THANK YOU to all of the buyers at today's auction. The September 18th auction at Equity Hall in Pound, WI. was a lot of FUN, and it was good to see so many of our regular buyers, and many buyers that we haven't seen in awhile....
It was a beautiful day outside, and the breeze flew in and created a very comfortable atmosphere. We were a little worried about the truck and tractor pulls next door creating too much noise, but even with the doors open it was not noticeable. Equity Hall has great accoustics, and we will most likely use that facility again. Vern and his staff were very acommodating - thanks!!
As usual, we had a few "characters" sitting in the front row......(Loren & Jeff were misbehaving as usual, and were quite entertaining)! It's not a bad idea to sit towards the front at one of our auctions as you get to hear a lot more of the humorous coments (and MANY auction items have interesting comments attached to them...)
The majority of this selection of merchandise offered at auction was from a Green Bay Estate, and we added a little bit from an upcoming Estate Auction that has an ABUNDANCE of Fenton and depression glass. I had hoped to alleviate the pressure (from a selling point) of having so much quality glass in one auction, and I was only somewhat successful in that, as most of the buyers were after the advertising signs and the sporting items. And let's not forget the OVER 300 FISHING POLES!!
Watch Superior Auction & Appraisal's upcoming schedule for the next six weeks - it's FULL of GREAT MERCHANDISE!!! Antiques, tractors, vehicles, jewelry, quality glassware, antique and modern furniture, MANY TOOLS, firearms, boats, snowblowers, real estate, and MUCH MORE! Information about November auctions will be coming soon!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Wisconsin State Auctioneer Championship Contest
After a very busy weekend of selling at auction, I traveled to Milwaukee for the State Championship Auctioneer Contest held at the state fairgrounds. It was nice this year to not have a leadership role, and I was able to just enjoy the contest. I brought a good friend along, and she and I not only experienced the contest but also attended the Betthauser Auction Company auction that evening at the Serb Hall in Milwaukee.
There are so many people that have worked (or attended)for multiple years that don't get the recognition that they deserve...WAA President-Elect Bob Hagemann and his wife Sally, buyer Leanne from Chicago who atttends religiously, Gene & Rosemary Schmidt, Tom Kleist and his wife, and a multitude of other auctioneers and buyers!! THANK YOU FROM ALL OF US!
It was a very fun day at the fair, and because of the heat & humidity, my friend and I limited our grazing of "fair food" to just Wisconsin cheese curds and the famous "Wisconsin Cattlemen's" ribeye sandwich.
The highlight of the contest to all, of course, was the announcement of the winners! The top 6 finalists held some surprises for me personally, but you never can doubt the judges, who are all experienced in the trade. The finalists were ALL worthy of the title, and I was pleased to see two female auctioneers in the final round. (Male auctioneers typically have an advantage due to emanance of their voice) and our state contest does not allow for separate male and female categories (as the International Contest does).
Getting to the quick of things, when they announced the runner-up, reserve champ (and there were still 4 auctioneers standing), and said "SHE" dada tada....we knew it was CAROL MILLER who won!! She was the only female standing amongst the remaining six finalists!! FIRST TIME A FEMALE WON IN THE HISTORY OF THE CONTEST!!
Carol is very deserving in so many ways and will represent the Wisconsin Auction Industry well! Her next debut in competition will ocurr in Orlando, Florida during the July 2011 NAA Convention, where she will be sponsored by the Wisconsin Auctioneer's Association in the International Auctioneer Contest.
There are so many people that have worked (or attended)for multiple years that don't get the recognition that they deserve...WAA President-Elect Bob Hagemann and his wife Sally, buyer Leanne from Chicago who atttends religiously, Gene & Rosemary Schmidt, Tom Kleist and his wife, and a multitude of other auctioneers and buyers!! THANK YOU FROM ALL OF US!
It was a very fun day at the fair, and because of the heat & humidity, my friend and I limited our grazing of "fair food" to just Wisconsin cheese curds and the famous "Wisconsin Cattlemen's" ribeye sandwich.
