How to Take Advantage of Estate Auctions
Attending estate auctions is a great way to purchase used, antique and vintage merchandise for yourself or for re-sale. If you are lucky, you can get some great finds for a fraction of their value. Estate auctions are not difficult to find. Many times when someone passes away, or enters a nursing home, an auction is run to liquidate their estate.
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Instructions
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Find estate auctions running in your area. Your local newspaper is often the best source for this information. Many areas run their auction listings in the Thursday edition of the paper. There are also several websites on the Internet where you can find auction ads.
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Show up at the estate auction as soon as the preview opens. Most auctions run a scheduled preview time immediately before the auction begins. Some auctions run the preview the day before. Get there early enough to give yourself plenty of time to view the merchandise. Look everything over carefully; auction merchandise is offered as is.
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Bring a pad of paper and a pen and make notes of the items you are interested in purchasing. Next to the item write down the maximum amount that you are willing to pay for it. When bidding, do not bid over your maximum amount.
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Bid on the items you are interested in by holding up your bid card when the item is being auctioned off. Wait until the auctioneer comes down on the opening bid before beginning your bidding. Until you get used to the process, you may want to wait until someone else opens the bid before you bid.
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Stop bidding when you have reached the maximum amount that you are willing to pay for the item. Be careful that you don't get caught up in the bidding process and over pay for items.
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Take the items that you have won home. Clean them up if they are dirty and make any necessary repairs to them. Then sell them to your customers at a higher price than you paid for them at the estate auction.
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Tips & Warnings
Most auctioneers charge a percentage of your winning bid price to help cover their expenses. This is known as a buyer's premium. The average buyer's premium is usually around 10 percent. Be sure you know how much buyer's premium is being charged and you factor that in when deciding how high you can bid.
