Saturday Night Auction

As promised, I'm going to blog my auction experience tonight! I can feel all the anticipation in the air! Haha. Anyway, I did ask permission in advance if I could blog my experience, so here goes. To begin with, when I arrived, I checked in, got my permanent number (yes, I've been going often enough to have a permanent number lol), and then set about viewing what was going to be offered for auction tonight. Here are some of those items:

Those are just a few of the things that caught my eye while I was wandering around on tonight's side. They typically divide the building into items that will be auctioned that night and items that will be offered for auction the next Saturday night. And I must say, I'm definitely looking forward to next Saturday's auction! Looks like some very nice items will be offered up! Of course, there were lots of very nice items tonight as well. Of the items pictured above, I ended up taking 4 of them home with me tonight. I got the shorter of the two wire stands in the first picture, the four glasses (as well as four extras) in the third picture, the ceiling light fixture in the fifth picture, and the globe/clock pictured in the eighth and ninth images. But half the fun is just in bidding, whether or not you get the item. Of course, getting it is exciting and makes you feel good (unless it was an impulse bid and you really shouldn't have spent the money haha), and completes the rush. Dang, I sound like an addict lol.

The actual auction building is fairly big and very well lighted. The benches the audience sits on are padded and comfortable, and the auctioneer uses a sound system so it's not difficult to hear him at all.

There are two main auctioneers, Brandon (whom I believe co-owns the auction with Ronnie Robertson) and Henry (who's extremely entertaining to watch auctioneer). Usually Henry does most of the auctioneering, but he wasn't in-house tonight. Brandon, however, did an excellent job as always.

That's Brandon behind the tv up on the podium talking into the mic. Other people in the picture are: Kathy Leaman (in blue sharing the podium with Brandon; she writes the tickets as items are sold); Claude Leaman (in front of Kathy, and her husband; they own The Antique Mall in Hattiesburg); John (I don't have a clue what his last name is lol) in white; Jennifer (again, don't know her last name) in front of the tv; and Sherry (John's wife) on the extreme right who unfortunately got mostly cut off in the frame.

Other items offered for sale tonight are in these pics:

The first picture depicts the box deals that are offered almost every auction. They typically contain a lot of low cost items with one or two possible treasures per box. The second picture is a rather nice sofa that went for a surprisingly-low price tonight, while in the foreground can be seen the books that were auctioned off. The books are typically auctioned as deals (two-for-one-money, four-for-one-money, etc.); tonight I think they started as four for one money, then moved on to ten for one money, then the remaining books (over 100) were auctioned off for one money. I liked the little rocker in the third picture, and loved the old stool in the image after that one. I think it would be really cool refinished and reupholstered. Both went for more than I wanted to pay, however. Well, the rocker ended up going for only $7.50, but I didn't really wanna pay more than $5 for it. LOL, call me a cheapskate if you will. :) I also really loved the framed art of flowers in vases depicted in the last photo. They ended up going for $10 each (not a bad price, really, but I already have SO much framed art for the house!).

It's always fun watching the guys handle the larger (or even the smaller) furniture when they bring it up to the front and contend with the other runners/helpers to get the attention of the auctioneer to sell what they've brought up.

I don't have any recollection how much the wicker sofa table in the first two pictures went for, but the plant stand the guy in purple is holding (I think his name is Christopher) went for $5 I think. I would have bid on it, since I liked it, but I ended up passing on it. The sofa ended up going for $20 (and was a real steal at that price), while the old trunk went for a very low $5. I really should have bought the trunk to resell, but figured I need to concentrate on my house needs for the time being. The guy holding up the trunk with Christopher is Allen (or Alan?), who's been at the auction every time I have. He, John, and Sherry are the only regular runners/helpers; others seem to come and go.

By the way, I highly recommend the concession stand at the back of the room (next to the window where you check in and pick up your number/paddle). I'm not sure what the main dish was tonight (in the past it's been chicken spaghetti, roast beef poboys, and bbq sandwiches), as I actually picked up some Krystal's and ate them on the way to the auction, but I did have a frito pie tonight, which was awesome.

I was halfway through before it dawned on me to take a picture of it lol.

And now, for the things I did end up buying tonight. Of course, I got the clock/globe thingamajig, and the wire stand. I also got the light fixture and the glasses that have already been pictured, but I did take extra pics of both of those, as well as pics of other things I bought that so far haven't been mentioned:

 My sister has been asking me to be on the lookout for enamel dishpans and pans, so I snatched this one up for $2 tonight. I'll charge her $20 for it! Haha, just kidding, she reads this blog and will know better!

 The globe on the light fixture looked white in these pics; in the one down below, taken at home on the sofa, it looks closer to the actual pink it is. Not sure exactly which room I'll use it in just yet; I'd love to use it in the living room, but that would require actual wiring, since there isn't a ceiling light in that room. I'm thinking the kitchen would actually be ideal for it.

 I'm not entirely sure what this is (an umbrella stand? a waste basket?), but I'm going to use it as a waste basket/trash can in my bathroom. It's a ceramic body sitting on a metal-looking resin base. I fell in love with it when I saw it and pictured it already in the bathroom (once the bathroom is finished!).

 Then I got this wicker hamper, with the lined interior, for $3. Yes, $3, and it's actually fairly large!

 Here are all eight of the glasses I got. Did I mention I paid only $2 for all 8? The Chinese glasses are worth $4-$5 each. The glasses next to them appear just as regular amber glasses, but appear to have a carnivalized look to them in person. The other four glasses are just regular drinking glasses with flowers on them, from what I can tell.

And here we see the globe of the light fixture appearing closer to the actual color of it (at least on my computer! Your color mileage may vary!). It really is a beautiful piece, and worth every cent of the $8 I paid for it.

Next Saturday's auction looks to be a good one! The main thing that caught my eye for next week is this antique bed:

Isn't that gorgeous!? Look at the intricate carving, and the inlaid wood! I envision that it'll go high, but I could be wrong. It's definitely a beautiful piece of furniture though! I wish I knew more about furniture so I could hazard a guess as to its age and the era from which it comes (Victorian? Edwardian? Something else entirely?).

This interesting piece is also going to be in next weekend's auction. Since it was roped off, I didn't venture over to get a better look, so I'm not entirely sure of its age or intended purpose. It could be more (much more) modern than I would hope; in fact, I'd hazard a guess that it might be a tv armoire (two drawers in the bottom, what appear to be doors in the main part of the piece). I still like it though lol. (Heck, what DON'T I like?)

 I may not be an art critique, and I may not even really know art, but I know what I like, and I like all four of the above pieces! I'm not counting the mostly-cut-off picture in the last photo. I think my favorites would have to be the first and fourth. I couldn't really get close enough to see, but the frame on the fourth piece looks interesting.

 I don't know why this piece came out so yellow; from what I could tell, the refrigerator box was actually clear. I like these things, but don't actually own one.

And this is a capture of the tables lined up for next week. The furniture is all off to the left (and I didn't take any additional photos of them for some reason). It should prove to be an interesting evening!

Oh yes, I almost forgot one very minor thing that happened this evening: I ended up winning tonight's jackpot drawing! It wasn't a whole lot (under $100), in fact it's only the second time I recall seeing the jackpot so low, but I ain't complainin'! I was thrilled to win it, and of course I immediately used 33% of it to pay for my purchases tonight! Nothing like not only getting paid to shop, but having your purchases paid for to boot!