So I took part in an auction this week. It was my first. I was there to help get people to bid on things.
I was put at a bipolar table of female beauty products and sports memorabilia.
Bidder "Can you tell me about this necklace?"
Me "It's nice" I panic and look at the tag "Made of silver and it's got gold and it's just really nice."
I was supposed to use the; "Did you forget to get something for your wife for Valentines Day?" "Do you want to show your special someone how special they are by bidding on this beautiful necklace?" "This would look great on your mistress!" lines on the men too.
Then I quickly move over to my comfort zone.
"Over here we have a wonderful collection of NASCAR memorabilia. We have this Dale Earnhardt Jr. Autographed Sheet Metal with a certificate of authenticity that was used in 2012. It also comes with former champion Bobby Labonte's autograph and some Dale Earnhardt Jr. merchandise. One heck of a package right here. You can't get this for what it retails for."
My NASCAR pitch was really good, but wasn't quite working with the wine and cheese crowd. I got a whole lot of "Oh gee, well we really aren't NASCAR fans."
I finally got comfortable selling the socks. I could handle that better than the necklace and handmade hat and scarf.
"Look at these thirteen pairs of socks. It's so practical. You always need socks. They are made out of wool so you won't get blisters. It even comes with two gift cards for a total of $200 worth of additional socks."
The sock pitch worked and got a lot of bids.
My NASCAR pitch was really good, but as I said I couldn't find anyone who would be interested. I had hope. I spotted a white guy who was balding and had a mustache. He was a perfect target. I thought for sure he would bid.
Not interested.
I was getting frustrated. I knew I could bid on the item. I knew I would love to have it for the minimum bid price. More importantly I'd hope to get the ball rolling on other bidders jumping in.
I went and got my bidder number. I placed an opening bid on my item that I couldn't get anyone to bite on. As much as I wanted the stuff I also knew I couldn't really afford to win it. I tried extra hard to get someone else to outbid me.
Thankfully someone did. One person out-bid me. My bid got the ball rolling.
As the night went on I also had the microphone shoved into my face by the auctioneer. He was basically this really positive guy who did whatever he could to get people to come and bid. He was like the MC. He had to tell jokes, lighten the mood and make people want to bid. He for some reason wanted to know who I was and what I did.
I became the Cross Country Academic Guy. All of a sudden he said that I was the smart guy at the table. "Everyone interested in some wonderful things for the ladies and some sports memorabilia come and see the smart academic guy down here by the stage."
Maybe he didn't say that exactly, but it was similar to that.
The auction I took part in was successful. I thankfully didn't win anything and I learned about how to put on an auction and got to be a part of it. It ended up raising over $150,000. Not bad!
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