Continue reading »]]> Recently, I learned of a new store in St. Cloud that will pay you for your gently used articles of clothing, and then resell them for a profit (actually 3x what they pay you for the item).  At first glance, I thought it was a great idea.  But, the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if it just wasn’t greedy and actually hurting those in need.  Allow me to explain.

On this particular Saturday, our first stop was Goodwill to drop off some articles of clothing, and some other items for donation.  Our second stop was to this thrift store to drop off some better articles of clothing and receive some cash for these items that otherwise would have been donated to Goodwill.  Like I said at first I thought what a great idea, but the more I thought about it, the more I became convicted that something just wasn’t right about the concept.

If the items really are of little to no use to you anymore, why not just outright give them to someone or someplace that can put them to a good use?  Why try to eek out every last cent from an item for which you no longer have use?  If our purpose in life is really to love others, how is being greedy with our leftovers serving to carry out that goal? [note: I am an auctioneer, routinely sell personal property of others, and fully realize that I'm being hypocritical.  I further realize I'd be without a job if the world actually adopted what I'm about to propose.]

Think if instead of trying to eek out every last cent, we found someone who could really use the item, and outright gave it to them.  How would our world be different?  I can’t help but think it’d be an awesome place.  I also can’t help but think that we’d be much happier and content.  In the end, we ended up getting $15 for four items and a bag of clothes that the store wouldn’t take which we ended up taking to Goodwill.  In the end, we would have been better off just giving all the items to Goodwill, or finding someone who we knew would have been blessed by us giving them the items.

In fact, I know for a fact, that when I’ve given things away to others (an iPod Touch, and Garmin GPS are just a few of the items that come to mind), I’ve experienced so much more happiness and joy than had I just sold the item.  After my experience I’m convicted that I need to look at how I use my stuff and how I handle the disposition of my leftovers.  I’m hoping that I continue to challenge myself to give freely to those in need around me.

Continue reading »]]> The Minnesota State Auctioneers Association is often regarded as one of the standout state associations in the industry. In addition to such high regard, it is also one of the oldest state auctioneer’s associations in the nation. The year 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of the association. With that, I thought it might be interesting to look back at a small but important part of its history.

In the Beginning
The first president of the association was Russell Davis in 1949. Although Mr. Davis was the first president of the association, the association was not recognized by the State of Minnesota as an association until June 7, 1960 when it officially incorporated as the Minnesota State Auctioneers’ Association. Recently, the board of directors came across the original Articles of Incorporation. This document presents an interesting look into the heritage of the association.

The Incorporators and First Board of Directors
In 1960, the association was incorporated by three people all from Minneapolis, Minnesota: Jerry Rosenzweig, Bertin A Bisbee, and Gus N Benakis. Initially, the association had 16 directors: EK Elmes, Long Prairie; Vernard Paulson, Winthrop; Alvin Payne, DeGraff; Hubert Pinske, Arlington; WJ Radde, Watertown; WA Thomsen, Austin; Daniel Turek, Montgomery; Paul Hull, Austin; Floyd Munsell, Franklin; Frank Sloan, Minneapolis; Russell Davis, St Peter; Tom Gould, Minneapolis; MJ Henry, Foley; Claus V Beck, East Grand Forks; Alvin Kohner, Winona; and MC Maranell, Woodstock. Many of these first directors were past presidents of the association, at the time of incorporation, or would go on to become presidents of the association, after the first incorporation.

Initial Purpose of the Association
The original articles provided 13 purposes for the association. I’ll briefly touch on the first nine of the purposes, as they offer an interesting look back at the heritage of the association – a look back that is important to remember as the association celebrates 60 years.

