As you probably already know, selling at auction (that is, LIVE, PHYSICAL auction houses) is a bit different from selling on eBay. It did not take me long in this business 30 years ago to notice that I bypassed a number of box lots or other types of lots simply because I couldn’t stand the idea of sorting through piles of what looked like garbage to me.
Even at yard sales, if there’s a huge pile of junk on a tarp on someone’s lawn, I don’t spend a lot of time sorting through it. I value my time, and I want to spend it going through or looking at items where I have a clearer view. I know that a lot of folks enjoy “the hunt” and finding that little gold nugget among the sand, rocks and mud – and I enjoy finding gems as well. I’m just not as inclined to get on my hands and knees to sift through mud if there is a nicer looking display that’s easier to look through.
So, having said that, I want to talk a little today about the importance of presentation when selling at auction. Presentation is equally important for selling on eBay, by the way, which we’ll discuss in an upcoming video.
Generally, it’s safe to say that the better something looks, the more someone is likely to pay the right kind of attention to it. Sure, we can look at something nasty looking while driving by, and it might catch our attention.
Kind of like, “Wow, look at that gross thing…”
But rarely will I say, “Wow, look at that gross thing, I absolutely have to buy it!”
Let’s face it. The more care you take to lot and sort your items for sale, the better it will be received overall.
So, let’s say you have 10 vintage weight-lifting magazines, 25 pieces of depression glass, 5 books about horses, and a lot of old cookie cutters and bakeware – and you want to haul the whole bunch of it off to auction.
In this case, take the time to separate the lot into the logical categories. Don’t lump the depression glass in with the weight-lifting magazines. Take the time to put each category into its own box or flat.
Here’s an entire article I just devoted to this very topic => Sorting and Lotting Items for Selling at Auction Houses
