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.

Best Home Based Business Practices For Women

There was a time when women were regarded as the weaker sex and were only good for doing household chores like cooking, cleaning, and washing clothes among others. However, that notion has taken a complete reversal today with women figuring prominently in the world of business, politics, and other areas traditionally dominated by men. This is why it is not surprising that many women are also looking into the best home based business opportunities to help augment their income.Without a doubt many women can perform multiple tasks simultaneously with minimal difficulties. Maybe this is because they have been trained so well in the household with taking care of the kids while cooking and washing the dishes. All they had to do was to apply this to the business field and they are actually the best home based business entrepreneurs. Women are likewise very good at handling budgetary requirements, a skill essentially when running your own business.Perhaps one of the most common challenges that women looking for the best home based business will face is how to manage her time at home so that she can concentrate on her home office. This may be easy when the kids are at school and the husband is at work. But what about during weekends when everyone is at home? This is where house rules become very important. She must be able to strike a balance and isolate a specific time dedicated mainly on her home office.Can you imagine the horror of being on a business call then your kids suddenly barge into your home office crying or shouting or whatever? That would definitely negatively impact your business call. So part of the practice for the best home based business would be to make it clear that your home office is off limits to all children. You may also need to secure the services of a babysitter just to keep things in order.Another important practice that you must develop if you want the best home based business is to be able to separate your home budget from your business budget. You must resist the temptation of digging into your business funds in case your household budget becomes short. In this context, you must put to good use some sound accounting practices which will allow you to separate your capital from your profit. You can use your profit for whatever purpose but your capital must remain intact.Taking the cue from big businesses, the best home based business principle would be to put in some of your profits back into your capital. This will help you to grow your business better by using more capital to invest on more products for your business. Try to do this on a regular basis and in just a few months you will see your business blossom. It may even allow you to shift careers in just a matter of time.One common mistake that women, especially mothers, do when they take on the best home based business opportunity available to them is that they are somewhat shy. They forget to tell their neighbors, friends, family members, teachers at their kid’s schools, PTA members about their new business. All of these people are potential customers that you can benefit from. Depending on the type of business that you choose, you may also be able to help them out with something that they are having trouble for a long time. For example if you are in a health related business, you may have the answer to a co-parent who has long been looking for an allergy cure or something like that.Essentially, when you want to take on the best home based business opportunity you can have, you need two main things, discipline and dedication. You need to be dedicated enough so that no matter what challenges come your way you will be ready to face up to it. Discipline because after all the home chores, after all the caring for the kids and your husband, you still need to muster enough strength to give time to your chosen business. With a little patience everything will pay off in the end.

Small Business Struggling? Take a Pill, Dude!

Is your small business struggling in this recession economy? No problem. Very soon you will be able to pop a pill and rewire your brain so you think like the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. Imagine popping a pill and suddenly having Robert Kiyosaki or Guy Kawasaki in your brain. You’ll think like a business guru-no joke! Cambridge University scientists have announced that there may someday be an “entrepreneur pill” that will help people replicate the brain chemistry of the most successful small business owners. Would that be better business through chemistry?

In the Meantime …

Unfortunately the entrepreneur pill isn’t available quite yet. The bad news is that small business owners need it more than ever. Shrinking profits and dwindling customer traffic have many small business owners pulling their hair out. Luckily, they can take steps to gain a fresh perspective on their business, even if they can’t yet directly access the brain chemistry of small business guru.

If your small business is struggling, here are five ways you get a fresh perspective on your small business.

1. Give Your Business a Makeover

To give your small business a makeover you need new ideas and help from some experts. While you may not be able to afford the pricey consultants who do makeovers on major corporations, you can benefit from their advice without paying a dime. Check out Small Business Makeover section on the CNNMoney website. There you’ll find makeover case studies on all kinds of small businesses from carpet-sellers to bath-and-body stores. If you’re offering your products or services online, you’ll be delighted with their Website Makeover section.

2. Get Your Burning Questions Answered

If you want to get a direct answer to the burning questions you have about your small business, you can always submit it to the CNNMoney directly through their “Find Business Answers” form. There is no guarantee that your question will be selected to be answered, but there’s definitely no harm in trying. As a bonus, it still doesn’t cost you’re a dime. CNNMoney usually puts this form at the bottom of its articles. To locate one of these articles just Google for CNNMoney + “find business answers.”

3. Access Online Training from the SBA

The Small Business Administration has recently begun offering a number of online courses on “Surviving in a Down Economy.” The new courses include:

- Strategic Marketing: How to Win Customers in a Slowing Economy
- Down-Shifting in a Slowing Economy: Business Planning Guide
- Raise new capital / Refinance exisiting debt – How to Prepare a Loan Package
- Diversify with federal contracts – Business Opportunities: A Guide to Winning Federal Contracts

4. Look for a Geographic Cure

If you run a bricks-and-mortar business maybe you’re not located in the right place. To locate your business at the right place at the right time, check out the top 100 places to live and launch a small business by Fortune Small Business. These include the 7 tax-free havens for business (Wyoming, Nevada, Florida, Texas, Washington, New Hampshire and Tennessee) plus the six best towns where technology thrives (Bellevue, Portland, Boise, Blacksburg, Bethlehem, and Folsom). The list is nearly endless and may help you decide if it’s time to move your small business because the grass is greener on the other side of the state line.

5. SCORE Big

SCORE is a non-profit group of 11,200 retired executives who mentor small business owners across the country for free. According to their website, “SCORE offers free and confidential advice to small businesses: face-to-face counseling, online counseling, online workshops and more.” You can post your questions to their website and get an answer, usually within 48 hours. Best of all, SCORE is an unlimited resource. You can ask as many questions as you want plus access their huge library of small business resources.

So what’s the bottom line for small business owners? While you may occasionally feel hopeless you are definitely not helpless. This list is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the inexpensive resources at your disposable to keep your small business afloat. So until that entrepreneur pill hits the market, get going and get help.