Five Tips for Selling at Live Auctions

Ah, the old-fashioned country auction! The idea of a country auction conjures up certain images for people. The image of a fast-talking auctioneer offering up an antique table or chair is a popular example.

People who are buying household goods or collectibles are looking to get their items at the lowest price possible. However, the people who are selling their items at auction are hoping for the highest price!

Unless a person is in the business of buying and selling antiques or other items, not a lot of thought goes into how goods are prepared for sale via the auction process. However, if you are one of the growing number of people using auction venues to sell your collectibles or other inventory, there are a few things to learn first about how to sell at auction before you bring a truckload of stuff over to the next event.

Tip 1: Make sure the things you want to sell are a good “fit” for the auction house you’ll be using.

Never bring a load to an auction house without actually having been to one of the previous auctions. It’s important to get a feel for the type of goods that the house sells. For example, at one very rural country auction it was common for the owners to sell live chickens, pots and pans, car parts, and farm equipment.

After close investigation, this would not be the right venue for selling your daughter’s “Hello Kitty” collection. On the other hand, the spare John Deere parts that you bought at last week’s yard sale might be just the right thing for the buying crowd at this auction.

Tip 2: Be sure you clearly understand the terms and policies of the auction house.

Visit with the auctioneer ahead of time. Call to find out what the best days and times are to visit. One of the worst possible times to drop in for an informational visit with an auctioneer is the day of the auction. Call ahead and ask. While you’re at it, find out what are the best days and times to drop your stuff off.

Once you have a little time with the auctioneer, you’ll be able to find out what type of commission he or she takes from consigners (which is you), and what type of paperwork might be needed. Some auction houses send out Form 1099 tax forms at the end of the year. An auctioneer may need to see your identification and have you fill out a W-9. Be prepared.

Find out what happens to your items if they don’t sell. For example, some auctioneers may have a minimum starting bid. If, for some reason, one of your items does not sell, it may be grouped with another one of your pieces. Know the auctioneer’s strategy beforehand so that you aren’t surprised on pay day.

Tip 3: Make sure the auctioneer knows what you’re selling.

It might be perfectly obvious to you that the signed print you are consigning is a rare and valuable piece of art. However, the auctioneer may not know this particular artist. Make a note of anything particularly special about your items, and leave the note with the piece. Be sure to tell the auctioneer about it as well. He or she might determine that this is something to highlight on the company website or in the newspaper listing.

Tip 4: Present your items neatly.

No one likes to have to dig through a box full of grimy and greasy car parts to see what treasures might be in there. Separate the parts and lay them out on a flat, or use more than one box to de-clutter the lot.

There is no need to buy fancy display boxes. It’s easy enough to go to the local convenience store or supermarket and ask if you can have the emptied boxes or flats that they are discarding.

While it’s good to present clean items, take care not to ruin the value of anything by over cleaning. For example, if you find some old cast iron cookware, clean the obvious dirt and grime, but don’t scrub it to its original finish. For many people, this ruins the value of the item. So, clean and tidy and organized is the key here.

Tip 5: Don’t complain to the auctioneer if your stuff doesn’t sell for as much as you’d like.

The phrase to remember here is, “You win some; you lose some.” That’s just the way it is. There are some days where an auction house is loaded with people who all seem to want what you’re selling. There will be other days where the crowd is sparse, and the bidding is simply not competitive.

Remember that it’s in the auctioneer’s best interest to sell your things for the highest possible hammer price. But sometimes, it’s just not going to be a stellar sale. The auctioneer is only human, and is also disappointed if a sale doesn’t go as well as planned.

If you notice that every time you bring a bunch of goods to sell that you’re not realizing as much as you think you honestly should, try another auction venue and compare apples to apples. That is, bring the same types of items to the new auctioneer and compare the results.

Unless the auctioneer is particularly disagreeable or inconsiderate to you or buyers, there is no reason to confront him or her about a sale. If you find you just don’t care for an auctioneer’s style or methods, find another one. Believe me, there are plenty of them out there!

The primary thing to remember as you learn how to sell at auction is that the business is unpredictable at best. You will have good days, some not-so-good days, some great days. The more you sell, the more experience you will gain, and the more enjoyable the business will be.

5 Secrets to Starting a Successful Home Based Business

Welcome to your financial independence and freedom. I worked for many years as a slave to my job. I was one of almost 1,000 lawyers in an international law firm. The day I made the transition to have a home based business was a turning point in my life. Today, I exclusively work from home. I work a fraction of the time I used to work. I am much happier and much more financially free. I would like to share with you a few secrets to help you become successful in your home based business.

Many people who decide to start a home based business are still working full or part time for their other “job.” You can still succeed and ultimately transition to exclusively working just your home based business if done correctly. Others are ready to focus on their new home based business full time. Either way, there are some secrets to setting up your home based business so that it will be successful and financially rewarding from the get-go.

Secret #1: Organize Your Office

Organization and success are directly linked. Make sure to select a room in your home specifically designated to your home based business. Setting up a work zone will minimize distractions and establish a boundary for those who know you work from home and feel they can stop by or call you in the middle of the day for personal issues. I also recommend having a separate phone line designated to your business calls and one for your fax machine. It is not costly to set up an additional line or two and it is all deductible as a business expense. You should also start a filing system right away. Letting stacks of paper accumulate and postponing a good organizational filing system will hinder your success. If done correctly and from the very beginning, you can avoid needing to hire a file person or secretary until your businesses growth demands it and can afford it.