• To promote a spirit of cooperation among auctioneers who constitute the association and for the encouragement and protection of auction sales and to hold meetings at stated periods where members of the association may meet one another in a body and whereby the interchange of views they may be mutually benefited, their profession promoted and the most advantageous methods of bookkeeping, management, advertising and other problems applicable to their particular profession may be discussed.
• To reform abuses in the profession, to secure, for the profession, freedom from unjust and unlawful transactions, to produce uniformity and certainty in the customs and usages of the profession, to settle differences among the members of the association, to prevent unjust and unreasonable discrimination against any person or persons by any combination, person or conspiracy in any matter relating to the profession or the members.
• Protect the interest of all Auctioneers (members of the association) in all matters of legislation when such legislation is in the interest of our association.
• At all times to help, aid and assist in elevating the Auctioneering profession technical training, instruction, apprenticeship, exchange of ideas, practices, advertising and publicity.
• Exclude all questions which verge on immorality, sectarianism or on politics, except as essential to the discussion of a political topic.
• Go to the assistance of a brother member, when due to conditions over which he has no control, in helping to the best of one’s ability in the conduct of an auction sale or in any other way or manner your judgment may dictate.
• Strive at all times to make the public more auction minded by fostering advantages of selling at auction, conducting charity auction sales, publicity and by being auction salesmen.
• To exercise the privilege, when consistent to do so, of using the organization’s influence as and when the occasion presents, in protest against existing or proposed legislation designed to place unfair or burdensome limitations upon the member, all state Auctioneer organizations and or Associations and upon the auction method of selling or barter.
• To create and maintain a Health and Welfare program, designed to care for the health and welfare of members whose disability by reason of advanced age, or injury, may force them from active performance of their profession as Auctioneers.

It is often easy to look at an association, and forget that so many have come before the current leadership, and with such foresight. In fact, nearly all nine of the purposes of the original association remain topics at the forefront the association today. As the association moves forward, and celebrates 60 years as an association in 2009, now is an excellent time to review the first purposes of the association, and consider if the association is remaining faithful to its fellow members and the first purposes!

Continue reading »]]> It’s becoming increasingly common for auction companies to offer online bidding at their auctions. There are a multitude of types of auctions with online bidding. However, I’d like to focus on live auctions that have an online bidding component (i.e. pre-bidding, live bidding, or a combination thereof). In particular, I’d like to examine the registration requirements of two fictitious bidders at an auction with live online bidding. Let’s call the bidders Online Guy, and Onsite Gal. The auction can be of any asset class you’d like, for arguments sake it doesn’t matter.

Online Guy and Onsite Gal both come across an auction that they’d like to attend. They both notice it has online bidding. Onsite Gal has an entire day to spend at the auction. Online Guy on the other hand is taking care of his two toddlers, and finds it more convenient to stay at home than go to the auction with the two toddlers. Online Guy still wants to participate so he decides he’ll bid live online from his home.

Let’s examine the registration process for each bidder.

Onsite Gal
Onsite Gal shows up about twenty minutes before the auction is to begin. She heads over to the clerking trailer and asks for a bidding number. In most cases, the cashier asks for a picture ID. In exchange for the information on the ID, and verification that Onsite Gal is really who she says she is, Onsite Gal is given a bidding number. When Onsite Gal makes a purchase and is ready to leave she is asked to stop and make payment with the cashier. Payment can be in the form of cash, check, or credit card, and once payment is made, she can take her purchases home. However, there is nothing stopping Onsite Gal from leaving the auction with her purchases and not paying.

Online Guy
Online Guy registers a few days before the auction is to begin. He logs in online, and is asked for his address, multiple phone numbers, credit card information, and in some instances is required to provide a bank letter of credit. In exchange for this information, the auction company issues a bidding number. When Online Guy makes a purchase, he is emailed an invoice, and his credit card is typically processed for the purchase (in some instances alternative arrangements are made). Only once payment has been secured and verified as in the account of the auctioneer is Online Guy allowed his purchases. In addition, every transaction that Online Guy makes is tallied and tracked. His complete purchasing history and payment history is logged in a database.

Something Doesn’t Add Up
Somewhere along the line, because we can look a buyer in the face, we’ll give them a credit card (i.e. bidder’s number) with no credit limit, allow them to take their purchase home prior to verification that the funds are good (i.e. bounced check). However, in instances where we can not look a buyer in the face, we require additional safeguards, and in actuality have more historical data about the online buyer (i.e. purchase and payment history) than the onsite buyer. Somehow that just doesn’t add up, and in fact seems backwards.

Auction companies need to apply the same set of registration terms to both online and onsite bidders. In fact, approving an online bidder to participate in your auction that has a history of purchasing and paying for items is safer than handing bidding numbers out to anyone that produces a valid photo ID in person. By overly restricting online buyers, auctioneers are dampening the impact online buyers will have on the bottom line of an auction, and are not serving the seller’s best interest.