is a PROOF! A PROOF of the famous poster that goes for $3,000! This is worth twice that!" Well, what's a proof?
I accidentally bought a Gibson Epiphone SG Special electric guitar, that had been signed by Les Paul on his 94th birthday, two months before he died, along with a really fancy soft case, and two photographs of Les Paul signing it. I haven't the faintest idea what I'm going to do with it. The red-headed kid played it after I bought it, and kissed it goodbye. Does anyone know the proper way to store it? Should I loosen the strings?
I probably ought to find a buyer for it. If I wait a few years, it might go for more, but knowing me, I might injure it between now and then.
[Later - I found something online: If storing for more than 4 months, release some but not all of the tension from the strings, and store it in a living-area closet, not an attic or basement.]
At 11:30ish it started to snow, heavily, big flakes. I started to worry, because I would be heading north. But the snow stopped with only a dusting.
At midnight I followed a tradition from my youth, and looked for the oldest guy in the place to kiss. The guy had to be nearing, if not over, ninety, a tiny guy with curly white hair, and I planted one on his cheek. Bad idea. He followed me around after that, kept kissing me on the cheek, and pressed his business card on me. (He's a medical doctor.)
Also after midnight, I finally danced with two of the bawdy broads, and I finally got some male attention. Too late, fellas. Yeah, I gots me some moves, but if that's all that interests you, that doesn't go far.
Got home a little after 2 am. No snow on the driveway.
.
People do not do things for logical reasons.
People find logical reasons to do things they want,
and the more intelligent the people,
the better the reasons they come up with.
-- Harold Nickel, Mensa Bulletin, May 2000 --
-------------------------------
People find logical reasons to do things they want,
and the more intelligent the people,
the better the reasons they come up with.
-- Harold Nickel, Mensa Bulletin, May 2000 --
-------------------------------
I did go out last night, but all day it was a tossup.
By noon yesterday, there was (were?) two inches of fluff in the driveway. Two inches is no problem getting up or down the drive. Three inches is difficult, possibly dangerous. Four inches is impossible. The snow had stopped, but more was expected during the night. I checked five different weather prediction sources, and the totals expected by this morning ranged from two to six inches.
So I called the plowman and paid $55 to have two lousy inches plowed. That way, maybe I'd be able to get up the drive at 2 am if three more fell. If it was four more, I could be in big trouble, since I can't leave the car on the road - I have to at least get it past the plow hump and into the driveway.
I was also very angry because the town plow hit my mailbox again, and this time they sprung the side away from the base, and now it won't close at all.
All very discouraging. But in the evening I got dressed anyway, and by damn I looked so good I didn't want to waste it, I'd hate myself if I did, so I went. I figured that if things got complicated, I'd figure it out later.
The party was in Connecticut, an 80 minute drive. It was sponsored by several Meetup singles' groups, at a fire hall, and the cost when I'd registered was only something like $45, which is really cheap for a New Year's Eve party, so I wasn't expecting much.
It was amazing! There were probably 160 people. The male/female distribution was good. The announcement had said "dressy casual, but formal is ok too." There were lots of sequins. I never saw so many skin-tight dresses all in one place! (Um, someone should tell women that when you have back rolls, skin tight is not a good choice.) And lots of pushed-up pouter pigeon breasts. Me, I was pretty well covered in my Assuit dress (the mid-priced soft one, with real silver), but still intriguing because I wore it over a spaghetti-strap long leotard.
The food was terrific: chicken in a beautiful mushroom sauce, tender roast beef carved on command, crab casserole in oyster shells, interesting breads, salad, green beans with pimento, and more. The bar was all free, and it wasn't just wine and beer. They had everything. I had one of my favorite sweet liquors, and they filled the glass to the top. The band was really good. The lead guitarist and singer was a red-headed kid that didn't look more than 16, but he was incredible. He had performed with and was a protege of Les Paul.
I sat at a table with four bawdy broads slightly younger than I, and a younger man. I enjoyed them all.
About 10:30 they did the bachelor auction (the auction was to benefit Ann's Place, a cancer support center). The guy I had my eye on wasn't there, which was disappointing, but there were about 10 others. They were going for like $25 to $75, it was sort of pitiful, so I bought two. I haven't decided whether I'll actually collect on the dates. I consider it a donation.
They had a bunch of other things for auction, too. They went at rock bottom prices because they had not been advertised, so no one had done the research or come prepared to bid on them. There were fancy watches, and jewelry. There were huge framed concert posters that went for maybe $50. The auctioneer was almost crying. "This is a PROOF! A PROOF of the famous poster that goes for $3,000! This is worth twice that!" Well, what's a proof?
I accidentally bought a Gibson Epiphone SG Special electric guitar, that had been signed by Les Paul on his 94th birthday, two months before he died, along with a really fancy soft case, and two photographs of Les Paul signing it. I haven't the faintest idea what I'm going to do with it. The red-headed kid played it after I bought it, and kissed it goodbye. Does anyone know the proper way to store it? Should I loosen the strings?
I probably ought to find a buyer for it. If I wait a few years, it might go for more, but knowing me, I might injure it between now and then.
[Later - I found something online: If storing for more than 4 months, release some but not all of the tension from the strings, and store it in a living-area closet, not an attic or basement.]
At 11:30ish it started to snow, heavily, big flakes. I started to worry, because I would be heading north. But the snow stopped with only a dusting.
At midnight I followed a tradition from my youth, and looked for the oldest guy in the place to kiss. The guy had to be nearing, if not over, ninety, a tiny guy with curly white hair, and I planted one on his cheek. Bad idea. He followed me around after that, kept kissing me on the cheek, and pressed his business card on me. (He's a medical doctor.)
Also after midnight, I finally danced with two of the bawdy broads, and I finally got some male attention. Too late, fellas. Yeah, I gots me some moves, but if that's all that interests you, that doesn't go far.
Got home a little after 2 am. No snow on the driveway.
.
Friday, July 24, 2009
2521 Not my car, darn it.
Friday, July 24, 2009
I opened an email about an hour ago from the auction house I frequent, and found this:
It's a Porsche 911 SC. The email didn't say anything about it other than the photo. It will be auctioned off Saturday evening, Aug. 1, along with a few hundred other items. I could tell from the photo that it's out back behind the auction hall.
This place regularly auctions off things like three-year-old BMWs for much less than $20,000. The furniture goes high, but the cars are always a steal, because they come from estates, there's no warranty, and you have to pay for it that evening.
My mind went into overdrive. I was trying to figure out how I could get my favorite mechanic to look at it, wondering if I'd be allowed to take it for an hour or so to get it up on a lift (probably not), if I alerted Piper on Monday would he be able to cut me a check from the money market account in time for the auction, and at the same time I was pulling a shirt on and heading out to look at it. It was parked only two miles from my house.
Sadness. It's at least 20 years old, possibly more. The interior smells of motor oil. They have it covered with a tarp under a stretchy sweater, because it's sitting there with the top down. (Of course I crawled under the tarp.) Top down is a bit suspicious, especially with all the rain we've been having. From the rear it looks sexy, but the front is weird looking - the hood drops straight down and the headlights look like they're in torpedo tubes.
Nah, I'll pass. But it was nice thinking about it.
-------------------------------------
It's raining as I write this. Just started. The thunder is so loud the house actually, literally, jumps from it. Scary.
.
Every great idea I have gets me in trouble.
---------------------------
---------------------------
I opened an email about an hour ago from the auction house I frequent, and found this:
It's a Porsche 911 SC. The email didn't say anything about it other than the photo. It will be auctioned off Saturday evening, Aug. 1, along with a few hundred other items. I could tell from the photo that it's out back behind the auction hall.This place regularly auctions off things like three-year-old BMWs for much less than $20,000. The furniture goes high, but the cars are always a steal, because they come from estates, there's no warranty, and you have to pay for it that evening.
My mind went into overdrive. I was trying to figure out how I could get my favorite mechanic to look at it, wondering if I'd be allowed to take it for an hour or so to get it up on a lift (probably not), if I alerted Piper on Monday would he be able to cut me a check from the money market account in time for the auction, and at the same time I was pulling a shirt on and heading out to look at it. It was parked only two miles from my house.
