Published: April 27, 2008 12:21 am            

Beware of auctions to sell family treasures

My neighbors and friends are needing to downsize due to moving into a smaller home. She had many family heirlooms, antiques and collectibles. Due to my giving her the card of an auctioneer, she decided to go that route to downsize. Bad mistake!

After meeting with the auctioneer, and getting the one and half page contract which was basically stating the rights of the auctioneer, not the seller, they felt pressure to sign, whether from their own time limits or the auctioneer's encouragement.

They were told there would not be any sealed bids allowed (family members were wanting to leave sealed bids on items) yet there were sealed bids at the auction. They brought in another person's items to auction at their home and stored these items in my friend's home, even putting their items out on the porch one time seemingly, to make room for the other person's items, my weary friends had to move their things back inside due to stormy weather.

The advertisement printed in the paper and handouts included the other person's items and I wonder if they had to put down a deposit to pay for the advertising and auction cost like my friend did or if they got free advertisement and storage. She was called by people asking about things they saw in the ad that didn't even belong to them.

By the day of the auction, my friend became ill due to the stress of preparing for it, and selling family treasures. She had to stay in a back room with her two dogs all day because the auctioneer didn't even want the dogs in their own fenced yard. Friends that came to visit her in her home were treated like thieves by the staff of the auctioneer. Basically she was like a prisoner in her own home.

The auction had a huge crowd, and if just their items had been presented for sale they would have done better, but due to the other items being sold, and poor preparation, time ran out, the crowd was leaving, and the rush to sell their things resulted in fragile things being broken, low bids being accepted and many things of theirs not even making the sale, but everything of the other persons was sold.

Maybe an estate auction is necessary sometime, but, beware of the temptation to sell your family treasures through an auction! Some things that are of value can bring more profit if you advertise through the newspaper or special publications or even on Ebay. Because when you pay the auctioneer for advertising and other auction cost, 25 percent of gross sales, and the stress of turning your home and personal items over to someone else to handle as they see fit you will see what I mean.



Muriel Phillips

Meridian

        

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