Oh, for the life of an Auctioneer!
A teen describes the life of a Sotheby’s auctioneer.
“Walking into the Sotheby’s movie poster auction, I was struck with the sense of seriousness around the crowded room. Some of the posters that were for sale were tacked up on the wall under special lighting so the colors wouldn’t fade. When I found a seat, the woman to my left was talking into her cellular phone and taking bids from the person on the other line. I felt really out of place. The room was full of upper-class white adults and here I was, a middle-class Japanese kid who didn’t have enough money to purchase the cheapest thing there. All eyes were on the auctioneer who stood behind a wooden podium, from which point she could see everyone clearly.
The auctioneer, Tracy Sherman, demanded attention with her striking red suit and her calm, sure voice. Despite the multitude of thoughts raging about within her head, she appeared very confident and even occasionally made a couple facetious comments or two. She acted in a way that made everyone feel at ease and did her job with calculated accuracy. She took note of people’s minute movements and recognized them as bids. This was a pro.
The auction took place last December, and by its close had brought in a total of $509,048. One King Kong poster by itself sold for $46,000 dollars and an Adventures of Robin Hood poster sold for $19,550. Obviously, movie posters are not a cheap collectible.
Sotheby’s is both the oldest and leading fine art auction house in the world. It has 104 offices and auction rooms in 38 different countries from which items like paintings, prints, coins, furniture, jewelry porcelain, and other antiquities are sold. Last year, Sotheby’s auctioned off Jackie Kennedy Onassis’ belongings. Items like old dressers and jewelry sold for thousands. Though the retail value of these items were far less than what they were sold for, the items were in such demand that people were willing to pay outrageous prices for seemingly every day items.
Just like Jackie Onassis’ belongings, the movie posters by themselves are not worth much. What makes them valuable is the demand that exists for them. Because of this demand, these posters are a great investment. Just like baseball cards or stamps, as time progresses, these posters actually increase in value and can be sold for double or triple the amount they were purchased for.
Before the auction started, each bidder received a paddle which had a number printed on it. This was for identification purposes during the auction. If someone wanted to place a bid, all they had to do was raise their paddle. From attending the auction, I can tell you that it is a very serious matter. I guess with all of that money being thrown around, it should be. Illustrating the solemn mood of the auction house, at one point, a man sitting in front of me let out a huge fart and no one seemed to notice. Wow!!! If he had done that at my school, he would have been right out of the building.
After speaking with Sherman on the telephone, I learned a little bit of what it’s like to be an auctioneer.
To be an effective auctioneer, you have to have a good sense of numbers because you have to keep track of where the bid is. You also have to be a very take charge person because you are the one that is orchestrating the auction. Some people have special ways of bidding such as standing up when they wish to place a bid. I’m sure you’ve all seen an auction in a movie where people bid by touching their nose or scratching their head. The auctioneer has to keep track of all of this. One slip up on the part of the auctioneer could be disastrous.
Tracy had filled such positions as administrator and cataloguer before becoming an auctioneer. Though her current official position is the head of the jewelry department, she says that being an auctioneer is by far the most enjoyable part of her job because she gets to really let loose and be a performer. With all those serious people throwing out their thousand dollar bids, someone has to lighten the mood a bit. Not to say that her job is always exciting. Like any job it has its boring parts. Drudgery is a common feeling, especially when she’s doing computer work. Despite this, the good outweighs the bad and Tracy says that she loves her job. Being the only Sotheby auctioneer in Los Angeles, she gets to do every auction that is held here.
Though it happens rarely, occasionally a person will get carried away and bid more than they can afford to pay. Usually, Sotheby’s works out some kind of arrangement with the person, but when no arrangement can be made, the person is made a “no bid” at Sotheby’s. This can be really hurtful to the person because many exclusive collectibles can only be obtained at Sotheby’s. Oh, yeah. If you’re planning to go out and get something from an auction, be ready to pay an additional service fee of 15 percent plus tax. In other words, if you buy a 1000 dollar item, expect to pay about 150 bucks more.
The first auction that Tracy ran, was a jewelry auction in New York. She was able to work with the number one auctioneer in Sotheby’s, John Marion, and said that it was really neat to have him there to walk her through her first auction. Though there are a lot of great aspects of being an auctioneer, Tracy says that one of the most fulfilling things that she does are charity auctions. This is her way of using her special talent to help the community.
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