Sadness. It's at least 20 years old, possibly more. The interior smells of motor oil. They have it covered with a tarp under a stretchy sweater, because it's sitting there with the top down. (Of course I crawled under the tarp.) Top down is a bit suspicious, especially with all the rain we've been having. From the rear it looks sexy, but the front is weird looking - the hood drops straight down and the headlights look like they're in torpedo tubes.
Nah, I'll pass. But it was nice thinking about it.-------------------------------------
It's raining as I write this. Just started. The thunder is so loud the house actually, literally, jumps from it. Scary.
.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
2377 Auction Tutorial repeat
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
The following is a post from about a year and a half ago that I liked, so I'm repeating it. With "the current economic climate" a lot of really nice stuff is turning up in auctions, and there are fewer people attending and buying. So if you need or want stuff, auctions can be a good place to find some great deals.
--------------------------------------
Repeat from Monday, August 20, 2007
1446 Auction Tutorial
I've learned a few things about live auctions.
Never, ever, bid on anything you have not actually held in your hands and examined. This is rule #1 and the most important. Auctions always have a preview. Go to it. If there's a preview a day or more before the auction, go early, and then do your research. Who is that artist? How much does that chair usually sell for? Then ALSO go late to the preview immediately before the auction and reexamine the things you plan to bid on. Between the first time you looked at that music box and the time it goes up for bid, many other people have touched it, and someone may have broken it. Parts may now be missing.
Once you have decided on your items, make a note of what you consider a reasonable price, and promise yourself you won't go more than one or two bid levels over that. I mark items with one, two, or three stars. One star = absolute limit. Two stars = I'll go over one or two bids. Three stars = I WANT IT AND I WILL HAVE IT AND NO ONE WILL STAND IN MY WAY, DAMMIT! (I'm allowed one of those every few years.)
During the actual auction, do not be temped to bid on something that seems wonderful, and the bids seem low, if it's not something you had already decided to bid on. Because you had not decided to bid on it before, you didn't examine it carefully, and the temptingly low bids are probably because of a major flaw.
Never jump at the auctioneer's first call. He'll ask first for, say, $100. This is an indication of what he considers an acceptable bid, but if there are no bidders, he'll drop. He'll ask for $85, then $70, and he'll keep dropping until someone bites. The lower you let him drop, the lower you might get it for. In most cases, once he has the first bite, it will rapidly go up to what he really wants, and in the process he discovers who in the audience are the interested parties. Which leads to the next pointer.
Once the bidding starts, don't wait to get in. The temptation is to wait until the bidding slows, the theory being that the fewer bidders, the less rise (which is not true, it won't go any higher than it would with or without you), and maybe you want to see how high it will go before you decide to get in. However, understand that the auctioneer is looking out over a large herd of people, and watching for sometimes subtle signs. During the first round or so he spots the interested bidders, and "works" them against each other. If it gets hot and heavy, and you decide to jump in late, you can stand on your chair and wave a red flag, and he might not see you. He might call it sold before he glances to the left and sees you. Display your interest early, and understand that once you shake your head no when he looks at you for the next rise, you are out of it and probably won't be able to get back in.
During bidding, maintain eye contact with the auctioneer. He will indicate when he expects to hear from you with eye contact. If he glances your way and you're looking down or away, he will interpret that as "No", and you may find yourself out of the bidding.
Be very careful of multiple identical item lots. Know exactly what your bid means. The catalog might show and state "a pair of garden stools", and the helpers bring out a matched pair. Don't assume your bid will be for the pair. Listen carefully for the words "times the money" or "per item", or the like. It may be said only once, and if said, it means that your bid will be multiplied by the number of items. So if you win the bid at $50, you must pay $100, and you must buy both stools. Claiming that you didn't understand that your bid was going to be doubled, that you thought you were bidding $50 for the pair, will get you nowhere.
You can make some types of side deals with other bidders. I'm not talking about collusion to keep the bids low. That will get you thrown out and barred forever, if not sued. However, if you bid on and win two garden stools for $50 times 2 in fair bidding, and you really want only one, if you happened to notice who it was who made the next-to-last bid at $45, it's acceptable to offer them the other stool for that lower bid, $45 or lower. (If you want to make a profit, do it off the auction hall property.)
Don't jump too soon on bidder's choice items. Sometimes there will be a tray of items, like, say, a tray of 20 similar silver candlesticks. The winner of the first round of bidding gets one or more of his choice at that price each, let's say $50 each. If there are still items on the tray, they will be offered to anyone else who wants choice for the same $50 price.
Now, this is my opinion, and it comes from a LOT of experience. If there was one particular candlestick you want, and you're willing to pay $50 for it, then win that first bid, or take the first offer. Otherwise, don't move too fast, because now the remaining candlesticks will be reauctioned! And the second round is unlikely to go to $50. It might go to $40. The third round will be even lower. The last five candlesticks might go for $5. The only danger here is that if you hold out too long, on the second or third round the winner might elect to take them all.
A live auction is "as is" and "buyer beware". It's not like eBay, where if the seller's description leaves out something important, like "Hey, man, it doesn't work!", you can get your money back. The live auction house makes no representations and gives no guarantees, and descriptions in the catalogs are assumed to be puffery. So if you bid on and win that "brand new in the box" weed whacker, and when you get it home it isn't new and it doesn't work, well, tough. You have no recourse (especially if you had the opportunity to examine it). All you have a right to expect is "something" in the box. You must understand the implications of "as is" when you decide how high you're willing to bid.
Remember that the auctioneer is faster than you are. Be careful of that first very low bid for junk. They bring out a sad little something, maybe an ugly afghan. The auctioneer drops his asking bid way down. $5. Nobody wants it. He begs. He says, hey, for $5 you could put it in the doghouse - and six hands shoot up. Bam! You've been suckered! Auctioneers are quick. Bam bam bam his hand shoots around the room as he says "$5 $10 $15 $20 $25" and as he's pointing at you, "$30", and surprise, you just bought an ugly afghan you don't want for $30! The auctioneer can nail you faster than you can react to get your hand down.
Hint - if you have a right-handed auctioneer, the front on his left is a bad place to sit if you're susceptible to begging. He'll usually start from his "prime" side and swing around, making left front the last and highest "pity" bid. Guess where I always sit....
.
The following is a post from about a year and a half ago that I liked, so I'm repeating it. With "the current economic climate" a lot of really nice stuff is turning up in auctions, and there are fewer people attending and buying. So if you need or want stuff, auctions can be a good place to find some great deals.
--------------------------------------
Repeat from Monday, August 20, 2007
1446 Auction Tutorial
I've learned a few things about live auctions.
Never, ever, bid on anything you have not actually held in your hands and examined. This is rule #1 and the most important. Auctions always have a preview. Go to it. If there's a preview a day or more before the auction, go early, and then do your research. Who is that artist? How much does that chair usually sell for? Then ALSO go late to the preview immediately before the auction and reexamine the things you plan to bid on. Between the first time you looked at that music box and the time it goes up for bid, many other people have touched it, and someone may have broken it. Parts may now be missing.
Once you have decided on your items, make a note of what you consider a reasonable price, and promise yourself you won't go more than one or two bid levels over that. I mark items with one, two, or three stars. One star = absolute limit. Two stars = I'll go over one or two bids. Three stars = I WANT IT AND I WILL HAVE IT AND NO ONE WILL STAND IN MY WAY, DAMMIT! (I'm allowed one of those every few years.)
During the actual auction, do not be temped to bid on something that seems wonderful, and the bids seem low, if it's not something you had already decided to bid on. Because you had not decided to bid on it before, you didn't examine it carefully, and the temptingly low bids are probably because of a major flaw.
Never jump at the auctioneer's first call. He'll ask first for, say, $100. This is an indication of what he considers an acceptable bid, but if there are no bidders, he'll drop. He'll ask for $85, then $70, and he'll keep dropping until someone bites. The lower you let him drop, the lower you might get it for. In most cases, once he has the first bite, it will rapidly go up to what he really wants, and in the process he discovers who in the audience are the interested parties. Which leads to the next pointer.
Once the bidding starts, don't wait to get in. The temptation is to wait until the bidding slows, the theory being that the fewer bidders, the less rise (which is not true, it won't go any higher than it would with or without you), and maybe you want to see how high it will go before you decide to get in. However, understand that the auctioneer is looking out over a large herd of people, and watching for sometimes subtle signs. During the first round or so he spots the interested bidders, and "works" them against each other. If it gets hot and heavy, and you decide to jump in late, you can stand on your chair and wave a red flag, and he might not see you. He might call it sold before he glances to the left and sees you. Display your interest early, and understand that once you shake your head no when he looks at you for the next rise, you are out of it and probably won't be able to get back in.