The highlight of the contest to all, of course, was the announcement of the winners! The top 6 finalists held some surprises for me personally, but you never can doubt the judges, who are all experienced in the trade. The finalists were ALL worthy of the title, and I was pleased to see two female auctioneers in the final round. (Male auctioneers typically have an advantage due to emanance of their voice) and our state contest does not allow for separate male and female categories (as the International Contest does).
Getting to the quick of things, when they announced the runner-up, reserve champ (and there were still 4 auctioneers standing), and said "SHE" dada tada....we knew it was CAROL MILLER who won!! She was the only female standing amongst the remaining six finalists!! FIRST TIME A FEMALE WON IN THE HISTORY OF THE CONTEST!!
Carol is very deserving in so many ways and will represent the Wisconsin Auction Industry well! Her next debut in competition will ocurr in Orlando, Florida during the July 2011 NAA Convention, where she will be sponsored by the Wisconsin Auctioneer's Association in the International Auctioneer Contest.
Cichocki Moving Auction Results
The Chichocki Moving Auction was one the most fun and succesful auctions of the year! After almost sixteen years in the auction business, I am confident in relaying that the main components of a successful auction include good merchandise, targeted marketing, and the cooperation of the seller.
We definitely had all three going on with this auction! The beautiful log home, barns and outbuildings are currently for sale and include acreage AND a whole lot of Menominee River frontage! Diane and her late husband were avid antique collectors, and there was an abundance of high quality merchandise available on auction day!
Our crew pulled into the auction site at 6:30am and were amazed at the activity going on! I bet there were at least 25 family members - from little kids to octogenarian Grandma Laveta, working already!! We are so appreciative of that, as the merchandise being offered that day grew somewhat from my original visit...Talk about a cohesive family!! AND they were HAVING FUN!!
The weather was pretty good - not as hot and humid as usual, but we still opted for tents so that people could get in the shade if they needed to. Crowd sizes at our auctions this year have been amazing - this auction produced over 350 buyers !!
One of the eventful parts of the auction day included the "Waterfront Festival Motorcycle Ride" that passed on River Road while we were selling. At the time, we had two rings going, and BOTH auctioneers had to shut their auctions down until the 300 or so motorcycles passed! Customers from both rings got into the spirit of the motorcycle ride, waving and cheering the cyclists on! (I heard from a reliable source that Cozzy's mentioned the auction they would be passing, and encouraged the cyclists to be careful - thanks Cozzy & team!) And thanks to the motorcycle riders that were suporting our local St. Vincent de Paul Store!
Our office manager Jennifer. will be posting result of the Cichocki auction soon on our website - take a look!
We definitely had all three going on with this auction! The beautiful log home, barns and outbuildings are currently for sale and include acreage AND a whole lot of Menominee River frontage! Diane and her late husband were avid antique collectors, and there was an abundance of high quality merchandise available on auction day!
Our crew pulled into the auction site at 6:30am and were amazed at the activity going on! I bet there were at least 25 family members - from little kids to octogenarian Grandma Laveta, working already!! We are so appreciative of that, as the merchandise being offered that day grew somewhat from my original visit...Talk about a cohesive family!! AND they were HAVING FUN!!
The weather was pretty good - not as hot and humid as usual, but we still opted for tents so that people could get in the shade if they needed to. Crowd sizes at our auctions this year have been amazing - this auction produced over 350 buyers !!
One of the eventful parts of the auction day included the "Waterfront Festival Motorcycle Ride" that passed on River Road while we were selling. At the time, we had two rings going, and BOTH auctioneers had to shut their auctions down until the 300 or so motorcycles passed! Customers from both rings got into the spirit of the motorcycle ride, waving and cheering the cyclists on! (I heard from a reliable source that Cozzy's mentioned the auction they would be passing, and encouraged the cyclists to be careful - thanks Cozzy & team!) And thanks to the motorcycle riders that were suporting our local St. Vincent de Paul Store!
Our office manager Jennifer. will be posting result of the Cichocki auction soon on our website - take a look!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
National Auctioneer's Association Conference & Show
The National Auctioneer's Association Conference & Show was held in Greensboro, North Carolina in July. It's hard to miss a National Conference, especially when it's held in a state that I have never visited. The educational opportunities for professional auctioneers, as well as the networking that it allows, is worth much more than the convention fees and travel costs.
