If you are sending some or all of your furniture, as well as household items, to auction and have scheduled a pick up, you obviously want that pick up to go as smoothly as possible. Most auction houses are owned and operated by true professionals who take pride in what they do and most of the employees that work for them are conscientious and hard working. However, during this process, it is important for you to know what should happen and what should not happen.
Here are a number of tips designed to guarantee a smooth and safe transaction:
1. Make sure there is no misunderstanding as to your commission rate. Verify that there are no hidden costs for pick up, set up or sale of your items.
2. If you live in an apartment or a condominium make sure that the auction house knows this. There are several factors that could affect your commission rate. They include which floor you live on, elevator access as it relates to your apartment or condo and accessibility to an entrance for the auction truck. Time is money and all of these things eat up time.
3. If you are a woman alone, ask the auction house for the names of the employees who are coming to your home. When they arrive, ask them what their names are before opening the door.
4. Find out if the auction house wants you to do any packing of the smaller items ahead of time. Some will and some will not. Many auction houses want to pack the items themselves because they will pack them in a way that will help make their set up easier on the other end.
5. You will be required to sign a contract with the auction house. If your pick up is big enough they may refuse to do a detailed inventory of everything they are packing and/or taking. If they did otherwise, they would never get the truck loaded. Don't panic if this happens. They may write up the furniture for you but will most likely only provide a box count for the smaller items. You will need to trust them to record everything later on as they prepare it for sale.
6. The employees that are moving your items are auction workers, not plumbers. If your pick up calls for them to take a washing machine, be sure to already have this disconnected for them. Do not have them do it for you. Should they make a mistake you could be looking at water damage. They are also not electricians. Any attached lighting fixtures that are going to auction should be uninstalled prior to your scheduled pick up time.
7. If the auction house is taking furniture, make sure the workers have furniture blankets with them and make sure they use them. This will prevent your furniture from getting scratches and gouges during the moving process.
8. Make sure your hardwood floors are protected. The workers should not be dragging furniture across the floor. Furniture should be moved with either a two-wheeler or a four-wheeler. If that's not possible, they need to pick up the piece and carry it out.
9. Make sure all furniture drawers are empty. Mirrors should be removed from bureaus and dressers before they are moved. All furniture doors should be taped shut.
10. Marble slabs should never lay flat. They should be on end leaning up against something. Oil paintings need to be covered in bubble wrap and should not be in an upright position when transporting them. They should lay flat. Never put anything on top of a painting and never carry a painting by the top of the frame - hold it from both sides.
11. If you have a grandfather clock, make sure the auction workers know how to move it properly. Long case clocks can be very expensive to repair. The pendulum and the weights must be removed. Be sure to label the weights left, center and right for proper reattachment. Newer grandfather clocks may be moved on their backs, never on their faces or their sides. Older grandfather clocks should always be moved in an upright position.
12. If the auction workers did a good job packing and loading your items, call the auction house and tell them so. Positive feedback is always welcomed.
Hopefully these tips will give you a leg up on the process. At the very least you should feel more comfortable knowing what to expect and what to watch out for. Good luck at the auction!
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