During bidding, maintain eye contact with the auctioneer. He will indicate when he expects to hear from you with eye contact. If he glances your way and you're looking down or away, he will interpret that as "No", and you may find yourself out of the bidding.
Be very careful of multiple identical item lots. Know exactly what your bid means. The catalog might show and state "a pair of garden stools", and the helpers bring out a matched pair. Don't assume your bid will be for the pair. Listen carefully for the words "times the money" or "per item", or the like. It may be said only once, and if said, it means that your bid will be multiplied by the number of items. So if you win the bid at $50, you must pay $100, and you must buy both stools. Claiming that you didn't understand that your bid was going to be doubled, that you thought you were bidding $50 for the pair, will get you nowhere.
You can make some types of side deals with other bidders. I'm not talking about collusion to keep the bids low. That will get you thrown out and barred forever, if not sued. However, if you bid on and win two garden stools for $50 times 2 in fair bidding, and you really want only one, if you happened to notice who it was who made the next-to-last bid at $45, it's acceptable to offer them the other stool for that lower bid, $45 or lower. (If you want to make a profit, do it off the auction hall property.)
Don't jump too soon on bidder's choice items. Sometimes there will be a tray of items, like, say, a tray of 20 similar silver candlesticks. The winner of the first round of bidding gets one or more of his choice at that price each, let's say $50 each. If there are still items on the tray, they will be offered to anyone else who wants choice for the same $50 price.
Now, this is my opinion, and it comes from a LOT of experience. If there was one particular candlestick you want, and you're willing to pay $50 for it, then win that first bid, or take the first offer. Otherwise, don't move too fast, because now the remaining candlesticks will be reauctioned! And the second round is unlikely to go to $50. It might go to $40. The third round will be even lower. The last five candlesticks might go for $5. The only danger here is that if you hold out too long, on the second or third round the winner might elect to take them all.
A live auction is "as is" and "buyer beware". It's not like eBay, where if the seller's description leaves out something important, like "Hey, man, it doesn't work!", you can get your money back. The live auction house makes no representations and gives no guarantees, and descriptions in the catalogs are assumed to be puffery. So if you bid on and win that "brand new in the box" weed whacker, and when you get it home it isn't new and it doesn't work, well, tough. You have no recourse (especially if you had the opportunity to examine it). All you have a right to expect is "something" in the box. You must understand the implications of "as is" when you decide how high you're willing to bid.
Remember that the auctioneer is faster than you are. Be careful of that first very low bid for junk. They bring out a sad little something, maybe an ugly afghan. The auctioneer drops his asking bid way down. $5. Nobody wants it. He begs. He says, hey, for $5 you could put it in the doghouse - and six hands shoot up. Bam! You've been suckered! Auctioneers are quick. Bam bam bam his hand shoots around the room as he says "$5 $10 $15 $20 $25" and as he's pointing at you, "$30", and surprise, you just bought an ugly afghan you don't want for $30! The auctioneer can nail you faster than you can react to get your hand down.
Hint - if you have a right-handed auctioneer, the front on his left is a bad place to sit if you're susceptible to begging. He'll usually start from his "prime" side and swing around, making left front the last and highest "pity" bid. Guess where I always sit....
.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
1905 Auction
Saturday, July 12, 2008
So, I went to the auction. Amazing.
I'm aware that the economy is tanking. I most certainly have noticed gas and food prices. But tonight really hammered it home.
One of the reasons I hadn't gone to any of George's auctions in a long while is that he has gained quite a reputation, and, especially in the summer, he gets interior designers from NYC and Westchester coming in. They bid high, because they already have customers for the stuff, and will just pass the cost on to them. George also gets antique dealers from all around the five county area. The past several years, there have been no bargains for little folk like me.
The auction hall is usually full to bursting, all seats full and people standing around the walls. Of the 450-500 items he usually has, only a few items get no bids (usually carnival glass).
Tonight, the seats were maybe 1/3 full, and many perfectly nice things got no bids.
I don't understand it, because the items were unusual and beautiful, and in great condition, even the primitives. Except for instances like the auction of the Bob Guccione mansion contents, we are never told where the stuff came from. From the looks of things tonight, I'd say a high-end antique shop went out of business.
Becs, your Gustav Stickley #637 oak library table:
went for $600. (The light patches are just in the photo.) They had a page from the original Stickley catalog showing that table, and it was listed at $25 ($38 with a leather top).
The following photos are a Biedermeier dining set. It's not my taste, but the Biedermeier style tends to be high quality, solid and heavy, and gorgeous wood. Individual pieces normally sell for over $2,000.
The buffet:
China cabinet (light spots are reflection off the shine):
Server:
Table:
The entire set sold for $300. Even if one doesn't need a dining room set, you could throw a mattress on the table and use it as a bedroom suit!
The next two are late nineteenth/early twentieth century sets. The upholstery on the first set glowed. It is a very pretty set. The second set is mahogany with mother of pearl inlay that I could see working perfectly in a modern foyer. I believe George dropped to as low as $50 as an opening bid, but I don't think either of them sold.
My haul? I bought this table:
and paid a tenth of what I was willing to go for it. The top is marble. The base looks like carved wood, but is actually ceramic. It's 29" high, and about 38" across, I think.
I also bought a lamp. All the above photos were scarfed from George's website, but he didn't have a photo of my lamp out there. There were about 500 items at auction, but he had photos of only a handful. This picture happens to be one I found online and saved several months ago when I was searching for a Victorian-looking lamp for my desk. It was exactly what I was looking for, but it was several thousand dollars.
The lamp I bought tonight is very similar. It's genuine circa 1920s, not a reproduction, rewired, black instead of brass, the base is a bit less gloppy, and the lilies are yellow shading into orange. I like it.
$150.
I almost fell off my chair.
George was not happy.
So, I went to the auction. Amazing.
I'm aware that the economy is tanking. I most certainly have noticed gas and food prices. But tonight really hammered it home.
One of the reasons I hadn't gone to any of George's auctions in a long while is that he has gained quite a reputation, and, especially in the summer, he gets interior designers from NYC and Westchester coming in. They bid high, because they already have customers for the stuff, and will just pass the cost on to them. George also gets antique dealers from all around the five county area. The past several years, there have been no bargains for little folk like me.
The auction hall is usually full to bursting, all seats full and people standing around the walls. Of the 450-500 items he usually has, only a few items get no bids (usually carnival glass).
Tonight, the seats were maybe 1/3 full, and many perfectly nice things got no bids.
I don't understand it, because the items were unusual and beautiful, and in great condition, even the primitives. Except for instances like the auction of the Bob Guccione mansion contents, we are never told where the stuff came from. From the looks of things tonight, I'd say a high-end antique shop went out of business.
Becs, your Gustav Stickley #637 oak library table:
went for $600. (The light patches are just in the photo.) They had a page from the original Stickley catalog showing that table, and it was listed at $25 ($38 with a leather top).
The following photos are a Biedermeier dining set. It's not my taste, but the Biedermeier style tends to be high quality, solid and heavy, and gorgeous wood. Individual pieces normally sell for over $2,000.
The buffet:
China cabinet (light spots are reflection off the shine):
Server:
Table:
The entire set sold for $300. Even if one doesn't need a dining room set, you could throw a mattress on the table and use it as a bedroom suit!
The next two are late nineteenth/early twentieth century sets. The upholstery on the first set glowed. It is a very pretty set. The second set is mahogany with mother of pearl inlay that I could see working perfectly in a modern foyer. I believe George dropped to as low as $50 as an opening bid, but I don't think either of them sold.
My haul? I bought this table:
and paid a tenth of what I was willing to go for it. The top is marble. The base looks like carved wood, but is actually ceramic. It's 29" high, and about 38" across, I think.
I also bought a lamp. All the above photos were scarfed from George's website, but he didn't have a photo of my lamp out there. There were about 500 items at auction, but he had photos of only a handful. This picture happens to be one I found online and saved several months ago when I was searching for a Victorian-looking lamp for my desk. It was exactly what I was looking for, but it was several thousand dollars.