Eli Detweiler, a former Wisconsin auctioneer, holds a leadership role with North Carolina and was very instrumental in this year's convention. Some of our customers will remember Eli as the very energetic Amish auctioneer that worked with us occassionally when he was still residing in Wisconsin. It was VERY EXCITING to be there when he won the INTERNATIONAL AUCTIONEER CHAMPIONSHIP CONTEST this year! Last year he was runner-up, but it doesn't always work out to mean that you will win the next year...there are SEVERAL professional auctioneers that are also very deserving of this title. Yeah Eli - I'm proud of you!
I traveled to North Carolina a few days early to visit friends in Hendersonville and enjoyed a couple of days with Pete & Judy. They own a very large produce operation and I went to the convention with a case - plus of the best tomatoes ever! Airport personnel, rent-a-car people and several auctioneer vendors and friends were able to enjoy the tomatoes also - thanks Pete & Judy! Kathy Kingston used the tomatoes and an ice bucket/cooking pot to demonstrate a wonderful Italian recipe.....
My roommates were Wisconsin auctioneers Shirley Baumann & Carol Miller - three women in one hotel room!!! We had a very interesting week, and all still loved each other when it was ending....(Shirley & Carol are surprised that I didn't mention bathtubs or snoring...right)???
The technology seminar by Peter Gehres was OUTSTANDING! Check out the auctioneerchannel.com to see one of the projects that Peter has been involved in. He made all of the new technology that auctioneers must keep up with very understandable - thanks Peter!
Just a very few of the other educational opportunities include seminars I attended on "Legal Issues for Real Estate Auctioneers", "On-line Only Auctions", "Art & Collectibles", "Social Networking for Business", "Selling Firearms at Auction," and the "New Era of Real Estate Auctions."
Several FUN things about attending NAA Conventions included seeing old friends and making new ones...attending the "Great Ideas Forum"...listening to auctioneer's stories about "Auctions Gone Wild"....and meeting up again with CAI graduates....
Attending NAA Conventions helps me to remain focused on what I intended to do when I first became a part of the auction industry, - providing a professional, honest and fair service to the communities that I serve. I am very appreciative of the opportunities that the NAA provides!!!
Eli Detweiler, a former Wisconsin auctioneer, holds a leadership role with North Carolina and was very instrumental in this year's convention. Some of our customers will remember Eli as the very energetic Amish auctioneer that worked with us occassionally when he was still residing in Wisconsin. It was VERY EXCITING to be there when he won the INTERNATIONAL AUCTIONEER CHAMPIONSHIP CONTEST this year! Last year he was runner-up, but it doesn't always work out to mean that you will win the next year...there are SEVERAL professional auctioneers that are also very deserving of this title. Yeah Eli - I'm proud of you!
I traveled to North Carolina a few days early to visit friends in Hendersonville and enjoyed a couple of days with Pete & Judy. They own a very large produce operation and I went to the convention with a case - plus of the best tomatoes ever! Airport personnel, rent-a-car people and several auctioneer vendors and friends were able to enjoy the tomatoes also - thanks Pete & Judy! Kathy Kingston used the tomatoes and an ice bucket/cooking pot to demonstrate a wonderful Italian recipe.....
My roommates were Wisconsin auctioneers Shirley Baumann & Carol Miller - three women in one hotel room!!! We had a very interesting week, and all still loved each other when it was ending....(Shirley & Carol are surprised that I didn't mention bathtubs or snoring...right)???
The technology seminar by Peter Gehres was OUTSTANDING! Check out the auctioneerchannel.com to see one of the projects that Peter has been involved in. He made all of the new technology that auctioneers must keep up with very understandable - thanks Peter!
Just a very few of the other educational opportunities include seminars I attended on "Legal Issues for Real Estate Auctioneers", "On-line Only Auctions", "Art & Collectibles", "Social Networking for Business", "Selling Firearms at Auction," and the "New Era of Real Estate Auctions."
