When I was a younger, we lived in the rolling hills of southeast Ohio. As kids we came up with our own fun, and for lack of anything else to do, we frequently visited our local livestock sale. I know, I know…you’re like, seriously…you did that for fun? Yes folks, we found interesting ways to entertain ourselves! Anyway, we would ride our bikes down to the stock sales and take our seats among the farmers who were there to bid on livestock. Then the fun would begin. The auctioneer would say, “Can I get a (insert a completely incomprehensible run on words)?” Amazingly enough, farmers would actually understand what he was saying and the paddles would start flying. That was my first experience with the auction scene and frankly, it was a little intimidating. Competing for any item within close proximity to another person makes me feel uncomfortable, so I tend to shy away from things like that. My dad, on the other hand, loves that stuff. He’s constantly buying and selling things that he finds at auctions. When my washing machine broke a couple of years ago, he suggested I look on the local online auction site. I pulled up the site and ended up finding a nice used washer and decided to bid. You know the saying, “You had me at hello”…well, hello online auction!!! There’s no “in your face” competition for stuff, and you guys…you can score a deal. Some huge deals.
I didn’t end up getting the washer, but it was a good start to get my feet wet. So, my next turn at bat I bid on a rug and I won the bid! This rug is perfect for our foyer and its hand pulled from Pakistan. I love the design.
I also won the bid on this coffee table from Ethan Allen. I have big plans for this one, so stay tuned. It looks like originally it could have been anywhere from $300-$500 new and I scored it for 22 bucks!
Do any of you have experience with auctions, live or online? Do you have any tips or trick for getting a good deal? I’d love to hear about it!
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