I like to think that auctions in Nebraska are, well, unique. Outside on the grass there are 3 old cars, a truck, 25 tires, 3 truck beds, saddles, a trailer full of tools (and like 15 ratchet sets), and a boat from the 80's. Walk into the heated building and you see furniture, guns and ammo, decorative barbed wire, John Deere toys, and 10 homemade quilts.
While 2 farmers are bidding up a yellow sign that says "cowboy country," the ladies are serving sandwhiches and chili to the people who are exhausted from watching the items fly by and listening to the voice of the auctioneer. If a person isn't wearing jeans, they have their work coveralls on.
I hadn't been to an auction since I was in middle school until today. After looking over the items I decided I wanted to bid on a canister, paper shredder, rocking chair, and some books. I came home with a box of books, a replica old time lantern, a box of christmas ornaments, a box of wrapping paper and tissue paper and bows (best $1 ever spent), hanging file folders, and 2 cast iron skillets. I thought I did pretty well for $16 altogether and I had a great time watching what the other items went for. However I about had a heart attack when a beautiful hardly used Baldwin piano sold for $90. If I had a house to put that in, it would have been the deal of the century in my book.
So I got home and sorted through my things. It's common for auctioneers to combine items if no one is bidding on them so along with my file folders I obtained a box full of check envelopes and an electronic letter folder from possibly the early 90's. And I only bought the box of ornaments because of the beautiful crochet snowflakes that I could use for scrapbooking embellishments. Yeah, I have 2 boxes going to the thrift store tomorrow. But hey, those hanging file folders are expensive even at Walmart. And less things I have to keep in the house or in storage means more time NOT spent cleaning.
The auction sounds like a lot of fun. I remember going to a few in upstate New York many years ago and my parents bidding on a "mystery box" or two - always a few interesting things in there! :)
ReplyDeleteI think you Nebraska folks would enjoy our Monday General Sale in Aylsham, Norfolk. I'm sure they'd enjoy picking over the rusted iron implements that have no purpose I recognise, the iron railings, the coils of rope, the boxes of assorted tools (yes and probably ratchet sets too. Then there's the furniture, pictures, old books and magazines and glassware, crockery (great if you've lost a few items in a set). Then we also have plants, flowers and produce, the auctioning of which had me mystified for a while, but the highest bidder gets however many they want of the plant or whatever, and the rest are sold for the same amount. It's fun and it's chaos!
ReplyDeleteHappy A to Z-ing!
Jemima at Jemima's blog