WEDNESDAY,JULY16,2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 7
SHOPPING
Local bargain hunters track auction deals
By Richard Gintowt rgintowt@kansan.com kansan staff writer
Nathan Warner buys low and sells high, but he's not playing the stock market.
"I bought a dresser for $10 and sold it to Freeman's for $35," he said, referring to Freeman Used Furniture, 1145 Pennsylvania St. "I had gas money for a week."
Warner, a Free State High School graduate who will attend the University of Kansas in Spring 2004, spends one weekend a month shopping at auctions in Lawrence.
He said the key to getting good deals was waiting until the end of the auction.
"I don't even come until 3 o'clock Sunday," he said. "Last month I found a big round wicker chair for 25 cents."
Auctioneer
LEARN THE LINGO: WORDS COMMONLY HEARD AT AUCTIONS
The person whom the seller engages to direct, conduct or be responsible for a sale by auction. This person may or may not actually call or cry the auction.
Bid Rigging
The unlawful practice whereby two or more people agree not to bid against one another so as to deflate value.
For thrifty shoppers like Warner, auctions are a cheap and entertaining way to decorate and even earn some spare cash.
Caveat Emptor
A Latin term meaning "let the buyer beware." A legal maxim stating that the buyer takes the risk regarding quality or condition of the property purchased, unless protected by warranty.
For a tight-knit group of Lawrence auctioneers and auction-goers, the auctions are also social events.
Sealed Bid
Estate Sale
Hammer Price
The sale of property left by a person at his or her death. An estate auction can involve the sale of personal and/or real property.
A method of sale utilized where confidential bids are submitted to be opened at a predetermined place and time. Not a true auction in that it does not allow for reaction from the competitive market place.
Price established by the last bidder and acknowledged by the auctioneer before dropping the hammer or gavel.
Source: National Auctioneers Association
the same 50 people every weekend."
“It's kind of like the Deadheads,” said Teresa Ferguson, who has worked at Lawrence auctions for 15 years. "We see
Lawrence resident Kasey Wold, 52, has been auctioneering since she graduated from a two-week course in 1983, one of six women in a class of 440.
"It's kind of like the Deadheads. We see the same 50 people every weekend."
Teresa Ferguson
Lawrence auctions
Wold directed a sale this past weekend for 90-year-old Velma Mignot, who sold her house and everything in it so she could move to Presbyterian Manor, 1429 Kasold Drive.
Wold said items at estate sales commanded higher prices than garage sales because the belongings never left the house.
"Anytime you take things outside and put them on a table it's no different than taking a new car off the lot — the depreciation is huge," Wold said.
For Chris Jones, Iowa City, Iowa, junior, the experience of walking into another person's home was disconcerting.
"This is weird," Jones said. "I'm not used to seeing everything for sale."
—Edited by Maggie Newcomer