7/2006  auction.txt

                         A T     A U C T I O N

"On the auction block" is, in fact, a rather complex area but first let's 
spill what I think I know in the most basic sense.  Auctioneers make money 
at both ends, from The Seller & The Buyer through Commissions, Fees etc.  

That is the nature of the work and has been for a thousand years and more.  
I would guess they were having auctions in Rome at the time of Chirst  - 
and long before. And, thus, the term "The slave block".


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                               Elements of

                        T H E     A U C T I O N

	The Auction - The main event. 

	Auctioneers - The event maker or manager.

	Auction Agents - Proxies (a substitute) for you when you 
	can't  or don't wish to handle the situation yourself.

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All these can stand between The Seller & The Buyer and the Item.

Next, the kinds of auctions:

Private	(or 'Private Treaty') - This is where negotiation can be had
	and you don't necessarily know who your competition is.
	And there are those who facilitate this process, whom I call
	Private Treaty Agents. (Just invented that though the terms
	' private treaty ' or ' conducts private treaty ' are common.)
	Some might consider these to be ' brokers '.

Public Auctions - where attendees all get as close to an even shot at it.
	Most common forum for the auctioneer.  There are associations
	for Auctioneers as there are for Stamp Dealers.
	This , the Live Auction, is the most common forum for the work 
	of the Auction Agent.  I am not yet sure of the legal status of
	Auctions Agents but I have found most references for them to be
	from Auction houses.

Online Auctions - the newest thing on the block - eBay being king now.
	as long as you have a good fast connection to the internet...
	And I know of at least one Auction Agent to specializes in eBay!

Mail Bid Auctions - where you trust the auctioneer... or auction house.
	I think these need to be qualified with talk if possible.
	Their business is a ballancing act. 

Bid Boards - Common on the walls in many coin and stamp shops.
	Usually you register with the shop opearator then you may
	post your bid while looking at the item.  These are usually on
	a weekly basis.


In general, I would say the ability to phone or e-mail bids to apply
	to all but bid boads and online auctions - all depending on the 
	auctioneers' policy.


From this I must conclude the term  ' Auction ' , as generally used in 
	philatelic descriptions, to be a bit non-specific.  We've done
	work to list Public Auctions & houses, Auction Agents and Online 
	Auctions and are focusing on 'Mail Bids' currently - but I think 
	we'll leave the generic term up to you to ask the dealer what 
	they mean by their use of the term "Auctions".

aj.