I was out running errands and making some returns early this afternoon, and I passed by an Ethan Allen store, that was going out of business and they were holding an auction of the contents.
On a whim I signed up, and was given the number 161.
As I was walking into the auction area, I spotted my dream bedroom set. It's cherry wood, with intricate carving, but not an obnoxious amount, a queen size bed, woman's dresser and mirror, chest of drawers and two night stands. The price on it was $9,500.00. A little bit beyond my budget....
I went in, and the most beautiful curio cabinet came up for auction. It was four feet wide, seven feet tall, with floor to ceiling glass shelves, curved cherry wood, and it even has a key to lock the cabinet. The retail price in the store was $5,600.00. It was breathtaking....... The auction started at $100.00. I bid on it, and continued to bid, until I was the winning bid at $500.00. OMG, I nearly fell off of my chair that I won it, and for only $500.00.
Next came a maple kitchen table and chairs, that went for around $1,500. They started the bidding at $25.00. I put up number 161, and won it for $25.00. My parents new kitchen is maple, and they need a table and chairs. They now have one!
Next came an incredible entertainment center, that is spectacular. It was $7,500.00 retail. I won it for $450.00. It is cherry wood also. I now have the container for that LCD 42" TV that has been screaming my name.
A beautiful cherry wood coffee table came up. It retailed for $850.00. I won that for $150.00.
Then the bedroom set came up. I had to pay a little bit more for that than my other purchases. I won it for $2,000.00. I am thrilled.
Tomorrow I have to contact a moving company to pick-up the furniture. I have to pick it up by Thursday. Thank goodness I have one bedroom without a bedroom set. I am going to turn it into an office, and move my desk and the TV stand and TV, which are in the living room, into there. The bedroom set that is in my other spare bedroom is going down into the basement, in storage.
I have been toying with the idea of selling my house, and buying something a little bit bigger in the next town, closer to the highway, which I may need to do now that I have my new impulse furniture.
I basically spent $3,100.00, and purchased over $20,000.00 worth of Ethan Allen furniture. I am thrilled.
Did I mention that I was only at the auction for an hour, and did not have any plans to purchase furniture when I left my house this morning? I will be honest and admit that I had a little bit of an upset stomach for dropping that much money so quickly, but once the reality of the beautiful pieces of furniture set in, it went away. This is the type of furniture that you have for a lifetime, so I really should be done for quite a while!
Oooohhhh, Tess... Congratulations, and welcome to The Dark Side!
My husband and I discovered auctions many, many years ago, and I have to say that they're far more fun than a roller coaster ride. I've bid at many an auction, have had items IN auctions, and now try to stay away from them (especially the catalogue auctions which are the best quality) since I have a difficult time sitting on my hands!
If I want to win an item, though...I will.
Always keep in mind that most of those you're bidding against are dealers, and they have limited budgets; they need to be able to make their profits, and therefore have a small margin within which they can bid.
If I'm interested in an item, I like to make an initial bid, raise it once or twice (just enough so that the auctioneer knows that I'm in the game), and then back off for a while. At the tail end, when the bidding has slowed (and the most heated bidding battles have died down), and the auctioneer is about to close the bidding (but is still looking around the room for interest), I will raise my paddle as though it's a pity bid.
I've taken home a lot of lovely pieces this way! (I follow the same game plan when I bid on eBay. Don't even THINK about bidding against me...!!!)
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Moore, the dark side.... I love it! I used to go to quite a few auctions back in the days when my parents lived on Cape Cod. They actually purchased their house on the Cape at an auction of foreclosed real estate, and I held the paddle that day. It's so much easier to bid, when it's not your own money.....
It was pretty cool, because I kinda followed the pattern you described. I bid at the start, and then swooped in at the end, with everything except for the bedroom set. I was bidding against one woman, and if she had not been there it would have been mine for $1,500.00. I had a limit of $3,000.00 in my mind.....
It was fun there, because the crowd was applauding when people managed to snag really good bargains, which all of mine were. I actually was chatting with a really attractive older gentleman, who was furnishing his mountain house...... After the bedroom set, I really had to get out of there, because I found myself looking around the room and spotting some other incredible pieces. I am kicking myself over a gorgeous living room set that went for $600.00. BUT, I have a great leather set that I paid over $5,000.00 for, which is in great shape, and I only have one living room here in the house. Trust me, if I could have thought of somewhere I could have stashed the set, it would have been going home with me, so it was definitely time to call it a day!!!
