Auctions

A warning is in order here. I feel the need to begin this blog post by saying that auctioning may be hazardous to your health. Expect a rapid hearbeat, sweaty palms, and general neuroses. Understand that you may find yourself spending money on things you will never have a use for but can't pass up because A) It's red B) You've never seen one C) Everyone else seems to be bidding on it, it must be valuable.

After only having done about ten auctions I am certainly no expert,  but I have learned enough to at  least give a beginner's tutorial.  Today I am going to concentrate on local online auctions which I believe are a terrific way to get acclimated to the auction world with little risk and minimal funds.

Ok, so, Step 1: Find a local online auction. If you pick one that's too far away you will spend a lot of time and money in travel costs which pretty much defeats the purpose of getting items on the cheap. You can pay the auction service to ship your items but it's ridiculous expensive.  They make it that way because they want to be in the auction biz, not the shipping biz. They want to be on to their next sale. I have been working with Hines Auctions with main offices in Ellsworth, WI. Their offices are about an hour away from me, but so is everything else, and Hines' employees are so nice and easy to deal with. They call me by my name when I come to pick up my loot and, let's face it, we love the sound of our name! Seriously though, even the owner and chief auctioneer talks to me and asks me about my main interests so he can keep an eye open for me -unreal, huh?

Step 2: Register. You will need to have payment methods on file for obvious reasons, but when you pick up the items you have "won", they actually prefer you pay with cash or check (yes, check - that vintage method of payment your grandma uses) and they give me a discount for using cash or checks, so of course that is how I pay.
Registering is simply entering your name, mailing address, email address, credit card info, and phone number. You will also come up with a password to use when logging into the site. This allows you to bid on your gotta-have-ems.

Step 3: Find out what auctions are going on. Hines has a sports memorabilia auction going on right now and I am in a bidding war over this Cal Ripkin jersey with a certificate of authenticity (important if you are buying as an investment). Cal Ripkin is Mark's all time favorite baseball player. He actually has a framed jersey already, but this one looks really cool.

Step 4: Start Bidding. Once you find an auction with the stuff you're interested in, start going through the catalog of items. When you see an item you are interested in, try to make yourself decide on the MAXIMUM amount you would ever spend on it. This will prevent you (in theory anyway) from getting whipped into a frenzy when somebody outbids you on that item and you find yourself with a $200 jar of marbles. If you don't have countless hours to spend perusing the auction everyday, Hines lets you enter your maximum bid for that item. For example, I would like to get the Cal Ripkin jersey for $100, but I don't want to pay more than $200 for it. I could enter $200 for my maximum bid. If nobody bids over, let's say, $147, my end price will be $147.

Step 5: Stay posted and keep track of time remaining in the bidding period. I signed up to be emailed and texted whenever I am outbid on an item, but some might find it ridiculous because toward the end of the bidding time my phone nearly blows up. I'm weird, I dig this stuff, so I don't mind. A DIFFERENT STRATEGY, but one I don't use, is not to bid on anything until the remaining moments. I think part of the fun is the bidding process though, so waiting to bid until the end seems too logical. In my world, logical equates with boring. For me, auctions are filled with passion. It is my form of deer hunting. I wait in my blind for the perfect item to pass by and when it does - I take a shot at it. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't.  In my hunting nothing gets hurt, that is if you don't count the slivers and bruises I have from hauling furniture.

Once the bidding closes you get to see your winnings and scroll through while you dream of the perfect place to put your vintage Lite Brite. I think you should spell out Merry Christmas with it and out it in the entryway.

http://homedesign.marthastewart.com/2010/12/my-favorite-things-about-christmas.html

I hope you will try out an online auction or two and tell me about it! In an upcoming blog I will devote space to the discussion of what happens when picking up auction items.

Until next time, stay classy.

XO Christine

Building Blocks

My dining room has turned into my new studio where I am spending blissful days and nights transforming tragedies into treasures. My poor family is having to put up with countertops and tables full of supplies as well as eating their meals downstairs in front of the television instead of at the table. For me, having my own business to run is well worth putting up with the mess, but for them? The verdict is still out. For now they are being especially tolerant. When the weather turns around again in a few months I can transfer everything to the garage.

An interesting point I'd like to bring up is that I have been extremely hard on myself for most of my adult life. You know that voice inside your head, that recording that plays over and over when you get to thinking about how you're managing yourself? Well my recording has gone something like this: "You are lazy. You will never amount to anything. You quit everything and finish nothing. You will always be broke both financially and spiritually. You hold no value and you can't pull your weight. You are a burden to everyone."

Now, don't get me wrong. This is not the image I put forth in public. This (until now) plays only in my head and is on a loop. Here's the thing though - Since early November I have been talking back to the voice. No, not in public, but when I'm by myself I yell, "Back the fuck off!" 

I'm doing what I love to do right now. I'm doing what I have always wanted to do but never dared to do. I'm doing what my heart and soul ache to do - to own my own business and be in charge of my days and nights. I'm NOT LAZY! That has been the BIGGEST EPIPHANY! I have more energy than I've ever had. It's because I'm doing work that fulfills me - I am living my dream. The money I'm existing on may run dry very soon, but you know what? I can always substitute teach for a few days to catch up again, or find something to do where I can make a $100 here and there. Last weekend I worked at the grocery store talking to customers about wine! I love wine, and I love talking about wine so it didn't even feel like work. But what I really want to do is hunt for junk, turn it into something beautiful, and sell it back to someone who will tenderly love it.

This past week I attended several auctions and promise to dedicate an entire post or more to auctions. What a rush! I'm hoping I can help you, if you're interested, avoid the pitfalls that I've already fell into where buying junk is concerned.

A note about my photos before signing off: I'm refinishing an old Victorian style headboard and footboard. The footboard is the most ornate of the two. I'm making both of them into welcome signs perfect for a front porch. As you can see from the photos, I've had to do some patching. Holy wood filler! The worst of it is on the back though (that's what you're seeing in the photos) and I don't have to be very fussy with it because it's just going to be a sign on a front porch for gosh sakes. For those of you who give a crap, I've been experimenting with making my own chalk paints. I adore Annie Sloan paints but can't afford them and can't get them except for online because I live in the boonies. 

Much love to y'all and Happy Holidays. Kiss your kids! Kiss your partner! Don't kiss your boss (I did that once - I don't recommend it). 

Solo tu mi capisci!

Christine

my dining room