At any auction you can see a number of people working to make the sale possible.  Of course you see the auctioneer, chanting and taking offers.  You see the ringmen, pointing out merchandise and calling bids.  You see the cashier, handing out buyer numbers and processing payments.  You even see the person behind the snackbar, selling soda and hotdogs. There is, however, another person behind the magic of an auction who is rarely seen or given credit: the clerk.  An auction clerk has one of the most important jobs during a sale.  He or she is responsible for entering into the computer system (or writing upon tickets should the auction house still be using paper) the items, the prices, and the buyer numbers.  Without the clerk, an auction would not be possible.  There would be chaos and confusion.

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Tags: auctions, clerking, savo auctioneers

Those of you who frequent our auctions have, at one time or another, seen us pull an item off the block even though one or several bids have been taken on it and the item did not have a specific reserve. Although this is a rare occurrence during one of our sales, it has caused some controversy over the years and has manifested in some interesting theories from buyers concerning auction law.  But the fact is, that because we–the Savo Auctioneers–do not conduct and absolute auction, we are under no obligation to sell any item, regardless of the number of bids we accept on it.  This practice is founded on neither a question of ethics nor company policy, but on the Pennsylvania Code of Auction Law.

Basically, there are two types of auctions: absolute and with reserve.

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Tags: absolute, auctions, bidding, reserve, savo auctioneers

You’re at an auction, pressed shoulder to shoulder with other bidders, and the auctioneer is chanting away.  It comes without warning and you nearly jump out of your shoes.  HYEP!  It is a noise unlike any you have ever heard.  HYEP!  You hear it again, but from another location.  HYEP!  It sounds again from the first spot.  You start wonder what it is and your eyes dart around.You see one of the guys who is working the auction floor.  He is pointing to a woman and saying, “You’re out.  You need to bid again.”  The woman nods her head and the man pointing at her raises his hand and bellows, “HYEP!”  You look in the direction from where the other strange noise came.  You see another one of the floor workers and he is pointing at a man saying, “The bid is back to you.  You gotta get in there.”  The man nods his head and the worker pointing at him raises his hand and echoes, “HYEP!”  

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Tags: auctions, bidding, savo auctioneers

The British Comedy team, Monty Python, once performed a sketch in which the audience learned that “a nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat.”  Although this may be well and good for a blind bat, it does not apply to an auctioneer.  Throughout the years, auctions have made appearances in movies and on television.  Too many times, auction goers on film have been seen to bid by using body parts other than their hands or arms.  For example, some twitch their noses, tug their ears, furrow their brows, ruffle their mustaches, or scratch their knees.  Then, of course, there is the all time favorite cover bidding technique: the wink.

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Tags: auctions, bidding, savo auctioneers