The lamp I bought tonight is very similar. It's genuine circa 1920s, not a reproduction, rewired, black instead of brass, the base is a bit less gloppy, and the lilies are yellow shading into orange. I like it.
$150.
I almost fell off my chair.
George was not happy.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
1850 Sniper
Thursday, June 12, 2008
I mentioned that The Man's laptop had died, and I was trying to find him a used Dell Inspiron 9100 he could cannibalize. I found a few good ones on eBay. The first auction ended at 5:50 am today.
I didn't want to bid early because there were three "low count" bidders squabbling over it, bidding each other up, and if I put in a maximum bid early, they'd push my bid up. Unnecessary temptation. So I planned to snipe (in eBay talk, that's a bid placed in the last few seconds of an auction).
So I was puttering around last night, and the time got away from me, and suddenly it was 2:30 am. I didn't dare go to bed then, there's no way I'd obey the alarm. There are helper programs out there that will snipe for you, but I'd never tried one before and don't trust them. So I stayed up.
I sniped, and another sniper beat me by 2 seconds and 2 cents! Two cents!
The next suitable auction was four days out, and had already been nibbled past the amount The Man had authorized me to pay. It wasn't looking good.
So I found a "Buy It Now" (no bidding) machine that was listed for only slightly higher than the auctioned machines had been going for*, and came with a guarantee, and I bought it, and went to bed. Slept 'til noon.
This was not one of the ones I had described to The Man. I had originally found several that sounded similar to me, and he had rejected half of them as possibilities. This one was out of left field. I bought the fool thing because I was frustrated, and there was a little wounded pride in there, too, he was depending on me to come through, so it was with some trepidation that I sent him the listing. If it wasn't right, I guess I'd have to turn it around and resell it.
Luckily, his response was "This is exactly the same as mine!" Sometimes the sun shines.
(Look how much thicker it is than a normal laptop.)
--------------------
* An odd thing - people will search for a particular something they want. They'll find a few for auction, starting at $1 or $10. They'll also find a few "Buy It Now" at around $400. They figure that they can get an auction one for less than the BIN $400, so they forget about the BIN ones.
Then what happens is that the bidding gets hot, and the $1 item shoots to well over $400, and they keep on bidding!
The smart eBayers will watch the auctions, and see what the average item usually goes for. Oddly enough, it's usually right around the average BIN price. They might get into the bidding, but will never bid more than the BIN price. If they can't get an auction item for less than the BIN price, they drop back and simply buy a BIN item.
Sheesh. What's so hard about that? I don't understand folks who get so caught up in the bidding, in the idea that they can beat the system, that they forget they can get the same thing cheaper and faster.
.
I mentioned that The Man's laptop had died, and I was trying to find him a used Dell Inspiron 9100 he could cannibalize. I found a few good ones on eBay. The first auction ended at 5:50 am today.
I didn't want to bid early because there were three "low count" bidders squabbling over it, bidding each other up, and if I put in a maximum bid early, they'd push my bid up. Unnecessary temptation. So I planned to snipe (in eBay talk, that's a bid placed in the last few seconds of an auction).
So I was puttering around last night, and the time got away from me, and suddenly it was 2:30 am. I didn't dare go to bed then, there's no way I'd obey the alarm. There are helper programs out there that will snipe for you, but I'd never tried one before and don't trust them. So I stayed up.
I sniped, and another sniper beat me by 2 seconds and 2 cents! Two cents!
The next suitable auction was four days out, and had already been nibbled past the amount The Man had authorized me to pay. It wasn't looking good.
So I found a "Buy It Now" (no bidding) machine that was listed for only slightly higher than the auctioned machines had been going for*, and came with a guarantee, and I bought it, and went to bed. Slept 'til noon.
This was not one of the ones I had described to The Man. I had originally found several that sounded similar to me, and he had rejected half of them as possibilities. This one was out of left field. I bought the fool thing because I was frustrated, and there was a little wounded pride in there, too, he was depending on me to come through, so it was with some trepidation that I sent him the listing. If it wasn't right, I guess I'd have to turn it around and resell it.
Luckily, his response was "This is exactly the same as mine!" Sometimes the sun shines.
(Look how much thicker it is than a normal laptop.)
--------------------
* An odd thing - people will search for a particular something they want. They'll find a few for auction, starting at $1 or $10. They'll also find a few "Buy It Now" at around $400. They figure that they can get an auction one for less than the BIN $400, so they forget about the BIN ones.
Then what happens is that the bidding gets hot, and the $1 item shoots to well over $400, and they keep on bidding!
The smart eBayers will watch the auctions, and see what the average item usually goes for. Oddly enough, it's usually right around the average BIN price. They might get into the bidding, but will never bid more than the BIN price. If they can't get an auction item for less than the BIN price, they drop back and simply buy a BIN item.
Sheesh. What's so hard about that? I don't understand folks who get so caught up in the bidding, in the idea that they can beat the system, that they forget they can get the same thing cheaper and faster.
.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
1816 A Nice Day, with Mystery
Saturday, May 17, 2008
I got up early enough this morning to sort and put together a recycle load (the center closes at 1, but you have to get there early or the bins fill up). I figured I'd do the recycle thing, then a few other jobbies, then wash and change clothes in time to drive an hour plus down route 209 to join friends for dinner. I happened to check email before leaving for the recycle center, and discovered that it wasn't a dinner tonight, it was a lunch, in an hour and a half!
I got cleaned up and out the door in record time.
It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive, and there were five of us at table, and therefore enjoyable, although I should have checked the online menu more carefully. Lunch cost me $50! Oh, well. The $7 pot of tea contained five cups, and I brought home a doggy bag....
One of the women at lunch is about Daughter's age, really nice, but a bit quirky. As we were leaving, she said to me "I want to get you alone some time." I said "Alone?" And she said "Yes. No one around." I don't know what that's about, but I'm curious. If there's something she wants to talk about, that's an odd way to phrase it.
There's a really good auction this evening, but I forgot to go to the preview last evening, and I know better than to go to an auction without having previewed, so that's a bit of a disappointment.
About an hour ago I went to the deli to buy cigarettes, and as I was pulling out, I saw a man getting out of his car to go in. He looked familiar to me, so I stopped, and he stood and stared at me, and then we recognized each other. Which shouldn't be hard, because except for the hair color, we both look a lot like we always did, but I was surprised to see him on this side of the river.
He's now the biggest realtor in this area. Very successful. Several offices and a commercial division. We started working for The Company at about the same time, about 40 years ago. It's funny because there's been a mild flirtation going on at about five year intervals for 40 years, but when he's "free", I'm not, and when I'm "free", he's not. The last time I saw him was at the auction of the contents of the Bob Guccione mansion three or four years ago (he handled the real estate sale), and he was with a woman who was acting very possessive then.
Judging from the tenor of the conversation today --- "Wow. You look really good!" saith he, twice, plus several "So what are you doing these days?" followed by my "Nothing, exactly what I like to do, nothing.", and then later another "So what are you doing these days?", three of them actually, which began to sound like a fishing expedition --- well, I'd guess he's free again, but I purposely didn't look at his left hand. 'Cause I'm not. Not exactly. (I wish I knew for sure what my status is, exactly.)
He was on his way to meet some of his salesmen about a commercial sale, or I'm sure there would have been an offer of coffee or a drink, but he gave me a number to call where I can catch him, he wants to send me information about an auction house in Pine Bush that he likes.
An interesting day, I guess. A few mysteries to follow up on.
.
I got up early enough this morning to sort and put together a recycle load (the center closes at 1, but you have to get there early or the bins fill up). I figured I'd do the recycle thing, then a few other jobbies, then wash and change clothes in time to drive an hour plus down route 209 to join friends for dinner. I happened to check email before leaving for the recycle center, and discovered that it wasn't a dinner tonight, it was a lunch, in an hour and a half!
I got cleaned up and out the door in record time.
It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive, and there were five of us at table, and therefore enjoyable, although I should have checked the online menu more carefully. Lunch cost me $50! Oh, well. The $7 pot of tea contained five cups, and I brought home a doggy bag....
One of the women at lunch is about Daughter's age, really nice, but a bit quirky. As we were leaving, she said to me "I want to get you alone some time." I said "Alone?" And she said "Yes. No one around." I don't know what that's about, but I'm curious. If there's something she wants to talk about, that's an odd way to phrase it.
