One of the first times I went picking out alone was in a small town in Wisconsin. I thought I would go out “freewheeling” and just see where it led me. As I drove down the road, I saw an old farmhouse with a yard that needed a haircut.
I pulled into the yard and knocked on the door. After a bit, an older woman opened up and with a stern face she asked what I wanted. I think she was a bit suspicious!
I said, “Hi, my name is Roger and I am in the area looking for old household items or what. I have cash for whatever you might have.
Her eyes brightened just the slightest bit as she asked me what sort of things I was looking for. I told her I was interested in all sorts of things and then began
to list a few to jog her thinking. “I like old butter crocks, sour kraut crocks, jars, milk bottles and even old fountain pens. Sometimes I buy old metal signs, carvings, pictures.” I paused for a moment. Then I asked, “ Do you have any old mixing bowls you might want to sell? Why just the other day I bought an old mixing bowl from a woman and paid her $50 for it.”
“Another time I bought a pottery vase and paid over a hundred dollars for it. Do you have anything like that?”
Well, she told me she did have a few old crocks in the cellar, but they were too heavy for her to lift. I could have those if I wanted. We went in and down the stairs. The crocks turned out to be beautiful 20 gallon Red Wing crocks in perfect condition. I bought all three. I also was able to buy her husbands old tackle box filled with wood lures, a coffee grinder and a box full of old vases, several of which were nice Roseville pieces.
It was a fantastic bonanza for my first outing on the road. I made over $600 profit even after the cost of gas and a cup of coffee! I was hooked. What a great business this is!
Business News
Are you getting all the deductions for your business you should be? I am not a tax attorney so you should consult one before , during and after tax season.
Here are some great deductions:
mileage—every mile you travel to yard sales, auctions, malls, shops, freewheeling should be noted down in a book.
they were too heavy for her to lift. I could have those if I wanted. We went in and down the stairs. The crocks turned out to be beautiful 20 gallon Red Wing crocks in perfect condition. I bought all three. I also was able to buy her husbands old tackle box filled with wood lures, a coffee grinder and a box full of old vases, several of which were nice Roseville pieces.
It was a fantastic bonanza for my first outing on the road. I made over $600 profit even after the cost of gas and a cup of coffee! I was hooked. What a great business this is
Shipping and shipping materials
Storage, whether in a storage unit or in your garage.
Cleaning costs
Assistants—did you hire your son to help carry the boxes of precious family heirlooms to the truck?
Picker's Toolkit.
Carry it under the seat, ready for any task. Take apart a dresser, pull nails from a crate, put your glasses back together! Handy for all occasions.
Learn all about the Newcomb Pottery School and the beautiful vases and other creations that were made there.
Who owns –
the Auctioneer's Buyer's Premium?
I was perusing an old copy of Maine Antique Digest the other day and came across the most amazing article.
We pickers often use the auction houses to sell off some of our wares. We have watched as more and more of them add on a “Buyer's Premium” which we, and they, believed were due and just profits for the auction house.
Guess what? According to Steve Proffitt, those premiums rightfully belong to the seller! That's us! I was amazed and as a former auctioneer, I was certainly unaware of this legal reading.
Steve lists three reasons why these premiums belong to the seller:
“First, the property being sold belongs to the seller and not the auctioneer. The buyer's premium is merely part of the purchase money paid by the buyer for the property, so it can belong only to the seller. There is no consideration passing from an auctioneer to a buyer that would entitle the auctioneer to receive any part of this payment. An auctioneer's receipt of any compensation from an auction, including any portion of the buyer's premium, comes solely in the form of selling commission or cost reimbursement paid by the seller and as expressly provided by the auction contract. The buyer's premium is never paid directly from a buyer to an auctioneer, and no thinking auctioneer would want or accept that. Such a result would create a conflict of interests for the auctioneer who would be receiving compensation from each of the opposing parties in the sales equation-seller and buyer.
Second, an agent works under the control of the principal and within the express authority granted by the principal. An auctioneer can do only what the seller authorizes. This means that an auctioneer who, without the agreement of the seller, charges, collects, and keeps a buyer's premium on sales made for the seller would have no authority to do so. This would breach the agency agreement that exists solely for the benefit of the principal, the seller.
Third, the agency relationship between the seller and auctioneer is founded squarely upon a fiduciary duty that requires the auctioneer's unfailing trustworthiness and loyalty to the seller. Within this fiduciary duty is a strict prohibition against self-dealing. Self-dealing is wrongful conduct that occurs when one who owes a fiduciary duty to another (here auctioneer to seller) takes advantage of his position and acts in furtherance of his own interests to procure a gain or benefit, without the agreement of the other. Consequently, an auctioneer who keeps buyer's premium proceeds, without the seller's approval, would breach the fiduciary duty owed to the seller by engaging in self-dealing. Where such conduct occurs, the aggrieved party can sue the wrongdoer for damages and to disgorge all ill-gotten gains.”
(from the article)
So how has this come to be? It has been going on for decades and has become the pattern despite lack of any legal basis. The auctioneers are not trying to be dishonest here. They are doing only what they were taught. But they were taught wrong!
I am not an attorney, and you should seek advice from your own attorney before marching forward with this information, but it might be very interesting to copy Steve's article and take it with you next time you consign your high quality items to an auction.
