I am fortunate in my auction career to have worked at a wide cross section of auctions from the simple estate auction to business liquidations to high end specialty auctions. This week Belhorn Auction Services, LLC is going to be on the road. We are traveling to Minnesota and South Carolina to pick up art pottery for our auction event at the beginning of October and trips to Maryland and Michigan are in the works. I never imagined when I entered the auction profession in 2003 that I would work with a company that offered the opportunity for so much travel. When I was growing up it seemed that auctioneers seldom needed to venture outside the county to find work. However at Belhorn we specialize almost exclusively in American Art Pottery and that specialization has its demands.

There are many benefits to specialization, however one of the burdens is the need to travel far and wide to pick up collections and meet with clients.  Much of the pottery we sell was made in Ohio in the first half of the 20th Century, however over 90% of our clients are from outside our state. What was made in Ohio was shipped nationwide and thanks to eBay and internet sales there are large and valuable collections in cities and hamlets across the nation. This summer we sold a large collection from Puerto Rico. I believe at last count we have traveled to over 15 states to pick up collections and had consignors ship or deliver items from 35 states and Canada.

The longevity and success of eBay means that collections are no longer tied to geography. In the past it was easy to point to an area and say something was very collectable and desirable and large collections could be found there. Also in the past societies and groups were more active and that fellowship meant that people knew who and where the largest collections were. Now collectors buy in near complete anonymity if they wish and you are just as likely to find massive Roseville Collection in a basement in Idaho as you are in an attic in Ohio. We ship to all fifty states each year and sites like JustArtPottery.com report similar geographic diversity.  The diversity of collectors is both a blessing and curse for auctioneers. The playing field is becoming a level one as the old auction standards have to compete in a global market place and the new, younger companies gain market share.