The auction profession is sufficiently challenging that it is rare to find someone who does not love their job. They exist but find themselves soon unburdened by business. The rigors of client negotiations, auction set-up and the stress and turmoil of auction day tend to separate the wheat from the chaff in our profession and despite the hardships this Thanksgiving Day again finds thousands of auctioneers across the nation thankful for their industry.  It is often repeated and widely held that the Auction Industry is recession proof. While this is a great quote to throw out in auction school the facts are that while the industry fairs better then say the yacht building business we are people too and economic disorder affects us all. That said auctioneers are by in large thankful this day for the robustness of their business and the opportunities found in both good times and bad.  

As for me I am thankful for those who walked with me as I found my way in the practice of Auctioneering. While Auctioneering may seem like a natural fit I was the last to catch on. In the summer of 2002, after my father passed away, my mother and I were attending auctions locally in Van Wert County and after a day spent at a particularly fun and engaging farm auction my mother commented that I might be a good auctioneer. At the time I was a mediocre engineering student at The Ohio State University so the thought of being a good anything was intriguing.

At the charity/fun auction that was the culmination of the September 2003 Class of The Ohio Auction School, one of our instructors took me aside and spoke quietly but with conviction, “You were born to do this, you were born to be an auctioneer.” As profound as those statements are today, I will confess they had little immediate effect. But like a seed planted in the cold of winter it was an idea whose time would come. For despite the success and enjoyment of auction school the rigors and demands of engineering school seemed the safer and wiser bet and it was back to that dark mine that I returned.

It took meeting my wife for me to recognize my life’s work and for it to become clear. It was not a sudden realization that auctioneering was the more than just a Sirens song but it was realization none the less. So today I am thankful for the paths I have taken and the paths I should have taken sooner and for those who walked with me even when I was going the wrong way.

Over the weekend we (Belhorn Auction Services) conducted our final live pottery auction of the calendar year 2009. Looking back over 2009 the one consistent throughout the year has been both buyer and sellers concern about the economy and its effect on the pottery market specifically and the antiques market generally.  Despite the economy we saw good to great results on nearly all of the lots in the auction. While I would like to attribute it entirely to our expert marketing the fact remains that the pottery market, for a majority of lines and styles, is stable if not as robust as it was in the golden days earlier in this decade. The recession that we currently find ourselves in only highlights and accelerates the preexisting trends in these markets.  As auctioneers we are on the front lines of the market. Regardless of what we sell, a well conducted and marketed auction will realize market prices and from auction to auction will reveal general and sometimes detailed trends.

It is easy to get too high on strong prices and too low when items don’t meet expectations. I am as much a victim as anyone. However what is critical for auctioneers to understand is that we are unable to manufacture demand and despite our powers of persuasion we are powerless to create a market where one does not exists or brow beat people into spending. Rather the auctioneer is most effective when he or she is an educator. First educating and managing the expectations of the seller about the reality of the market and what are reasonable expectations. Second auctioneers must educate the buyers on the unique and desirable qualities of a given lot and facilitating their purchase with information and service. Third and often critical to new business is educating the public through prices realized. Our newest contributor to the Auctioneer Channel, Machinery Pete, is a master at highlighting the true nature of the market based on open and honest prices.

As much as we like to deny it tastes, styles and times change. The collapse in the Victorian furniture market is a perfect example.  The desires and demand of an entire nation and collecting public changed and while we all may wish that this table or that piece would bring what it did 20 years ago the demand simply is not there. Technology and manufacturing also render entire categories of personal property and machinery obsolete and near worthless. Like the winds at sea we are both victims and beneficiaries. As auctioneers our most endearing and useful skill might be helping sellers navigate good times and bad.