Auction House Action…

Laurie and I have always liked to go to a good auction.  Consequently, we’ve been looking around East Tennessee in an attempt to find some decent auction action that we could work into our schedule.  Up until now, we hadn’t found an operation that flipped our ‘on’ switch.

This is the ‘Bid to Buy Auction’ operation located in Etowah Tennessee.  Like most auction houses, this is a family affair…  We spoke to Matt and Amy who filled us in on how the auction would proceed, how much the buyer's premium is, what percentage the seller pays Bid to Buy Auction, what doesn't sell in this market, and more...  We also learned that Amy is a local school teacher.  There was a large cast of players helping when the auction actually started…probably 8 or 9 other people.   They did everything from calling the auction to spotting the bids in the audience, showing off the items being sold and tracking the sales.  One important note was that the staff and especially the owner and his wife, were very personable and straight-forward people.

This was the sight inside the auction house… Hectic, fast-paced and fairly well organized.  There was a nice large crowd…with standing room only remaining.  We could see that many attendees were regulars and locals as well.  In many ways, the auction was much like a family gathering.  Prices were low to reasonable…with some quality furniture selling on the low side, at least at this auction. (If you’ve been to an auction, you know that you just never know what’s going to be hot and what’s not!)

The facility was well organized with lots of comfortable chairs, air conditioning, a good sound system, computerized bid tracking, a nice snack bar and clean restrooms.  We have never seen so many people eating while attending an auction…truly a community social gathering!  There were many, many items to be auctioned off.  We stayed for about 2 ½ hours and they were still going strong.  Most of the crowd wasn’t going anywhere!  Auctions are always fun and exciting and this was more entertaining than most…

I did make one small purchase…some ‘Southern Railroad’ tumblers that will work well with my Jack Daniels and ice.  They also nicely tie into my collection of train and old railroad depot photos. 

We will be back for more action!  In September, Bid to Buy Auctions will have a consignment sale…and we plan on unloading some of our extraneous decorative items and other miscellaneous ‘stuff’. (We just might buy something else too!)

Bid to Buy Auctions is located at 730 Tennessee Avenue, (US Hwy. 411), in Etowah Tennessee.  Their next auction will be a no reserve ‘absolute auction’ estate sale…everything must go…that is scheduled for Saturday, July 16^th at 6 PM.  The auction house will be open for a preview of the items at 1 PM that afternoon.  Photos of many of the items to be sold will also be posted on the website for consideration in advance of the sale.  Phone: 423-506-3996.  Website: www.bidtobuyauction.com or http://www.auctionzip.com/TN-Auctioneers/101423.html.  Email: bidtobuyauction@gmail.com.