The tradition of auctions, from yesterday to today, from low prices to very high value objects. First text of a series of three.
With a great jerk, the auctioneer’s little hammer has just fallen. All eyes turn to the winner. Who is this ? The public seeks to locate it. Maybe it’s the man in the blue shirt at the back of the room, the one who just lowered his head? Not sure. The attention of the curious is immediately brought back to the result of the sale. The objects parade, one after the other, in a strange ballet with vaguely hypnotic properties.
The scene repeats itself ten times, a hundred times. On a tray placed in front of the auctioneer, here are some pieces of crockery from a house where everything must be sold following the death of its owner. “Water glasses, guys! All the beauty set here, there, look That ! Water glasses, it’s not my kind at all, water glasses! Who would give me fivedollars ? I have five! I’ve got five ! Who would give me ten ! Yes ! Thank youMrs ! And fifteen here ! Someone give me 20 bucks for all the drinks here? All that, here, here! No ? So15 dollars once, 15 dollars twice! Sold to you, at the back, ma’am, for $15. That’s not expensive! »
Traditional auctions usually take place in rooms frequented by regulars, joined by a few amateurs and the curious. In winter, traditional sales, those that are not conducted online, are now rare. The times have changed. Other forms of auctioning will be discussed in the second and third texts of this series.
The auctioneer—the auctioneer, as everyone says at popular auctions—is often a colorful character who possesses the qualities of a director. He proceeds to the sale of lots by arousing rivalry between buyers while being the arbiter. Those who are interested in the same object observe themselves like earthenware dogs. The crafty ones feign indifference instead. Some stamp their feet and reveal their game straight away. In some cases, according to prior arrangements with the auctioneers, it is possible to bid by telephone, or even by Internet, during such sales.
After two years of pandemic where they have been almost stopped, do traditional auctions still have a future? “Of course it has gone down a lot,” explains Geneviève Manseau, of BSB Auction Services. These days, her husband, Stephen Barrie, is in England as auctioneer of a major international sale of heavy machinery. “He goes everywhere for work. For her part, she manages the cash register. In this business, you have to know how to do everything and sell everything.
A show
“The culture has changed. It’s less popular than it was. But there have always been waves of popularity that change,” explains Geneviève Manseau. She notes that antique furniture now sells for very little, if at all. “Several antique dealers that used to get their supplies from auctioneers have closed their doors. The demand is no longer there. On the other hand, old advertisements have become very popular. »
At auction, nothing is ever to be taken quite literally. Everything is sold “as is”. The humor and energy of the person leading the sale can keep everyone spellbound for hours, even those who don’t buy anything.
In summer, in the region in particular, there are still several traditional auctions. The public gathers there to bet under a tent or quite simply in the open air, near houses gradually emptied of their contents.
Many auctioneers are used to being accompanied by a mobile canteen that sells hot dogs. Fingers that touch objects are sometimes coated with fat from French fries and are stained with “baseball mustard”.
It was by following auctioneers with his parents, owners of mobile canteens, that Alain Brousseau learned the trade. He has now been driving sales for 26 years. A large audience was able to see him at work thanks to the show Auction fever, broadcast on the Historia channel. On his website, this Sherbrooke auctioneer presents himself quite simply as “the boss » auctions.
“Of course there are fewer auctioneers than before, even if the show Auction fever revived people’s curiosity,” says Geneviève Manseau. “In auctions, it’s between the wholesale price and the retail price. Sometimes we do very good business, ”she adds. But sometimes not. To the selling price, you must add the taxes. And sometimes a commission to the auctioneer which can range from 10 to 25%, depending on the house.
You have to be warned and know how to taste the experience, warns Mme Manseau.
Three generations
“My grandfather must have started doing this in the 1960s,” says auctioneer Scott Bennett. Arthur “Art” Bennett had even been commissioned by some important figures in the world of professional hockey, explains his grandson with pride. “He sold Bobby Hull’s animals. He also sold for Scotty Bowman. »
In I sing on horseback with Willy Lamothe, a 1971 documentary devoted to the country singer, a few images show an auction sale in the Eastern Townships. We see Art Bennett at work. He speaks quickly, very quickly, according to the standards of the genre, in a mixture of English and French less articulated than sung. Only initiates can claim to follow him. “My grandfather sold everything. Like my father. Antiques, but also animals. »
The grandson took over the family business. “Where did my grandfather learn that?” I do not know. But he had obtained a license to do this. In the past, he could do three or four auctions a week. My dad did a lot too. Scott’s mother, Patricia Stanley, continues to be present at sales. “My mother has been doing this with us, I think, for more than forty years. »
Auctions are often based on a family affair. Harry Graham, another auctioneer well known to the public in the Eastern Townships, also saw his son succeed him. “There are fewer than before, anyway,” notes like other Scott Bennett. For what ? “Habits have changed. People see themselves spending several hours less, for the pleasure, in front of a parade of very diverse goods.
great mysteries
During a traditional sale, buyers observe and study each other out of the corner of their eyes. Some are less patient than others, who intelligently let slip by observing the action until getting involved at the last moment.
Sometimes, after several sales, everything seems paralyzed, without anyone really knowing why. No one reacts anymore. The auctioneer may shout, nothing helps. So it happens that the first who manages to tear himself away from this strange common torpor does “a very good deal”, as they say.
The opposite also happens. A pine chest of drawers that announced nothing suddenly arouses a general hubbub before being sold for several thousand dollars. Nobody understands very well what happened. These are the mysteries of auctions.
How to react ?
The auctioneer often tries to kick off the sales at a high price. Too high. If no one flinches, he calms his appetites. The sale is deflating. She leaves, more slowly, but sometimes quickly crossing the threshold that no one wanted to cross beforehand only a few moments before. Patience is key.
The regulars settle at the back, on the sides, finally, where they can observe the reactions of the room as much as the objects proposed by the auctioneer. Those who, misplaced, strive to bet can sometimes find themselves bidding against themselves. It was seen. In any case, they risk being overcome by their own enthusiasm.
Buyers first register at the sales table. A card with a number allows you to identify yourself and add up your purchases.
Now it is often possible to register in advance online. Being a known buyer sometimes offers intangible, but real benefits.
In all types of auctions, the basic rules remain pretty much the same. Including in more upscale sales, led by major national or international houses. This will be discussed in particular in the rest of this series.