There's a really good auction this evening, but I forgot to go to the preview last evening, and I know better than to go to an auction without having previewed, so that's a bit of a disappointment.
About an hour ago I went to the deli to buy cigarettes, and as I was pulling out, I saw a man getting out of his car to go in. He looked familiar to me, so I stopped, and he stood and stared at me, and then we recognized each other. Which shouldn't be hard, because except for the hair color, we both look a lot like we always did, but I was surprised to see him on this side of the river.
He's now the biggest realtor in this area. Very successful. Several offices and a commercial division. We started working for The Company at about the same time, about 40 years ago. It's funny because there's been a mild flirtation going on at about five year intervals for 40 years, but when he's "free", I'm not, and when I'm "free", he's not. The last time I saw him was at the auction of the contents of the Bob Guccione mansion three or four years ago (he handled the real estate sale), and he was with a woman who was acting very possessive then.
Judging from the tenor of the conversation today --- "Wow. You look really good!" saith he, twice, plus several "So what are you doing these days?" followed by my "Nothing, exactly what I like to do, nothing.", and then later another "So what are you doing these days?", three of them actually, which began to sound like a fishing expedition --- well, I'd guess he's free again, but I purposely didn't look at his left hand. 'Cause I'm not. Not exactly. (I wish I knew for sure what my status is, exactly.)
He was on his way to meet some of his salesmen about a commercial sale, or I'm sure there would have been an offer of coffee or a drink, but he gave me a number to call where I can catch him, he wants to send me information about an auction house in Pine Bush that he likes.
An interesting day, I guess. A few mysteries to follow up on.
.
Monday, February 11, 2008
1689 Online auction addiction
Monday, February 11, 2008
I can tell I'm a bit depressed lately by the contents of the mailbox. I've been shopping online. I do that when I feel like I need pampering. Shopping online is more satisfying than shopping in stores, because when packages arrive in the mail, or when the big brown or yellow trucks come up the driveway, it feels like someone sent me a gift. Somehow it gets disconnected from the money spent.
Some of the shopping has been on eBay. I hadn't visited eBay since the fall of 2005 (except once to buy something from a friend), but since last July I've been indulging far too much, in spurts.
There's a method to get the best deals on eBay. I don't understand people who bid early in an eBay auction. It's not at all like a live auction, when you want to register interest with the auctioneer so that you don't get left out when the bidding gets hot. Registering early interest on eBay is NOT a good thing, and it's completely unnecessary, if you understand automatic bidding. If you want to make sure the seller doesn't end the auction early, just ask a question. That tells the seller you're interested without alerting other bidders.
I'll see a nice sari, with three days to go on the auction, and six or seven bids in on it already, invariably from people with less than 80 in feedback count. They obviously don't understand eBay's automatic bidding and they're just bidding each other up. I don't bid until the last few seconds of the auction, and I almost always win at the lowest possible winning amount. If I had placed the same bid earlier, someone would have "nibbled" my bid all the way up.
(Bidding in the last few seconds is called "sniping", and it's despised by people who don't understand automatic bids. The explanation of automatic bidding is complicated, but once understood, the concept is simple.)
So I do a little research on the other bidders who have revealed their interest. I look at what they've bought ("won") lately, and how much they paid, how much they're willing to go for an item of this type. I look at what their interests seem to be. I look to see if they have a habit of "nibbling" up automatic bids. I look to see if they ever snipe.
And frankly, I look just because I'm snoopy and I want to know what they bought. Sometimes I find some good stuff, good sellers, that way.
One woman I researched today had a very strange buying history. She was buying all kinds of pure junk. Then I realized it was all very cheap junk, and she was getting it at the starting price (often very low) as the only bidder. It looks like she opens with the lowest bid on a LOT of junk (we're talking like $.50 and $1.25 shipping), and then either gets outbid, or wins for a pittance. She has bought and got feedback on about 50 items in the past two weeks. I suddenly realized that she isn't buying stuff - she's spending a little money to build a good feedback rating. I'll bet that if I look back in a month, I'll find her listing all that junk for sale, along with some of her own stuff that she wants to sell.
She's smart. A lot of people won't buy, especially expensive items, from someone who has less than 50 feedbacks, or less than 99% positive. Most people won't notice that her perfect feedback is all from buying piddly things.
She's the one I'd worry about. The sari she has bid on is already higher than she has paid for anything else. It's obvious she's smart, and she's specifically interested in this particular sari. This means I should bid very close to the end of the auction, leaving only seconds. Super snipe.
And that's the lure of eBay. Not only do I get "gifts" in the mail, but I get the thrill of the hunt, chase, and kill.
Of course, the question is, why do I need that boost now?
-------------------------------------
A sari? Yeah, I wear them occasionally. And where else can you get six yards of bordered silk for $25?
The best sari seller out there is Bee Patel [http://stores.ebay.com/Bee-Patels-Sari-Palace]. Her saris are always in perfect condition, described accurately, well photographed, and priced right. My only complaint is that she doesn't sell the sari together with the matching blouse (choli). They're separate auctions, and it's possible to win one and not the other, which is maddening.
--------------------------------------
Later: I was just wandering around eBay, and I found a seller, Everydaysource, who has a feedback count of 710202. That's over 700,000 individual eBay ids he has sold stuff to. Not 700,000 sales, the sales number is at least 1,035,309 (feedback from any id is counted only once). That's mind boggling!
.
I can tell I'm a bit depressed lately by the contents of the mailbox. I've been shopping online. I do that when I feel like I need pampering. Shopping online is more satisfying than shopping in stores, because when packages arrive in the mail, or when the big brown or yellow trucks come up the driveway, it feels like someone sent me a gift. Somehow it gets disconnected from the money spent.
Some of the shopping has been on eBay. I hadn't visited eBay since the fall of 2005 (except once to buy something from a friend), but since last July I've been indulging far too much, in spurts.
There's a method to get the best deals on eBay. I don't understand people who bid early in an eBay auction. It's not at all like a live auction, when you want to register interest with the auctioneer so that you don't get left out when the bidding gets hot. Registering early interest on eBay is NOT a good thing, and it's completely unnecessary, if you understand automatic bidding. If you want to make sure the seller doesn't end the auction early, just ask a question. That tells the seller you're interested without alerting other bidders.
I'll see a nice sari, with three days to go on the auction, and six or seven bids in on it already, invariably from people with less than 80 in feedback count. They obviously don't understand eBay's automatic bidding and they're just bidding each other up. I don't bid until the last few seconds of the auction, and I almost always win at the lowest possible winning amount. If I had placed the same bid earlier, someone would have "nibbled" my bid all the way up.
(Bidding in the last few seconds is called "sniping", and it's despised by people who don't understand automatic bids. The explanation of automatic bidding is complicated, but once understood, the concept is simple.)
So I do a little research on the other bidders who have revealed their interest. I look at what they've bought ("won") lately, and how much they paid, how much they're willing to go for an item of this type. I look at what their interests seem to be. I look to see if they have a habit of "nibbling" up automatic bids. I look to see if they ever snipe.
And frankly, I look just because I'm snoopy and I want to know what they bought. Sometimes I find some good stuff, good sellers, that way.
One woman I researched today had a very strange buying history. She was buying all kinds of pure junk. Then I realized it was all very cheap junk, and she was getting it at the starting price (often very low) as the only bidder. It looks like she opens with the lowest bid on a LOT of junk (we're talking like $.50 and $1.25 shipping), and then either gets outbid, or wins for a pittance. She has bought and got feedback on about 50 items in the past two weeks. I suddenly realized that she isn't buying stuff - she's spending a little money to build a good feedback rating. I'll bet that if I look back in a month, I'll find her listing all that junk for sale, along with some of her own stuff that she wants to sell.
She's smart. A lot of people won't buy, especially expensive items, from someone who has less than 50 feedbacks, or less than 99% positive. Most people won't notice that her perfect feedback is all from buying piddly things.
She's the one I'd worry about. The sari she has bid on is already higher than she has paid for anything else. It's obvious she's smart, and she's specifically interested in this particular sari. This means I should bid very close to the end of the auction, leaving only seconds. Super snipe.
And that's the lure of eBay. Not only do I get "gifts" in the mail, but I get the thrill of the hunt, chase, and kill.
Of course, the question is, why do I need that boost now?
