Solving the problem of setting up the auction floor

Not solving the problem of organizing the auction floor in swift manner can cost an auctioneer a lot of money.

Many times the contents for an auction will come to the auction floor in a huge unorganized clump of merchandise. Because so much of what an auctioneer does has a deadline, we are under pressure to work fast and efficiently.



Here are some tips for going from mess to a completely organized hall in short order.

• Put all the breakable things in a safe place
• Make sure there are clear paths to the parts of the room you need to access often
• If the contents are from multiple consignors, tag things right away
• Place the taller things against the walls, and the lower things in front of those
• Throw away broken things and junk right away if there are things to be thrown away
• Lay out plenty of boxes to sort into
• It's best if you can organize your floor the same way every time, your crowd will get used to where to look for certain types of things, and it will be easier for you
• Talk all small valuables off the floor for security reasons, only put these out on the day of the sale
• Now if there are multiple consignors, you are ready to start allotting space accordingly, be sure to carve out enough room to treat each consignor fairly, relative to the quality of their lots