luvthatlulu
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- Messages
- 433
- Location
- Knoxville, TN
My apologies if this thread already exists. Is anyone else beside Lulu and me addicted to auctions (not the eBay type) especially in their quest for vintage items? I'm specifically thinking estate sales, direct-to-dealer auctions, etc rather than online auctions. Any interesting stories or advice (tactics)?
When Lulu and I began furnishing our new home we went in search of vintage Art Deco furniture pieces; which, in East Tennessee, aren 't easy to find to start with. One day we saw an ad for a local auction house that listed an "Art Deco Buffet" as one item to be shown. I was at work, so Lulu went ahead to scope it out that afternoon prior to the sale. Soon after, I got a phone call and she's breathlessly telling me that it's "gorgeous...magnificent...exactly what we need...she'll just die if anyone else gets it...blah bah blah". Yeah, right. "AND....it's got not one, count 'em, two concealed Prohibition-era liquor storage compartments built inside it".
"Don't take your eyes off it, honey...I'm on my way!"
By the time I arrived, it was about an hour before the start of the auction. Lulu was right by every detail. Problem was we'd seen what similar items brought in antique stores and Deco-specialty shops and we were trying to figure out which Qwiki Mart(s) we could hold up before the auction just to have a chance of staying in the bidding war that we knew would erupt. That, coupled with the fact that every son-of-a-gun that walked in that night bee-lined right to it and started opening drawers and doors and oohing and aahing over it, too. Then we were truly sweating blood!
Lulu had earlier persuaded the auction house to start that item early because we would not be able to stay late and bid, and they graciously complied. Soon the auction began. Auctioneer immediately began gushing superlatives in describing it (more profuse blood-sweating ensues) but neglects to use the magic "D" word (some hope follows) and, miraculously, the bidding starts fierce at first and then stalls at just over....
$100.00...in American money! Then $125.00. $125.00 going once. Heck, yeah, we're in...my hand went up! $130.00. $130.00 going once. $130.00 going twice. Final warning, $130.00 (I was prepared to kill the first SOB that stuck a hand up). Sold.
Lulu and I looked at each other and she whispered, "Did this really happen?"
I felt like Jesse James and I had just robbed a bank...and, guess what...it was "You-Get-To-Rob-A-Bank-Free" day!!!
"Honey, go outside and get the horses...er, car...while I pay these folks and make arrangements for pickup...quickly...and quietly."
Anyone else still wondering if it really did happen to/for you?
--Not the Lulu
When Lulu and I began furnishing our new home we went in search of vintage Art Deco furniture pieces; which, in East Tennessee, aren 't easy to find to start with. One day we saw an ad for a local auction house that listed an "Art Deco Buffet" as one item to be shown. I was at work, so Lulu went ahead to scope it out that afternoon prior to the sale. Soon after, I got a phone call and she's breathlessly telling me that it's "gorgeous...magnificent...exactly what we need...she'll just die if anyone else gets it...blah bah blah". Yeah, right. "AND....it's got not one, count 'em, two concealed Prohibition-era liquor storage compartments built inside it".
"Don't take your eyes off it, honey...I'm on my way!"
By the time I arrived, it was about an hour before the start of the auction. Lulu was right by every detail. Problem was we'd seen what similar items brought in antique stores and Deco-specialty shops and we were trying to figure out which Qwiki Mart(s) we could hold up before the auction just to have a chance of staying in the bidding war that we knew would erupt. That, coupled with the fact that every son-of-a-gun that walked in that night bee-lined right to it and started opening drawers and doors and oohing and aahing over it, too. Then we were truly sweating blood!
Lulu had earlier persuaded the auction house to start that item early because we would not be able to stay late and bid, and they graciously complied. Soon the auction began. Auctioneer immediately began gushing superlatives in describing it (more profuse blood-sweating ensues) but neglects to use the magic "D" word (some hope follows) and, miraculously, the bidding starts fierce at first and then stalls at just over....
$100.00...in American money! Then $125.00. $125.00 going once. Heck, yeah, we're in...my hand went up! $130.00. $130.00 going once. $130.00 going twice. Final warning, $130.00 (I was prepared to kill the first SOB that stuck a hand up). Sold.Lulu and I looked at each other and she whispered, "Did this really happen?"
I felt like Jesse James and I had just robbed a bank...and, guess what...it was "You-Get-To-Rob-A-Bank-Free" day!!!
"Honey, go outside and get the horses...er, car...while I pay these folks and make arrangements for pickup...quickly...and quietly."
Anyone else still wondering if it really did happen to/for you?
--Not the Lulu