Several FUN things about attending NAA Conventions included seeing old friends and making new ones...attending the "Great Ideas Forum"...listening to auctioneer's stories about "Auctions Gone Wild"....and meeting up again with CAI graduates....
Attending NAA Conventions helps me to remain focused on what I intended to do when I first became a part of the auction industry, - providing a professional, honest and fair service to the communities that I serve. I am very appreciative of the opportunities that the NAA provides!!!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
"Surround Yourself With Good People"
One of the best things that was brought to my attention by a favorite college professor years ago, was to "surround yourself with good people." It's a simple concept but Jerry Anderson made an impact on me with that statement. (We won't go into his "fly with the eagles" communication:)
I am so grateful for our Superior Auction staff! Many of our current employees are "core" staff that have been with us for all or most of our 15 years in business! The majority of them have full-time careers in other fields, and work with us because it's "fun" and they love the auction environment!
My husband Gene is one of the best people that I could have "surrounded myself" with....although he works full-time as a helicopter mechanic, he is always there for business advice, a sounding board, putting up signs, providing "ring" and customer service at our auctions, and so much more!
My first office manager 15 years ago was my nephew, Eric, who was still in high school at the time. He was (and is) an awesome business manager and currently manages one of my brother Jeff's travel business operations in Orlando. Kris Anderson was my first "official" office manager and managed to work productively in a very small office that she shared with me in our home , and with her newborn daughter Cassidy Johnel. Jennifer Nowack, our current office manager, is lucky enough to have a large office all to herself in a separate office building. Jen's been with us full-time for over six years and puts out a huge amount of work, managing "behind-the-scene" duties both for our live and on-line only auctions.
Kathy Sackman (Kat) has been with us for several years in many roles, most recently taking over the management of the prep duties for our auctions. Jerry & Karen Stujenske are a big part of the prep crew and have been very helpful in many ways to our success!
Clerks, cashiers and ring people are essential to the business also. Linda, Kristina, Terri L, Terri K, and Penny have been contributing for many years, and are much appreciated! We also are very grateful for all of our high school students (many of which it is their first job opportunity), and for all of the occasional personnel that work for us.
Without a doubt, contract auctioneers are a very important part of "surrounding yourself with good people." They are the people that are most noticeable to the buyers, so it's important that they present themselves positively, are honest, entertaining, and have good customer service skills. Joe Cicero, has been a part of our business for "forever" and we snag him whenever we can get him! He's been pretty busy lately though, presenting seminars on Internet security all over the nation!
Carol Miller (Bailey's Honor Auction in Oconomowoc) has been a favored contract auctioneer with us for a long time, and we are honored to have her expertise as an auctioneer whenever she's available. Carol is an excellent example of "surrounding yourself with good people!" We're excited that she will be joining us for the August 7th auction in Wallace, and participating in the Waterfront Parade with "Opal, the famous duck boat."
I am so grateful for our Superior Auction staff! Many of our current employees are "core" staff that have been with us for all or most of our 15 years in business! The majority of them have full-time careers in other fields, and work with us because it's "fun" and they love the auction environment!
My husband Gene is one of the best people that I could have "surrounded myself" with....although he works full-time as a helicopter mechanic, he is always there for business advice, a sounding board, putting up signs, providing "ring" and customer service at our auctions, and so much more!
My first office manager 15 years ago was my nephew, Eric, who was still in high school at the time. He was (and is) an awesome business manager and currently manages one of my brother Jeff's travel business operations in Orlando. Kris Anderson was my first "official" office manager and managed to work productively in a very small office that she shared with me in our home , and with her newborn daughter Cassidy Johnel. Jennifer Nowack, our current office manager, is lucky enough to have a large office all to herself in a separate office building. Jen's been with us full-time for over six years and puts out a huge amount of work, managing "behind-the-scene" duties both for our live and on-line only auctions.
Kathy Sackman (Kat) has been with us for several years in many roles, most recently taking over the management of the prep duties for our auctions. Jerry & Karen Stujenske are a big part of the prep crew and have been very helpful in many ways to our success!
