There are people who do not go to auctions because they have heard stories. They have heard that things are not always above board or that auctioneers are a little shady. Oh, yeah? If some people think that the auction houses of today are not on the up and up then they should have been around in the good old days - or could it be that the good old days were not so good after all?
Well, let's go back to those thrilling days of yesteryear and take a look at the auction houses that our parents or grandparents attended. Fasten your seat belts.
The year is 1942. While attending an auction, you would not have been able to ask, "Hi Bob. How's the wife and kids?" You wouldn't ask that because you didn't know who Bob was. Bob could have actually been Fred. It was common practice to use fictitious names or even fictitious initials. No one had to present ID for anything as mundane as proper record keeping. The auctioneers didn't frown on this unbelievable custom because it allowed them to also use fictitious names or initials to buy for the house or for themselves.
Civility is not a sign of weakness but many of the old-time auctioneers must have thought it was. Research shows that a large percentage of auctioneers didn't think twice about hurling insults at their customers when things weren't going their way. They would also belittle those bidders they perceived as bring cheapskates, the ones always looking for a bargain, with the hope that those bidders would leave and never return.
Unlike today, back then the importance of momentum was lost on the auction crowd. Auctioneers used to discourage consignors from attending auctions that included their merchandise because consignors would think nothing of stopping an auction so they could loudly lodge their complaints about prices. Those consignors failed to understand that antagonism by nature is inbred within the buyer/seller relationship. The job of sellers is to get as much money for their merchandise as they possibly can while the job of buyers is to get that same merchandise for as little money as possible.
Shill bidding was an every day practice back then, as was the chair sitters. Auctions would recruit people from charity organizations and, for a nominal fee, these people would occupy empty chairs in an auction house and they would do this just prior to the start of the auction. This would give the legitimate attendees the impression that they were at a very popular auction, especially if it was standing room only. Slowly but surely the chair sitters would leave one by one, but everyone remaining would be energized and ready to compete. A successful ruse to say the least.
During this time frame, auctioneers were also well known for "running people up." If a shill bidder, a plant in the audience placing phony bids, wasn't running up the crowd then the auctioneer was doing it himself through methods such as chandelier bidding. Chandelier bidding means pretty much what it sounds like - pulling bids out of thin air.
If we were to turn the clock back even further, to the turn of the 20th century for example, we might find what we would consider to be even more outlandish practices. One might even go so far as to say that back then the auction business operated as it was expected to operate. But, as with everything else, time marches on and people try to improve on that which went before. New laws get enacted to protect consumers and new blood brings about new ideas and new ways of doing things.
This is not to say that there are not a few auctioneers out there today that still practice one or two of these unattractive traits but it is now the exception rather than the norm. The general public is savvier today and less tolerable of what they see as bad business practices. They speak up and things improve if for no other reason than to avoid negative publicity. Self-regulation is more prominent today than ever before in many different types of businesses thanks to a number of consumer watch groups.
There is still some pessimism that lingers in the air when it comes to the auction business. We can only speculate as to the reasons why. One that immediately comes to mind has to do with the very nature of the business. Many of the people who are in the antiques business or the auction business have been around it, in some form or another, since they were children. They got their passion for it from their parents or their grandparents.
What do parents and grandparents do best? They pass on stories of the old days. The suspicion about auction houses, mostly unfounded today, will hang on as long as those stories continue to be told. It would do us all good to remember that each and every time such stories are passed on to someone else they have a tendency to grow like Pinocchio's nose.
Well, let's go back to those thrilling days of yesteryear and take a look at the auction houses that our parents or grandparents attended. Fasten your seat belts.
The year is 1942. While attending an auction, you would not have been able to ask, "Hi Bob. How's the wife and kids?" You wouldn't ask that because you didn't know who Bob was. Bob could have actually been Fred. It was common practice to use fictitious names or even fictitious initials. No one had to present ID for anything as mundane as proper record keeping. The auctioneers didn't frown on this unbelievable custom because it allowed them to also use fictitious names or initials to buy for the house or for themselves.
Civility is not a sign of weakness but many of the old-time auctioneers must have thought it was. Research shows that a large percentage of auctioneers didn't think twice about hurling insults at their customers when things weren't going their way. They would also belittle those bidders they perceived as bring cheapskates, the ones always looking for a bargain, with the hope that those bidders would leave and never return.
Unlike today, back then the importance of momentum was lost on the auction crowd. Auctioneers used to discourage consignors from attending auctions that included their merchandise because consignors would think nothing of stopping an auction so they could loudly lodge their complaints about prices. Those consignors failed to understand that antagonism by nature is inbred within the buyer/seller relationship. The job of sellers is to get as much money for their merchandise as they possibly can while the job of buyers is to get that same merchandise for as little money as possible.
Shill bidding was an every day practice back then, as was the chair sitters. Auctions would recruit people from charity organizations and, for a nominal fee, these people would occupy empty chairs in an auction house and they would do this just prior to the start of the auction. This would give the legitimate attendees the impression that they were at a very popular auction, especially if it was standing room only. Slowly but surely the chair sitters would leave one by one, but everyone remaining would be energized and ready to compete. A successful ruse to say the least.
During this time frame, auctioneers were also well known for "running people up." If a shill bidder, a plant in the audience placing phony bids, wasn't running up the crowd then the auctioneer was doing it himself through methods such as chandelier bidding. Chandelier bidding means pretty much what it sounds like - pulling bids out of thin air.
If we were to turn the clock back even further, to the turn of the 20th century for example, we might find what we would consider to be even more outlandish practices. One might even go so far as to say that back then the auction business operated as it was expected to operate. But, as with everything else, time marches on and people try to improve on that which went before. New laws get enacted to protect consumers and new blood brings about new ideas and new ways of doing things.
This is not to say that there are not a few auctioneers out there today that still practice one or two of these unattractive traits but it is now the exception rather than the norm. The general public is savvier today and less tolerable of what they see as bad business practices. They speak up and things improve if for no other reason than to avoid negative publicity. Self-regulation is more prominent today than ever before in many different types of businesses thanks to a number of consumer watch groups.
There is still some pessimism that lingers in the air when it comes to the auction business. We can only speculate as to the reasons why. One that immediately comes to mind has to do with the very nature of the business. Many of the people who are in the antiques business or the auction business have been around it, in some form or another, since they were children. They got their passion for it from their parents or their grandparents.
What do parents and grandparents do best? They pass on stories of the old days. The suspicion about auction houses, mostly unfounded today, will hang on as long as those stories continue to be told. It would do us all good to remember that each and every time such stories are passed on to someone else they have a tendency to grow like Pinocchio's nose.
Anne Benedetto is a former auction house owner and former dealer in the antiques and collectibles business. She presently provides people with important details, behind the scenes information, helpful tips and first hand knowledge of the brick and mortar auction business. Visit Anne at http://AuctionHouseTalk.com which is an interactive site where interested people can talk about the ins and outs of auctions, antiques and collectibles.
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