-------------------------------------
A sari? Yeah, I wear them occasionally. And where else can you get six yards of bordered silk for $25?
The best sari seller out there is Bee Patel [http://stores.ebay.com/Bee-Patels-Sari-Palace]. Her saris are always in perfect condition, described accurately, well photographed, and priced right. My only complaint is that she doesn't sell the sari together with the matching blouse (choli). They're separate auctions, and it's possible to win one and not the other, which is maddening.
--------------------------------------
Later: I was just wandering around eBay, and I found a seller, Everydaysource, who has a feedback count of 710202. That's over 700,000 individual eBay ids he has sold stuff to. Not 700,000 sales, the sales number is at least 1,035,309 (feedback from any id is counted only once). That's mind boggling!
.
Monday, August 20, 2007
1446 Auction Tutorial
I've learned a few things about live auctions.
Never, ever, bid on anything you have not actually held in your hands and examined. This is rule #1 and the most important. Auctions always have a preview. Go to it. If there's a preview a day or more before the auction, go early, and then do your research. Who is that artist? How much does that chair usually sell for? Then ALSO go late to the preview immediately before the auction and reexamine the things you plan to bid on. Between the first time you looked at that music box and the time it goes up for bid, many other people have touched it, and someone may have broken it. Parts may now be missing.
Once you have decided on your items, make a note of what you consider a reasonable price, and promise yourself you won't go more than one or two bid levels over that. I mark items with one, two, or three stars. One star = absolute limit. Two stars = I'll go over one or two bids. Three stars = I WANT IT AND I WILL HAVE IT AND NO ONE WILL STAND IN MY WAY, DAMMIT! (I'm allowed one of those every few years.)
During the actual auction, do not be temped to bid on something that seems wonderful, and the bids seem low, if it's not something you had already decided to bid on. Because you had not decided to bid on it before, you didn't examine it carefully, and the temptingly low bids are probably because of a major flaw.
Never jump at the auctioneer's first call. He'll ask first for, say, $100. This is an indication of what he considers an acceptable bid, but if there are no bidders, he'll drop. He'll ask for $85, then $70, and he'll keep dropping until someone bites. The lower you let him drop, the lower you might get it for. In most cases, once he has the first bite, it will rapidly go up to what he really wants, and in the process he discovers who in the audience are the interested parties. Which leads to the next pointer.
Once the bidding starts, don't wait to get in. The temptation is to wait until the bidding slows, the theory being that the fewer bidders, the less rise (which is not true, it won't go any higher than it would with or without you), and maybe you want to see how high it will go before you decide to get in. However, understand that the auctioneer is looking out over a large herd of people, and watching for sometimes subtle signs. During the first round or so he spots the interested bidders, and "works" them against each other. If it gets hot and heavy, and you decide to jump in late, you can stand on your chair and wave a red flag, and he might not see you. He might call it sold before he glances to the left and sees you. Display your interest early, and understand that once you shake your head no when he looks at you for the next rise, you are out of it and probably won't be able to get back in.
During bidding, maintain eye contact with the auctioneer. He will indicate when he expects to hear from you with eye contact. If he glances your way and you're looking down or away, he will interpret that as "No", and you may find yourself out of the bidding.
Be very careful of multiple identical item lots. Know exactly what your bid means. The catalog might show and state "a pair of garden stools", and the helpers bring out a matched pair. Don't assume your bid will be for the pair. Listen carefully for the words "times the money" or "per item", or the like. It may be said only once, and if said, it means that your bid will be multiplied by the number of items. So if you win the bid at $50, you must pay $100, and you must buy both stools. Claiming that you didn't understand that your bid was going to be doubled, that you thought you were bidding $50 for the pair, will get you nowhere.
You can make some types of side deals with other bidders. I'm not talking about collusion to keep the bids low. That will get you thrown out and barred forever, if not sued. However, if you bid on and win two garden stools for $50 times 2 in fair bidding, and you really want only one, if you happened to notice who it was who made the next-to-last bid at $45, it's acceptable to offer them the other stool for that lower bid, $45 or lower. (If you want to make a profit, do it off the auction hall property.)
Don't jump too soon on bidder's choice items. Sometimes there will be a tray of items, like, say, a tray of 20 similar silver candlesticks. The winner of the first round of bidding gets one or more of his choice at that price each, let's say $50 each. If there are still items on the tray, they will be offered to anyone else who wants choice for the same $50 price.
Now, this is my opinion, and it comes from a LOT of experience. If there was one particular candlestick you want, and you're willing to pay $50 for it, then win that first bid, or take the first offer. Otherwise, don't move too fast, because now the remaining candlesticks will be reauctioned! And the second round is unlikely to go to $50. It might go to $40. The third round will be even lower. The last five candlesticks might go for $5. The only danger here is that if you hold out too long, on the second or third round the winner might elect to take them all.
A live auction is "as is" and "buyer beware". It's not like eBay, where if the seller's description leaves out something important, like "Hey, man, it doesn't work!", you can get your money back. The live auction house makes no representations and gives no guarantees, and descriptions in the catalogs are assumed to be puffery. So if you bid on and win that "brand new in the box" weed whacker, and when you get it home it isn't new and it doesn't work, well, tough. You have no recourse (especially if you had the opportunity to examine it). All you have a right to expect is "something" in the box. You must understand the implications of "as is" when you decide how high you're willing to bid.
Remember that the auctioneer is faster than you are. Be careful of that first very low bid for junk. They bring out a sad little something, maybe an ugly afghan. The auctioneer drops his asking bid way down. $5. Nobody wants it. He begs. He says, hey, for $5 you could put it in the doghouse - and six hands shoot up. Bam! You've been suckered! Auctioneers are quick. Bam bam bam his hand shoots around the room as he says "$5 $10 $15 $20 $25" and as he's pointing at you, "$30", and surprise, you just bought an ugly afghan you don't want for $30! The auctioneer can nail you faster than you can react to get your hand down.
Hint - if you have a right-handed auctioneer, the front on his left is a bad place to sit if you're susceptible to begging. He'll usually start from his "prime" side and swing around, making left front the last and highest "pity" bid. Guess where I always sit....
.
Never, ever, bid on anything you have not actually held in your hands and examined. This is rule #1 and the most important. Auctions always have a preview. Go to it. If there's a preview a day or more before the auction, go early, and then do your research. Who is that artist? How much does that chair usually sell for? Then ALSO go late to the preview immediately before the auction and reexamine the things you plan to bid on. Between the first time you looked at that music box and the time it goes up for bid, many other people have touched it, and someone may have broken it. Parts may now be missing.
Once you have decided on your items, make a note of what you consider a reasonable price, and promise yourself you won't go more than one or two bid levels over that. I mark items with one, two, or three stars. One star = absolute limit. Two stars = I'll go over one or two bids. Three stars = I WANT IT AND I WILL HAVE IT AND NO ONE WILL STAND IN MY WAY, DAMMIT! (I'm allowed one of those every few years.)
During the actual auction, do not be temped to bid on something that seems wonderful, and the bids seem low, if it's not something you had already decided to bid on. Because you had not decided to bid on it before, you didn't examine it carefully, and the temptingly low bids are probably because of a major flaw.
Never jump at the auctioneer's first call. He'll ask first for, say, $100. This is an indication of what he considers an acceptable bid, but if there are no bidders, he'll drop. He'll ask for $85, then $70, and he'll keep dropping until someone bites. The lower you let him drop, the lower you might get it for. In most cases, once he has the first bite, it will rapidly go up to what he really wants, and in the process he discovers who in the audience are the interested parties. Which leads to the next pointer.
Once the bidding starts, don't wait to get in. The temptation is to wait until the bidding slows, the theory being that the fewer bidders, the less rise (which is not true, it won't go any higher than it would with or without you), and maybe you want to see how high it will go before you decide to get in. However, understand that the auctioneer is looking out over a large herd of people, and watching for sometimes subtle signs. During the first round or so he spots the interested bidders, and "works" them against each other. If it gets hot and heavy, and you decide to jump in late, you can stand on your chair and wave a red flag, and he might not see you. He might call it sold before he glances to the left and sees you. Display your interest early, and understand that once you shake your head no when he looks at you for the next rise, you are out of it and probably won't be able to get back in.
During bidding, maintain eye contact with the auctioneer. He will indicate when he expects to hear from you with eye contact. If he glances your way and you're looking down or away, he will interpret that as "No", and you may find yourself out of the bidding.