Clerks, cashiers and ring people are essential to the business also. Linda, Kristina, Terri L, Terri K, and Penny have been contributing for many years, and are much appreciated! We also are very grateful for all of our high school students (many of which it is their first job opportunity), and for all of the occasional personnel that work for us.
Without a doubt, contract auctioneers are a very important part of "surrounding yourself with good people." They are the people that are most noticeable to the buyers, so it's important that they present themselves positively, are honest, entertaining, and have good customer service skills. Joe Cicero, has been a part of our business for "forever" and we snag him whenever we can get him! He's been pretty busy lately though, presenting seminars on Internet security all over the nation!
Carol Miller (Bailey's Honor Auction in Oconomowoc) has been a favored contract auctioneer with us for a long time, and we are honored to have her expertise as an auctioneer whenever she's available. Carol is an excellent example of "surrounding yourself with good people!" We're excited that she will be joining us for the August 7th auction in Wallace, and participating in the Waterfront Parade with "Opal, the famous duck boat."
Friday, May 28, 2010
Client Testimonial from May 1st Auction in Amberg
Dear Nellie,
On behalf of my family, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the wonderful auction we had on May 1st. From the moment you met with me you understood the situation, and projected an efficient and professional demeanor. Your entire team mirrored those traits in every step that was taken.
I can't thank you enough for the assistance you offered when determining what should be placed in the auction (and you didn't turn away much!). You made certain that all of the vehicles started and where in operational condition, therefore bringing top dollar. I'm not sure if you have control over the weather, but we couldn't have asked for a better day.
The most amazing part to us was that EVERYTHING was sold. The only evidence that anything had occur ed on the property was a little bent grass. Thank you so much for the very positive experience. I recommend your services to anyone who might need them.
Sincerely,
Ron Abele
On behalf of my family, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the wonderful auction we had on May 1st. From the moment you met with me you understood the situation, and projected an efficient and professional demeanor. Your entire team mirrored those traits in every step that was taken.
I can't thank you enough for the assistance you offered when determining what should be placed in the auction (and you didn't turn away much!). You made certain that all of the vehicles started and where in operational condition, therefore bringing top dollar. I'm not sure if you have control over the weather, but we couldn't have asked for a better day.
The most amazing part to us was that EVERYTHING was sold. The only evidence that anything had occur ed on the property was a little bent grass. Thank you so much for the very positive experience. I recommend your services to anyone who might need them.
Sincerely,
Ron Abele
Monday, May 17, 2010
Heavy Equipment, Tools & Sporting Auction
It was a busy day on Saturday, May 1st in Amberg, Wisconsin. Amberg is a small town with many beautiful lakes and rivers, and is approximately 45 minutes from the Marinette-Menominee area. Close to 500 people attended the auction for the late C. Peter Abele, who was 95 years old when he died.
The setting was beautiful, with pine trees, a beautiful lake and very pleasant weather. If I had thought of it at the time, I would have had a large "CONGRATULATIONS - YOU MADE IT!" sign waiting for everyone- the property is at the end of a very winding and very long dead end road!
Even though we are fully computerized, which makes for quick registration and quick check-out, the lines were long and seemed never-ending with buyers waiting to register. We've noticed that the auction crowd size is up considerably this year, and we like that!! We appreciate all of the people who come out to buy the great merchandise offered at our auctions, and also those who come just to socialize. It's nice to see families in attendance, and you can be assured that our company is very "family-friendly," never using any off-color humor, etc.
It takes a lot of cooperation and hard work to have a successful auction and I am grateful for our prep and office staff who prepared the merchandise and did the marketing. I am also very appreciative to our mechanic, Nick, who is the best heavy equipment mechanic and operator in the area!
One of the key elements in having a successful auction is having the cooperation and trust of the client. Personal Representative Ron Abele was a top-notch client, providing me with the tools I needed to perform! The Personal Representative of an estate has a very serious job to perform, and has a legal and fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the estate - Ron did an exemplary job!
Check out the "Highlights" page on our website http://www.superiorauction.net/for some of the prices realized at this, and other previous auctions. If you would like to receive an email notice of our future auctions, you can sign up at the bottom of any page on our website.
