Saturday At The Farm House Estate Auction
08.11.08 By Deanna Dahlsad
Buffalo ND
Saturday was a glorious day at the auction — not only was it a beautiful day, but it was the perfect combination of sight seeing, story telling, and successful bidding.
We arrived in Buffalo, North Dakota with no more address than that; but with a town population of 220 or so, all you need to do is look for the auction signs & follow the arrows — if the roads lined with parked cars aren’t a big enough clue. When we arrived the auction was already in progress. We got our paper number “paddle” and ventured toward the crowd around the first of several trailers. While nearly the whole town was there (including those who apparently arrived by riding lawnmower) along with outsiders like us, the auction was held outside and so there was plenty of room to see what was up for auction as well as wind about to look at the trailers of stuff waiting to be sold.
Our Tabor Auction Paper Bidding Paddle
It was quickly clear to us which trailers held the most interest for us — the boxes of paper and books stood out to us as if they were “hot” and we wore infrared goggles. But it was also clear that we’d have competition. Here, there are no pretenses as people inspect each item in the box with critical, calculating eyes. It’s not just other collectors, but dealers. And it’s not just those we’ve come to recognize, like the brunette with the ponytail who always goes for antique & vintage kids’ toys, but many dealers proudly wear t-shirts and ball caps with their antique shop name on them.
It became pretty clear that we might just return home empty handed up against much deeper pockets. But we never let that stop our fun.
Tabor Auctioneers
Like viewers of The Price Is Right & other game shows, hubby & I guess what the winning bids will be & just who that bidder will be. Both require a bit of knowledge and some luck, for unlike The Price Is Right, these items will not be sold at Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price or even what those guides say it book’s at. (And one has to remember more than faces, but who is the paper guy, the children’s book lady etc.)
We bid a few times too, but as predicted, we were quickly out-bid.
But after an hour or so of such guessing games and too-low bids, I began to pout. “I’m not gonna get any junk today!” I whined. From my whiny lips to the great auctioneer in the sky’s ears — I won two boxes of vintage sewing patterns for just $2!
Two Boxes Of Vintage Sewing Patterns
From then on, we were on a roll. A cheap roll of $1 and $2 boxes, with a few other higher-priced items too. Like this Suzy Homemaker Super-Grill.
Suzy Homemaker Super-Grill Box
Finally, I get a Suzy Homemaker item! Hubby said, “$7.50? You didn’t even look in the box!” To which I giggled, “Hey, I’m happy with just this snazzy box for that price — you know how I feel about neat old empty boxes!”
But of course, it wasn’t empty. It’s actually very, very clean too!
Retro Suzy Homemaker Super-Grill
I could have been happy with just that for the day — along with our games. But the day wasn’t over yet… We continued to win a few other goodies, which we’ll write up individually later (we promise!).
Wearing Hats & Masks Up For Auction
We still lost a few gems, but now the auctioneer was joking with us. “What are you gonna do all winter?” he goaded us, trying to get us to increase our bid on a box of old puzzles. We didn’t budge our bid (the sewing patterns will keep me busy, ey), but such friendly banter always adds to the festivities.
And the staff at Tabor Auctions is ready and willing to make their auctions a hoot. For example, when hats & masks were up for auction, the handlers were wearing them, much to the delight of the audience. (No, I didn’t win a single hat — not for lack of trying, but there were some serious hat collectors and dealers who must specialize in vintage fashion willing and able to out-bid me.)
When the first two trailers were cleared off, we decide to load our new-to-us treasures into the van and eat a little lunch before they got to trailer #4 — our magical trailer of books. What happened next?
You’ll have to read part two on Thursday to find out!
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Article Tags: auctions, bidding, buffalo nd, collecting, suzy homemaker================
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August 11th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Boy, I can hardly wait! This sounds like fun and maybe even profitable. And you can sew clothes for the entire family (even nieces and nephews) over the winter months. You go girl!
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