Saturday Morning at the Auction Block

Saturday morning I went to an auction, which was rather fascinating. The auction was for the personal property of a couple that I knew. She passed away a couple of years ago and he passed away in the fall. Their daughter apparently got all the items that she wanted and made the decision to auction off all that was left – which was a lot.

On the auction block was almost everything you can think of – tools, Longerberger baskets, dishes, silverware, a piano, a couch, chairs, a dining room set, bedroom sets, and the list goes on. There wasn't really anything in particular that I was looking for or wanted. I just thought I would go check it out and maybe buy something if it struck my fancy.

I wasn't sure how the crowd would be since it was pouring down rain and freezing cold (on May 4 I might add), but when I turned the corner onto the street where the home was, cars lined both sides and I knew there was a big turnout. I parked maybe a fourth mile or so down the street and made the trek to the tent in front of the house. Thankfully I wore my rain boots because the front yard and where the main tent was had mud and water everywhere. When I took a step, mud and water covered my boots and by the time I left my pants had mud splatters on them too.

The auction was fascinating. I have only been to one auction before and that was when I was 16 and my great-grandmother’s belongings were auctioned off so  I really don’t remember much about it because I was 16 and didn't have much interest I guess. I arrived at 9:30 and planned to only stay until about 10:45 because I wanted to go see Ironman 3 at 11:30. The next thing I knew I had been sitting there and hour, probably with my mouth open, and decided to stay another hour and catch the 12:30 movie instead. The auctioneers were so interesting to watch and despite the cold and rain I was really enjoying taking it all in. Y’all, this auction was so big, that there were two separate auction blocks and another tent that was set up selling grilled burgers and hot dogs. 

While I was there I couldn't help but think about how bittersweet the auction was. Lots of folks were getting really nice things for a good price, but it also seemed sad to me that there were no family members that could have used these nice things. There’s just something so impersonal about auctioning off a person’s personal property. I probably wouldn't feel the same if I didn't know the people, but there was just a sadness about it I thought.

I ended up buying one Longerberger basket. I had earlier in the week decided that I needed to get something to set by the TV to put some DVDs in for Sydney. Last week we had brought out a lot of the kids movies I own and they were just sitting in the floor. So, it worked out that I was able to buy a basket for $12.50 and it works perfectly for holding those movies and is a nice memento of this family.

I’m not sure what all the tools and work equipment went for because I never ventured down to that tent. There was also a restored Ford Hot Rod that was sold and I don’t know what it went for either. I do hope to find out though. The dining room set sold for $1150, one of the queen beds (iron) sold for $525 and the piano sold for $150. There was one lady that bought a ton of baskets. I didn't keep a tally, but I would venture to say she spent around $1,000 or more just on baskets. There was actually a cabinet I was interested in, but I didn't have anywhere to put it. It ended up selling for only $75 which was a very good deal for the nice piece of furniture.

At 11:45, frozen to the bone, I settled my bill and headed out to the movie theater. The auction definitely made for an interesting Saturday morning. 

 One of the two auctioneers

One of the gentlemen working at the auction holding up a mirror that was about to be auctioned off. 

My muddy boots. Not sure if you can tell, but the entire bottoms are caked with mud.