The setting was beautiful, with pine trees, a beautiful lake and very pleasant weather. If I had thought of it at the time, I would have had a large "CONGRATULATIONS - YOU MADE IT!" sign waiting for everyone- the property is at the end of a very winding and very long dead end road!
Even though we are fully computerized, which makes for quick registration and quick check-out, the lines were long and seemed never-ending with buyers waiting to register. We've noticed that the auction crowd size is up considerably this year, and we like that!! We appreciate all of the people who come out to buy the great merchandise offered at our auctions, and also those who come just to socialize. It's nice to see families in attendance, and you can be assured that our company is very "family-friendly," never using any off-color humor, etc.
It takes a lot of cooperation and hard work to have a successful auction and I am grateful for our prep and office staff who prepared the merchandise and did the marketing. I am also very appreciative to our mechanic, Nick, who is the best heavy equipment mechanic and operator in the area!
One of the key elements in having a successful auction is having the cooperation and trust of the client. Personal Representative Ron Abele was a top-notch client, providing me with the tools I needed to perform! The Personal Representative of an estate has a very serious job to perform, and has a legal and fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the estate - Ron did an exemplary job!
Check out the "Highlights" page on our website http://www.superiorauction.net/for some of the prices realized at this, and other previous auctions. If you would like to receive an email notice of our future auctions, you can sign up at the bottom of any page on our website.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
BOOMERS and BEYOND EXPO
Superior Auction and Appraisal will be participating in the "Boomers & Beyond" Expo on Saturday, February 13th, 2010 at the Radisson in Green Bay, Wisconsin. This event is designed to bring together key service providers for the aging population to help them attain an optimum quality of life. Our auction company's services are a good fit with the Boomers Expo, as we offer several types of auctions which would be helpful to not only Boomers, but to their aging parents. Specialty auctions of collections - coins, vintage toys and trains, jewelry, fishing lures, Art Pottery, records, etc - are all examples of auctions that that we have conducted for boomer-aged clients that are getting ready to retire and have started their "down-sizing." Many of these categories are conducive to Internet-only auctions, or combined Internet and live auctions.
Boomer- age people often have their parent's estates to deal with at the same time that they are planning their own retirement. Superior Auction offers complete estate services, including auctions for "living estates," where the client has made a decision to move to a nursing home, assisted living environment, or an apartment. Nellie's Certified Estate Specialist (CES) designation has proven to be very helpful when working with estate auction clients.
Medical Care Providers, Community Resources, Financial Planning, Elder Law Advisors, and Chiropractors are just a few of the other vendors that will be available to help you take the guess work out of retirement and the aging process. The event is open to the public from 10am until 5:00.
Stop by our booth and visit with Nellie and Penny about what Superior Auction & Appraisal can do to help YOU!
Boomer- age people often have their parent's estates to deal with at the same time that they are planning their own retirement. Superior Auction offers complete estate services, including auctions for "living estates," where the client has made a decision to move to a nursing home, assisted living environment, or an apartment. Nellie's Certified Estate Specialist (CES) designation has proven to be very helpful when working with estate auction clients.
Medical Care Providers, Community Resources, Financial Planning, Elder Law Advisors, and Chiropractors are just a few of the other vendors that will be available to help you take the guess work out of retirement and the aging process. The event is open to the public from 10am until 5:00.
Stop by our booth and visit with Nellie and Penny about what Superior Auction & Appraisal can do to help YOU!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Online Model Train Auction
WOW! Thanks to all of the bidders from the online-only model train auction! It was very exciting to watch the end of the auction last evening.......sales were higher than expected and I'm sure part of the reason was because of the near mint condition of the merchandise being offered. We are very thankful for opportunities provided by companies like Proxibid and AuctionZip which enable us to expose our client's merchandise to a much broader audience. Although we will always continue to conduct live auctions, either on-site or in banquet facilities, we feel we would not be working in our client's best interest if we did not take advantage of utilizing the Internet. If you have merchandise you would like to sell at the best possible prices, please give us a call and the opportunity to develop a plan for your type of merchandise.
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