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Bidders, do your homework
[Times photos: James Borchuck]
Mary Dowd takes a phone bid during a Feb. 9 auction of Victoriana at Myers’ Antiques Auction Gallery in St. Petersburg. |
By LENNIE BENNETT
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 6, 2003
With a little preparation, an antiques auction won't intimidate the first-timer.
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You know that scene, the one at the auction, played out in comedy clubs, on big and small screens and in your worst consumer nightmares: You wave to a friend during the fast-paced, unintelligible bidding, or you stretch and sneeze. From the dias, a voice thunders, "SOLD," and everyone turns to look at you, the guy who just bought a gilded antique lint collector for $10,000. Oops.
Pure fiction, says auctioneer Mike Myers. "That can never happen here."
"Here" is the cavernous space in a former car dealership on Fourth Street N in St. Petersburg, where Myers and wife Mary Dowd run their antiques auction business.
They recently had an auction of Victoriana in which an 1860s engraved silver buckle sold for only $25 and an ebonized Herter Brothers side chair brought a surprising $9,000, a good deal more than Myers expected.
That potential for surprise is what thrills auction regulars and intimidates novices. But it shouldn't, Myers said. All it takes is a little prep work.
Auctioneer Mike Myers works quickly, moving about 100 “lots” or pieces through every hour.
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The first rule is to know what kind of auction you're attending.
Myers' Antiques Auction Gallery is a specialty auction house; each auction focuses on a particular period rather than selling antiques and art from many periods.
Other antiques auction houses in the area offer a broad range of antiques at every auction. Still other galleries sell reproductions, furniture and decorative objects usually classified as less than 20 years old. Estate auctions can have anything and everything in them.
On Sunday, Myers will auction items classified as Americana, furniture and decorative objects from the early to mid 19th century. On March 30, comes one of European and Oriental collectibles that includes fine porcelains.
(A disclosure: I once sold Myers some antiques. That is not an endorsement, and I have never purchased antiques from him.)
At least 70 percent of the nearly 300 who came to Myers' Victoriana auction recently were dealers, which Myers says is typical. Dealers, people who sell at the retail level through small shops, antiques malls and arcades and exhibition shows, like auctions because they often get a good enough deal to mark up a piece for sale at their retail businesses or on eBay.
"We're trying to attract more retail customers," Myers says. "We know how afraid many of them are of auctions."
They shouldn't be.
An auction is certainly a gamble, with many caveat emptors, but it's a good opportunity, when buying antiques and collectibles, to learn about them and feel comfortable about their authenticity before your purchase.
Success at auction is measured in much the same way you plant a rose garden or cook a stir-fry: Preparation is everything.
"Preview, preview, preview," says Dowd. "It's the most important thing you can do."
Previews give potential buyers a chance to examine an object, pick it up, turn it over, look for flaws and trademark characteristics, without pressure to buy right then.
Auctions on eBay have become a popular way to buy antiques, too, and many of the live auction rules and principles apply. One of eBay's disadvantages is that you must rely on a description or photographs rather than a hands-on experience.
At a live preview, Myers suggests asking questions of others who seem to be interested in something.
"They're probably dealers, and dealers love to share their knowledge," he says.
Take the catalog or list of items home before the auction and get on eBay to compare what similar items are selling for, says Dowd. During the auction, write down the final price of everything.
"It becomes a record and reference for you," she says.
Finally, have in your mind a top price you're willing to pay. It's easy to get caught up in bidding, say the pros, and pay more than you can afford if you don't limit yourself before bidding begins.
Antiques auctions are usually sedate affairs, at times boring. Rarely do people raise their voices or leap from their seats.
The best auctioneers read subtle signals and work a crowd, coaxing higher bids from previous bidders. There is no particular strategy to bidding, Myers and Dowd say, just keep your paddle up and make eye contact with the auctioneer if you want an item.
If you've mistakenly bid, shake you head and your paddle and the auctioneer will return to the previous bid.
And be prepared to stay awhile. Myers' Americana auction, which also includes Navaho and Eskimo artifacts, will offer more than 500 "lots" or pieces to be sold (some lots are single items, like a chair, others can be multiples, like a set of silver flatware.)
Kevin Claypool holds up a lamp being auctioned by Mike Myers.
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Myers, like most auctioneers, works quickly, moving about 100 lots through every hour. (If he doesn't get an opening bid for something within 20 seconds, it's pulled.) But the show won't be over this Sunday before 6 p.m. he says.
Chances are, the items you're interested in will be spread throughout an auction; the arrangement is not meant to keep you captive, but large and small items have to be mixed up to give helpers time to move the heavier things in and out of the staging area. If you stay to the end, or arrive during the last hour, you are usually rewarded with the best deals, because many people have left and you have less competition.
The catalog you receive at the preview will list the lots in order, so you'll know if you have to be there from start to finish. If you can't attend the auction but are interested in something, leave a bid the day before and prearrange payment.
A fee is added to the final bid price along with tax. Myers charges 10 percent; some galleries, such as Sotheby's, charge as much as 20 percent. So ask before you bid.
Auction houses such as the one owned by Myers do a lot of research on their wares, usually know their provenance and will stand behind their authenticity. But inquire about authenticity when you preview. Understand that no one can guarantee the value of an object.
Reproductions are becoming a big business for some auction galleries. They can be beautiful furniture and decorative pieces but are entirely different from antiques or furniture that is considered custom-made and bench-made.
Know what you're buying because, in the end, the sale is final.
If you go
Americana auction at Myers' Antiques Auction Gallery, 1600 Fourth St. N, St. Petersburg, is 1 p.m. Sunday. Included are period furniture, textiles and decorative items. Previews are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. At 4 p.m. Saturday, Myers and Dowd will set up an area for novice bidders to explain procedures and walk through the auction area. Admission is free. For more information, call (727) 823-3249 or visit www.myersfineart.com. For other auctions in the area, check the auctions section in the classified section of your newspaper, the yellow pages of your phone book or ask local dealers for recommendations.
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