Be very careful of multiple identical item lots. Know exactly what your bid means. The catalog might show and state "a pair of garden stools", and the helpers bring out a matched pair. Don't assume your bid will be for the pair. Listen carefully for the words "times the money" or "per item", or the like. It may be said only once, and if said, it means that your bid will be multiplied by the number of items. So if you win the bid at $50, you must pay $100, and you must buy both stools. Claiming that you didn't understand that your bid was going to be doubled, that you thought you were bidding $50 for the pair, will get you nowhere.
You can make some types of side deals with other bidders. I'm not talking about collusion to keep the bids low. That will get you thrown out and barred forever, if not sued. However, if you bid on and win two garden stools for $50 times 2 in fair bidding, and you really want only one, if you happened to notice who it was who made the next-to-last bid at $45, it's acceptable to offer them the other stool for that lower bid, $45 or lower. (If you want to make a profit, do it off the auction hall property.)
Don't jump too soon on bidder's choice items. Sometimes there will be a tray of items, like, say, a tray of 20 similar silver candlesticks. The winner of the first round of bidding gets one or more of his choice at that price each, let's say $50 each. If there are still items on the tray, they will be offered to anyone else who wants choice for the same $50 price.
Now, this is my opinion, and it comes from a LOT of experience. If there was one particular candlestick you want, and you're willing to pay $50 for it, then win that first bid, or take the first offer. Otherwise, don't move too fast, because now the remaining candlesticks will be reauctioned! And the second round is unlikely to go to $50. It might go to $40. The third round will be even lower. The last five candlesticks might go for $5. The only danger here is that if you hold out too long, on the second or third round the winner might elect to take them all.
A live auction is "as is" and "buyer beware". It's not like eBay, where if the seller's description leaves out something important, like "Hey, man, it doesn't work!", you can get your money back. The live auction house makes no representations and gives no guarantees, and descriptions in the catalogs are assumed to be puffery. So if you bid on and win that "brand new in the box" weed whacker, and when you get it home it isn't new and it doesn't work, well, tough. You have no recourse (especially if you had the opportunity to examine it). All you have a right to expect is "something" in the box. You must understand the implications of "as is" when you decide how high you're willing to bid.
Remember that the auctioneer is faster than you are. Be careful of that first very low bid for junk. They bring out a sad little something, maybe an ugly afghan. The auctioneer drops his asking bid way down. $5. Nobody wants it. He begs. He says, hey, for $5 you could put it in the doghouse - and six hands shoot up. Bam! You've been suckered! Auctioneers are quick. Bam bam bam his hand shoots around the room as he says "$5 $10 $15 $20 $25" and as he's pointing at you, "$30", and surprise, you just bought an ugly afghan you don't want for $30! The auctioneer can nail you faster than you can react to get your hand down.
Hint - if you have a right-handed auctioneer, the front on his left is a bad place to sit if you're susceptible to begging. He'll usually start from his "prime" side and swing around, making left front the last and highest "pity" bid. Guess where I always sit....
.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
1445 Auction / Bylaws Meeting
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Roman, FW, and I were supposed to go to the auction together last night, but FW cancelled out, so it was just Roman and me. This was his first estate auction, and I was afraid it wouldn't be "his thing" and he'd be bored. Actually, I think he was, but he's trying awfully hard these days to humor me. In return, when I looked ahead and saw that there was nothing I had marked on the last four pages of the catalog (of 16 pages total), I suggested that we could just leave early. I think he was grateful.
When I say he's humoring me, over the past two years I have twice invited him to the county fair, and both times he made a face and told me he doesn't care for fairs, and he clearly had no interest. Last night I mentioned the fair, and we are now planning to go together. Hmmmm. I may have to be careful about that. It begins to look like he's doing things with me not for the things, but for the with me part. I probably shouldn't allow that.
I did well at the auction. I bought a gorgeous blue and white Chinese vase, and a Swarovski crystal chandelier for the dining room. My dining room set is 1880s Berkey & Gay, and the chandelier that had been in there is modern smoked glass. This one will go so much better. It's not the "wedding cake" style - it's all curves of brass with scattered strings of crystals. It gives the impression of a graceful woman with long crystal earrings.
---------------------------------
The first bylaws revision committee meeting was this evening, and it went really well! I was surprised at how well. We all seemed to be on the same wavelength. We got through about 1/3 of the material, and so far it's looking good.
The member about whom I had been worried and I had had a small spat about a week ago, and we were being very respectful of each other's thoughts and comments. And I think my ranting in this journal two entries back really did release steam, so I wasn't tempted to push buttons (although I DID mention a few things that had gone wrong with the previous revision, and I really didn't have to do that, and I am a tiny bit ashamed that I did. I promise to control myself better in the next session.)
.
Roman, FW, and I were supposed to go to the auction together last night, but FW cancelled out, so it was just Roman and me. This was his first estate auction, and I was afraid it wouldn't be "his thing" and he'd be bored. Actually, I think he was, but he's trying awfully hard these days to humor me. In return, when I looked ahead and saw that there was nothing I had marked on the last four pages of the catalog (of 16 pages total), I suggested that we could just leave early. I think he was grateful.
When I say he's humoring me, over the past two years I have twice invited him to the county fair, and both times he made a face and told me he doesn't care for fairs, and he clearly had no interest. Last night I mentioned the fair, and we are now planning to go together. Hmmmm. I may have to be careful about that. It begins to look like he's doing things with me not for the things, but for the with me part. I probably shouldn't allow that.
I did well at the auction. I bought a gorgeous blue and white Chinese vase, and a Swarovski crystal chandelier for the dining room. My dining room set is 1880s Berkey & Gay, and the chandelier that had been in there is modern smoked glass. This one will go so much better. It's not the "wedding cake" style - it's all curves of brass with scattered strings of crystals. It gives the impression of a graceful woman with long crystal earrings.
---------------------------------
The first bylaws revision committee meeting was this evening, and it went really well! I was surprised at how well. We all seemed to be on the same wavelength. We got through about 1/3 of the material, and so far it's looking good.
The member about whom I had been worried and I had had a small spat about a week ago, and we were being very respectful of each other's thoughts and comments. And I think my ranting in this journal two entries back really did release steam, so I wasn't tempted to push buttons (although I DID mention a few things that had gone wrong with the previous revision, and I really didn't have to do that, and I am a tiny bit ashamed that I did. I promise to control myself better in the next session.)
.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
795 Aborted Auction Action
Saturday, July 15, 2006
I went to an auction this evening (auction at 5:30, preview just before). They usually go to almost midnight, but I left at 7 pm.
There wasn't much of anything I was interested in, or curious what it would sell for. Most of it seemed like just junk. There was one pretty little carved walnut cameo back settee (that needed reupholstering), but I already own 5 Victorian settees (one a reproduction), so I certainly don't need another. I decided if it looked like it was going to go for less than $100, I'd buy it. It went for $125. That was a very good buy. There was also a 1967 Camero convertible (one owner, a woman who had won it on a TV quiz program forty years ago) that went for $18,000. I was curious about that.
After the settee and the car sold, I discovered I was reading my book and paying absolutely no attention to any of the items being auctioned, so I decided to leave. First time I've ever left an auction before the last page of the catalogue. What's more, I believe it's the first time I didn't bid. Not even once.
You know, I wouldn't have left if there had been any interesting men there. Seems like all the men at these auctions are with their girlfriend, or with their boyfriend. The only men there alone are in their 80s
... except for the caterer. He's a gorgeous black guy about 6'5" and BROAD, with nice eyes and a deep quiet voice. A Culinary Institute graduate. Daughter met him once, and had pretty much the same reaction to him that I have. The food at these auctions is as famous as the antics of the auctioneer. We have curried chicken pasta salad, sausage casserole, the best baked ham I've ever tasted, mushroom or spinach quiche, pineapple bread pudding, various fruit pies, stuff like that. Gorgeous, and he can cook, too. He complimented me this evening on my weight loss, shortly after I turned around too quickly during the preview and ran face first into his midsection. Too bad he's at least 20 years younger than I.
Off to watch my Saturday night PBS Britcoms. I've seen every one of these ancient episodes a hundred times, but it's relaxing anyway.
I went to an auction this evening (auction at 5:30, preview just before). They usually go to almost midnight, but I left at 7 pm.
