When I think of auctions, I picture two very opposite scenarios. The first is Hollywood's portrayal of auction houses such as Christie's and Sotheby's, with high profile buyers in suits and no item selling for less than $10k. The other is the Kalona Sale Barn, where the smell of hogs is so thick and the speed of the auctioneer's chanting is so fast, that the thought of bidding is far too intimidating for a novice such as myself. Then again, I'm not in the market for livestock.
This book treats auctions in a much more realistic light. Leslie Hindman, auctioneer and former auction house owner, states that the only items she doesn't buy at auction at clothing. Being a woman, I have an ingrained urge to take advantage of a sale. I don't know why it is, but just reading about some of the deals one can find at auction really got me salivating.
I realized that eBay and other online auction sites have been pretty big for decades now, but they've never really appealed to me. After reading this book, however, live auctions may be the way to go. I've only just now realized how many auctions are in the area on a weekly basis. Luckily, my condo is far to small to accommodate a new addiction.
As far as books go, it's pretty well written and not as boring as I expected. Each chapter has a special section discussing online auctions, but the book was written in 2001 and much of the information is outdated. As such, I wouldn't really recommend it as I'm sure there are newer books with just as much valuable information on the topic.
Rating - 2
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