Consigning Property For Auction: Part 3 – The Auction Schedule

April 25, 2012||inPersonal Insurance|Skinner, antiques, auction, fine art, guest blogger, homeowners insurance, personal insurance

Karen Keane

Guest blog post by Karen Keane, CEO, Skinner, Inc.


Murphy Insurance is pleased to join Skinner Inc. as co-presenting sponsor of The Wayside Inn Antiques Show. In the lead-up to the show May 11-13, 2012, we’re pleased to have Karen Keane provide our readers with insights on the process of consigning property for auction.

Consigning Property For Auction: Part 3 Skinner
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The Auction Schedule

When should you contact an auction house to arrange to sell your property? You don’t have to wait until an upcoming auction is announced. Auction schedules for most major houses are planned six months to nearly a year in advance, so scheduling your property to sell in an upcoming auction is rarely a problem.

Find Auction Schedules Online

Specialty houses dedicate sales to specific collecting categories such as Fine Jewelry, American Paintings, Asian Art, Rare Books, or Fine Musical Instruments, and these specialty sales are held consistently year in and year out. Most houses will list an upcoming auction schedule on their websites along with consignment deadlines for each auction.

Specialty Auctions Drive The Business

The wait for a specialty auction dedicated to your particular kind of property might be a few months, but it is worth it since these category-specific auctions typically draw more serious collectors and net higher prices than auctions where a potpourri of offerings are on the block. This fact can’t be overstated, because even in this day of 24/7 online auctions, the auction world remains a specialty-event driven industry. Major collectors know that live auction events, where bidders gather en masse on an auction room floor, still drive the bulk of this business.

Consign Early: Reap The Rewards

Whatever the schedule on the buying side, smart sellers know that it is always a great time to consign, even if you’ve just missed a consignment deadline for an important auction, because there is always another auction scheduled soon after. In fact, one secret to auction success is consigning your property early.

Consigning well in advance of an auction date gives the auction house the necessary time it takes to research, catalog, photograph, advertise, market, and promote your pieces to buyers, often resulting in higher prices for your property. Be wary of a house that offers to turn around your property immediately, as that may not be to your benefit come sale day.

Be sure to watch for Part 4 of Karen Keane’s blog on…Auction Fees.

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