There wasn't much of anything I was interested in, or curious what it would sell for. Most of it seemed like just junk. There was one pretty little carved walnut cameo back settee (that needed reupholstering), but I already own 5 Victorian settees (one a reproduction), so I certainly don't need another. I decided if it looked like it was going to go for less than $100, I'd buy it. It went for $125. That was a very good buy. There was also a 1967 Camero convertible (one owner, a woman who had won it on a TV quiz program forty years ago) that went for $18,000. I was curious about that.
After the settee and the car sold, I discovered I was reading my book and paying absolutely no attention to any of the items being auctioned, so I decided to leave. First time I've ever left an auction before the last page of the catalogue. What's more, I believe it's the first time I didn't bid. Not even once.
You know, I wouldn't have left if there had been any interesting men there. Seems like all the men at these auctions are with their girlfriend, or with their boyfriend. The only men there alone are in their 80s
... except for the caterer. He's a gorgeous black guy about 6'5" and BROAD, with nice eyes and a deep quiet voice. A Culinary Institute graduate. Daughter met him once, and had pretty much the same reaction to him that I have. The food at these auctions is as famous as the antics of the auctioneer. We have curried chicken pasta salad, sausage casserole, the best baked ham I've ever tasted, mushroom or spinach quiche, pineapple bread pudding, various fruit pies, stuff like that. Gorgeous, and he can cook, too. He complimented me this evening on my weight loss, shortly after I turned around too quickly during the preview and ran face first into his midsection. Too bad he's at least 20 years younger than I.
Off to watch my Saturday night PBS Britcoms. I've seen every one of these ancient episodes a hundred times, but it's relaxing anyway.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
#719 The Chinese Auction
I thought the Bob Guccione auction was strange. This one was as strange, in a different way.
There are usually a few hundred people at George's summer auctions. Tonight I counted 26 people on my side of the aisle, and there were no more than that on the other side. Fewer than a third of the seats were filled, when it's usually SRO. There were almost none of the usual dealers there, and I saw only one person who (whom?) I know is from NYC (and it was odd that she was there at all, because she usually comes for jewelry and silver, and there was none tonight). I gather this auction was not heavily advertised.
Apparently George had picked up one of those boxcar-sized shipping containers from Hong Kong, probably unclaimed goods, probably got it very cheaply, and probably with no clue as to what might be inside. He didn't seem as anxious to get the best bids tonight - he was very relaxed.
From all that, I figured there would be some real steals, and there were.
The small 4-door 3-drawer cabinets, that will retail for $300-$500, were going for right around $100, and the tall chests and wardrobes, retail $500-$800, for about $200. They were ALL antique, but the more dirty and beat-up they looked, the more they fetched.
There were some very beautiful heavy but graceful carved chairs that would likely retail for near $1000 each, and which sold for about $250 a pair.
I wanted one or two of the small painted chests (there were about 8 or 9 of them), exactly the right size for a side table, and that's where it got really weird. The larger rectangular storage chests, lacquered, carved, and gold-leafed, were going for around $100 (a few got as far as $275). The small simply painted cube chests, nothing special, were ALSO going for $100-$150. The only thing I can figure is that most of the people there were, like me, buying for home, not for resale, and so they wanted the smaller chests because they're more versatile. I wasn't going to pay more than $60 for one of them, so I didn't get one.
On several occasions, George would bring out, say, a silvery metal table lamp with a glass shade, and auction it off (most of the lamps went for $20 to $30), and then after someone won it, he'd say "We have 19 more of these lamps ..." and he'd take the numbers of everyone who wanted another one at that high bid. THEN, when there were still 9 lamps left, he'd auction them off AGAIN! Naturally, the winning bid was lower this time, and more people bought lamps at the lower price --- and if there were some left, he did it again! Those first buyers should feel chagrined, but --- he did that several times with large lots of several items, and every time, people jumped in and bought some at the highest winning bid. Um, didn't they learn something the first time? He sold a pair of low stools at a high bid, and then revealed that he had lots more. I waited until the third pass, and bought two of them for less than half of the first winning bid.
I confess I did end up buying stuff I hadn't meant to. The stools (red and black lacquer) were too beautiful, sturdy, and cheap to pass up. I also bought five silk Chinese dresses for $5 total (they'll go into the crazy quilt stash, or maybe on eBay), a phoenix carved out of clear perfect quartz for something like $30 (a deal - take my word for it! I could sell it on eBay for three times the price), and a pair of 3'x7' red lacquered bookcases with rails around the shelves and drawers in the middle for $80. They'll replace those ugly metal utility shelves in the den, and the metal shelves will move to the basement, where they'll be appreciated.
There are some tables and chairs in a Chinese restaurant that Roman and I have frequented, made of the polished roots of a tree. Very beautiful, and we had wondered what they'd cost. There were two tables and some stools tonight similar to them, not as nice, but I don't think I could draw any conclusions from what they went for. It was almost shameful.
These auctions usually go from 5:30 to a little after 11 pm. Tonight it was finished at 9. George wasn't pulling the bids. Many items didn't sell at all. Very different.
There are usually a few hundred people at George's summer auctions. Tonight I counted 26 people on my side of the aisle, and there were no more than that on the other side. Fewer than a third of the seats were filled, when it's usually SRO. There were almost none of the usual dealers there, and I saw only one person who (whom?) I know is from NYC (and it was odd that she was there at all, because she usually comes for jewelry and silver, and there was none tonight). I gather this auction was not heavily advertised.
Apparently George had picked up one of those boxcar-sized shipping containers from Hong Kong, probably unclaimed goods, probably got it very cheaply, and probably with no clue as to what might be inside. He didn't seem as anxious to get the best bids tonight - he was very relaxed.
From all that, I figured there would be some real steals, and there were.
The small 4-door 3-drawer cabinets, that will retail for $300-$500, were going for right around $100, and the tall chests and wardrobes, retail $500-$800, for about $200. They were ALL antique, but the more dirty and beat-up they looked, the more they fetched.
There were some very beautiful heavy but graceful carved chairs that would likely retail for near $1000 each, and which sold for about $250 a pair.
I wanted one or two of the small painted chests (there were about 8 or 9 of them), exactly the right size for a side table, and that's where it got really weird. The larger rectangular storage chests, lacquered, carved, and gold-leafed, were going for around $100 (a few got as far as $275). The small simply painted cube chests, nothing special, were ALSO going for $100-$150. The only thing I can figure is that most of the people there were, like me, buying for home, not for resale, and so they wanted the smaller chests because they're more versatile. I wasn't going to pay more than $60 for one of them, so I didn't get one.
On several occasions, George would bring out, say, a silvery metal table lamp with a glass shade, and auction it off (most of the lamps went for $20 to $30), and then after someone won it, he'd say "We have 19 more of these lamps ..." and he'd take the numbers of everyone who wanted another one at that high bid. THEN, when there were still 9 lamps left, he'd auction them off AGAIN! Naturally, the winning bid was lower this time, and more people bought lamps at the lower price --- and if there were some left, he did it again! Those first buyers should feel chagrined, but --- he did that several times with large lots of several items, and every time, people jumped in and bought some at the highest winning bid. Um, didn't they learn something the first time? He sold a pair of low stools at a high bid, and then revealed that he had lots more. I waited until the third pass, and bought two of them for less than half of the first winning bid.
I confess I did end up buying stuff I hadn't meant to. The stools (red and black lacquer) were too beautiful, sturdy, and cheap to pass up. I also bought five silk Chinese dresses for $5 total (they'll go into the crazy quilt stash, or maybe on eBay), a phoenix carved out of clear perfect quartz for something like $30 (a deal - take my word for it! I could sell it on eBay for three times the price), and a pair of 3'x7' red lacquered bookcases with rails around the shelves and drawers in the middle for $80. They'll replace those ugly metal utility shelves in the den, and the metal shelves will move to the basement, where they'll be appreciated.
There are some tables and chairs in a Chinese restaurant that Roman and I have frequented, made of the polished roots of a tree. Very beautiful, and we had wondered what they'd cost. There were two tables and some stools tonight similar to them, not as nice, but I don't think I could draw any conclusions from what they went for. It was almost shameful.
These auctions usually go from 5:30 to a little after 11 pm. Tonight it was finished at 9. George wasn't pulling the bids. Many items didn't sell at all. Very different.
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