We Like Auctions

Lady Espresso (my spicy deep brewed wife) and I enjoy going to auctions. We especially enjoy estate auctions of personal property built up over years of collecting odds and ends. She has real patience, waiting for the most excellent purchases. The auction we used to like best was called "Superior Auctions," but they lost their lease and, so far, haven't re-opened elsewhere. But running a close second, and a very enjoyable experience for us, is "Christy's Auction" on Indy's south side. They run up to four separate auctions simultaneously, but the one we enjoy is the "box lots team." This is the venue where they sell some of their less expensive antiques, tools, knick-knacks, electronics, books, and all manner of stuff. It's in the same large building that they auction their more costly items, so we can go back and forth, or station one of us in one auction while the spouse is in the other.
Our greatest fun is in buying what they call "skid lots." Several boxes full of stuff packed on a skid, and it's all bought for one, usually low price ($2-$8 is all she'll spend on one lot). When we get these skids home, we are often astonished with what we find in the boxes that we had no idea was there!
She takes most of these items and puts them on ebay for a very fair price. Her store is called "The Rummage Place" and I keep a link at the top of my blogroll at left. The porcelain pitcher is an example of what you might find on her store. Of course, her inventory changes constantly.
Ebay is a strange place to try to understand. One time we came home with a skid lot that included a suitcase. When we got home, we discovered an extraordinary pair of blue suede boots in the luggage! They were a child's size, and looked like the sort of thing a country singer would wear. Heck, we thought we'd pick up some decent beans for the footwear!
Not. One. Nibble.
And that's the way it goes...the things that no one wants are the things we think are the coolest stuff, and the things that sell seem bizarre sometimes. Metal figures of army guys did real well! The buyer didn't want the metal army guys, though! He wanted to melt them down to make something else, and found that the old army guys worked best for his needs. Isn't that odd? I listed some high school band music that actually made some money. Even yearbooks! She has enough fun that even the slow months, though they make her "even more crazy" (as she puts it!) are worth it. The good months are not bad. She makes enough to get us out to a decent restaurant or to go on a winery jaunt. (Another whole post!)