Saturday morning, Bob and I went over to Donna’s to attend a real live auction. I had never been to one and she loves going to them because you can get some fun things for cheap. And plus, at this particular one, they were going to auction off the house. Omigod! This woman had so much junk, it was unbelievable! We are talking about six large trailers full of stuff, you name it, she was selling it. Just to name a few things: Coca-Cola memorabilia, Precious Moments, Hummels, empty bottles, lots and lots of crock bowls, scary dolls, old books, Smurf glasses, ashtrays, old utensils, ratty quilts, jars, I even saw an old empty Dreft detergent box. I haven’t even listed all the furniture, as well as stuff for horses and farm equipment. She had enough stuff to scatter around the 4.9 acres she was auctioning off.
Yes, the auctioneers do speak very quickly, in that repetitive manner. And yes, if you do make any sudden movements, they will consider that as a bid. As you know, I tend to be fidgety and there were quite a few times the auctioneer counted my movements as part of the bidding war. Thank God people followed my bids or else I would have ended up with a saddle, a large seed cabinet, a box of nails or a Talking Tessie. But I did end up winning something, on purpose, too. They were auctioning off two bags of Christmas decorations for $1. No one wanted them, so they threw in some mini-blinds, still no takers. Then I heard that a rug was included so I said, “What the hell?” and raised my hand. I won! For $2! I was so excited that I got something, I ran up to the trailer. But surprise, apparently I did not hear that a 7-foot Christmas tree was added! What a deal! I wonder what I am going to do with another Christmas tree.
At noon, the auction turned to the house. Let me fill you in about this house. It is about 5000 square feet, wrap-around porch, in-ground pool, stables, two-car garage plus another 4-car garage with a loft, five bedrooms, seven bathrooms all sitting on about five acres. You are surrounded by cornfields. I was dying to know how much something like that would go for in Columbia, IL. It ended up that the owner accepted the bid for $627,500. I thought it seemed low but Chris thought the winner was paying too much for it. Who knows?
So, my thoughts about the auction. It was amazing to see what people would buy and how much they were willing to pay for it. I couldn’t believe some of the prices but what do I know? Donna said that a lot of people who come to auctions are antique dealers or resellers. The prices they pay now are nothing to what they will charge in their stores. It’s craziness. I guess it is true: what is someone’s junk is another’s treasure. After seeing that, it still won’t make me keep empty Coke cans, dishes, bottles, ugly pieces of furniture or ratty old blankets in hopes that in 50 years, it’ll be worth something.