Move over eBay; live auctions still have huge following
Monday, November 06, 2006
By JERRY NUNN
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Lest you believe eBay and other on-line auctions are cutting into the live-auction business, think again.
While folks are indeed selling individual items across the Internet, interest in the live-bid system of selling used items still has an enormous - and growing - following, according to Tricia Wiltjer, executive director of the Michigan State Auctioneer Association.
Besides, said Wiltjer, there is an excitement about selling an entire home's contents and perhaps even the home itself in a single afternoon that no Online auction service will ever duplicate.
''There's two ways of looking at it really,'' Wiltjer said. ''Everybody can put an item up for sale on the Internet, so it is affecting availability of some items.''
''But it is also bringing auctions into the light and making people aware of the whole bidding process.''
Greg Tuttle, co-owner of Let's Talk Auction at Auction Acres in Fairview, concurs.
''Take an estate sale,'' Tuttle suggests. ''It's a one-day event. And we're full-service. An auctioneer comes in, sets everything up, does the promotion and at the end of the day your stuff is gone.''
High-end items often go for top dollar and even the items that hold priceless sentimental values fetch a decent price...
De een hoeft de andere natuurlijk niet uit te sluiten. eBay heeft bijvoorbeeld, "eBay Live Auctions " dat de mogelijkheid geeft om ouderwetse veilingen via de computer te volgen en om biedingen te plaatsen.
Anderzijds heeft VerKoopwinkel vorige week voor de eerste keer een object geveild via eBay waarbij bezoekers aan de winkel het artikel live konden bekijken en ook konden bieden.
verKoopwinkel Amsterdam: Kijken op Internet, verKopen in de winkel
