YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – There is a typical image of an auctioneer: an individual standing at a lectern with a gavel in their hand before a crowd, calling bid prices for item after item in rapid fire succession until a winning buyer is selected.
This image, however, is fading fast. Today, you’re more likely to find an auctioneer huddled in front of a laptop computer screen as bids trickle in online from all over the country – or in some cases, the world.
The business has changed dramatically over the last 15 years, local auctioneers say. While live auctions are still conducted, the old trade of bid calling, for example, is no longer a requisite skill for an auctioneer.
“The Ohio auction license laws have changed in the past two years, so you no longer have to do an apprenticeship,” says Paul Basinger, real estate broker-auctioneer at Basinger Auction Services and American Real Estate Specialists in Boardman. Bid calling was a significant part of the training, he recalls. “You had to take a test on your bid calling capability,” he says.
Perfecting the art took practice, Basinger says, rattling off a few tongue twisters in lightning speed. “Round the rub and ragged rock, the ragged rascal ran. Tiny Tommy Tinnimus tied the tail to two tall trees,” he recites with a laugh.
In the past, apprenticeships would last a full year, Basinger says. “I was 41 when I went to auction school,” he says. Basinger’s auction business is today in its 40th year.
Still, live auctions and bid calling isn’t completely obsolete, Basinger says. Livestock and horse auctions, for example, are often conducted on site.
The National Auction Association still holds its national bid-calling championships annually. “In 1990, I was third runner-up in the nation,” he says.
Basinger’s daughter, Julie Cerneka, a real estate broker and auctioneer at the company, recalls a recent online auction for the Brookfield School District in which one of the bidders was also an auctioneer in Middlefield managing a livestock sale. “He was conducting a live auction while our auction was going on, so he missed out on a set of bleachers because he was in the middle of calling bids,” she says.
Auctions for “big rig” trucks are also still largely conducted live, as are charity auctions, Basinger says.
EXPANDED REACH
Basinger now conducts his auctions completely online, he says. The process has not only expanded the marketing reach of the auction, it has also cut down on expenses that the auction house would have to shoulder. “We no longer have to set up chairs, set up tents if it’s raining, no food service or [portable toilets],” he says
Instead, the public can register and bid online based on a description of the item or property and then pay for any shipping, if necessary, Basinger says.
Recently, Basinger conducted the auction for the contents of the former Caffe Capri restaurant in Boardman. Often, this type of auction hosts an on-site preview, so potential buyers are able to inspect the items that will be up for bid.
“There are still people out there who like to look and feel,” Basinger says. “I’d say about one-third of the people who actually buy come to a preview.”
Basinger says the transition to all online auctions means that sales are staged year-round, regardless of weather or other impediments. It’s also more convenient for bidders, he says, who now have the luxury of competing for goods through the touch of a smartphone.
Business is strong at the moment, Basinger says, noting that the auction industry in general is driven by what is referred to as the four Ds – debt, death, divorce and downsizing – cases in which an auctioneer might be needed to sell off assets.
In some cases, these can be very attractive treasures for others.
The company, for example, is preparing for a model train auction, an auction line that the company has done very good with in the past. “For one person, we sold more than $100,000 worth of model trains,” he says, though Basinger relates that the market is softening. Other products Basinger has sold over the last 40 years include high-end jewelry, Persian rugs, classic cars, toys and thousands of other items.
WHAT’S HOT NOW
Chris Roman, an auctioneer for George Roman Auctioneers in Canfield, says that the auction market is diverse and is consistently shifting according to consumer tastes.
“We’ve been busy,” he says. “We’ve had a lot of household estate liquidations and some business liquidations.”
Yet what was once popular a decade or so ago is no longer in demand. The antique market, for example, has changed dramatically since he first entered the business approximately 35 years ago. “It’s a lot softer than what it used to be – the china sets, the glassware,” he observes.
Hummel figurines have especially lost favor from the public. “All those things that we could build an entire auction around are worth pennies on the dollar today.”
Collectibles from the 1970s – especially toys and games – are very much sought after. “Gaming systems such as older Nintendos, Commodore 64s, Ataris, people are willing to pay good money for them,” he says. Action figures such as G.I. Joe or He-Man and the Masters of the Universe are also favorites, he says.
Coins, silver and jewelry are also in demand, Roman says, mostly because of their precious metal content. “Silver’s up, gold is up, so that drives the market pretty intrinsically. We run about one of those auctions a month.”
Roman says the company is busy with area school systems that have accumulated surplus equipment or furniture that they are looking to sell off at auction. “We’re doing a lot of institutional auctions and business stuff,” he says.
The vast majority of Roman’s auctions are online today. “They can bid 24 hours a day. They don’t worry about spending a whole Saturday or evening or afternoon,” he says. “It’s a lot easier process and gives us a lot more buyers. Our participation is up, and pricing is stronger,” he says. Approximately 10% of online sales are shipped out of the area to destinations throughout the country. “We run auctions 12 months out of the year,” he says.
In the past, the auction business would experience a slowdown in the beginning of each year, but no more, Roman says. “We’re running strong all year now.”
Roman says business has been consistent over the last several years and is at present juggling several auctions at once. “We typically run two to three auctions a week, year-round,” he says.
SOME SURPRISES
Among the nonstarters at auctions is furniture, Roman says. “Younger people don’t want to buy upholstered furniture,” he says. Home décor today is far more minimal than a generation earlier, he says, so curio cabinets, floral sofas, and framed pictures or paintings are no longer worth much in today’s auction marketplace.
Then again, there are those products that many clients think are worthless and then end up commanding strong returns. “One thing that’s been popping up are the Pyrex bowl sets,” Roman says. “We sold a nesting set of four Pyrex bowls for $400,” he says.
Older comic books are still in demand, he adds. “We just sold four Superman and Marvel comic books for $400,” he recalls.
Roman Auctioneers has been in business for 75 years, Roman says. Recent auctions included vintage Harley-Davidson apparel, high-end electronics, and dozens of different items.
“It just amazes me at the stuff people will pay for,” Roman says. “A lot of time, we put stuff on, and you may not think you’re going to sell it and they end up paying crazy prices.”
Pictured at top: Julie Cerneka and her father, Paul Basinger, are auctioneers at Basinger Auction Services.