Secret #2: Get a Website or Internet Presence

Selecting a home based business that has an Internet focus or presence is important in today’s market place. Purchase a domain name and set up your website right away. Web and Internet based home based businesses are the new trend in business. In order to capitalize on this movement and on a very lucrative sector, it is a good idea to have a business or product that can be marketed with a website and on-line. This allows your client base or customers to learn about you and find you easily. It also expands your client base beyond your local market. Gone are the days of opening the Yellow Pages. Most everyone finds what they are looking for today by searching on the Internet. According to Forrester Research, ecommerce will be a $329 Billion industry by 2010. Seize on it with an on-line home based business!

Secret #3: Make a Schedule

The great thing about a home based business is that you do not have to work any set hours or days. However, you should make a schedule of both when you plan to work and what you plan to accomplish in that time frame. Task lists and to do lists are a signature of those with successful home based businesses. Having structure and a schedule helps you to be disciplined. It also teaches others to respect your work time. Creating a somewhat predictable work schedule will go a long way towards your success.

Secret #4: Have a Calendar, But Just One

One of the best things about working from home is the flexibility to break to attend your child’s school play or sports event or take the day off to golf. It is best to merge your personal and business calendar with a home based business so that you do not double book and to keep things simple. No need to check more than one calendar especially now that you don’t have a boss who you need to appear to be working for. Initially, I tried keeping one calendar for my legal events (court dates, depositions, etc.) and one for my personal life. It resulted in a few instances of double booking and the headache and waste of time involved in having to consult and fill in two calendars.

Secret #5: Get Help When You Need It

Part of the beauty of working from home is having the flexibility to work when you want. If you get into the habit of working all the time and assuming all the tasks on your own, you will have defeated that purpose. Thus, consider outsourcing much of your work, projects, and errands (bill paying, appointment making, etc). I learned this best from Timothy Ferriss in his book The Four Hour Work Week. Pick up a copy from a local book store or your library. I recommend the CD version so you can listen while you exercise or drive in the car. He is very funny and ever so practical. He will give you great tips on hiring good, inexpensive help in India and other over-seas places. Also, learn to say no. When your plate is full, you are not doing anyone any favors by accepting more work. This is true even if you are being asked to be the room mom, coach your son’s soccer team, chair a community event, or take on another project you can’t possibly take on. Know how much you can handle and learn to say no. If you can only fit ten tasks on your plate and you take on eleven, one will slip. Avoid that from the outset.

Do Government Assistance Programs In Fact Assist Small Businesses?

Government budgets are relayed to various assistance programs whose purpose is to encourage economic activity in small businesses. It is often asked whether these programs do in fact fulfill their purpose or maybe these budgets are wasted?A groundbreaking research jointly conducted by Ben-Gurion University and the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor elucidates this issue. Researchers Dr. Rami Schayek and Prof. Dov Dvir have developed an innovative model which measures the effect of government assistance programs on small businesses, identifies the most important components incorporated in the assistance program and determines which managerial, operational and behavioral activities should be focused in order to improve on business performance. The research included one hundred and thirty five small businesses which participated in the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor’s Standard Coaching project. This project is one of several business coaching projects run by the ITL ministry and it is designed for small and medium businesses of five to one hundred employees. A business of five to ten employees is appointed up to one hundred coaching hours. A business of eleven to one hundred employees is appointed up to one hundred and fifty hours. The coaching project finances 75% of the cost of coaching. 25% are financed by the business.Results indicate that there is a return on the tax payer’s money!Findings indicate that government assistance program involvement positively affects small business performance. The basic research model, which examined only the direct effect the assistance program has on small business performance, shows that the greater the number of quantitative components (hours of consultation; proximity of consultation encounters; range of issues incorporated into the consultation), and the higher the standard of qualitative components (level of the consultant’s professional understanding of the respective subjects of consultation; level of organization and planning of the consultation process; level of trust, commitment and mutual understanding between consultant and small business owner), the higher will be the level of performance in the small business. When adding to the model an examination of indirect effects, assistance programs are shown to affect small business performance primarily through the consultant’s influence on the small business owner which is expressed in the latter’s motivation to take action, like as attention to the service provided after the sale, understanding the fluctuation in customer preferences and the small business’s operative environment, and the need to measure and analyze customer satisfaction and respond to the customer’s complaints regarding either the service or the product provided by the small business.The consultant also affects the business owner with respect to the latter’s ability to manipulate business opportunities through utilization of competitors’ weaknesses and an understanding of the ways in which the small business as a whole may benefit the customer. Consultation raises the small business owner’s level of awareness as to the need to innovate, take risks and increase the level of activity, both in implementing changes in the service or products he provides and as regards conduct in the face of competition. In fact, the consultation process motivates the small business owner to take actions which would raise the level of market orientation and entrepreneurship in the small business, and as a result initiate an increase in its level of performance.How is it possible to win an even greater return?The findings of Dr. Schayek’s doctorate thesis supervised by Prof. Dov Dvir, facilitate recommendation on a number of issues which could intensify the effect of public assistance programs on performance in small businesses. Thus it is important that the consultant emphasize before the client that submitting reliable and comprehensive information to the consultant, as well as willingness on the part of the business owner to implement changes in accordance with decisions reached as a result of cooperation with the consultant, is paramount for the success of the assistance process and the improvement on performance in the small business. Based on the research model, the client constitutes an integral part of the assistance program. The more involved and active he becomes in the process of coaching, the greater will be the assistance program’s positive effect on the small business’ performance.In addition, the research indicates that effort must be made on the part of the consultant in improving the client’s capacity of raising finance. The client’s capital raising capabilities which, according to the model constitute a parameter in the improvement of the level of performance, will improve if the client is given an explanation as to existing finance opportunities and is prepared as to the manner in which one should approach and present the small business’ requirements before possible financing sources (such as banks or credit companies).