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The absolute worst auction headline … unsold
A rare 18th-century coin — a 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar — expected to sell at auction for over 10 million goes unsold. That’s...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 20, 20202 min read


Auctioneers and deception
Deception is generally held as an act or statement which misleads. It might involve propaganda, distraction, camouflage, or concealment....

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 19, 20203 min read


Auctioneers and selective skepticism
We’ve written before about fake and other clearly unsubstantiated memes, posts, and stories being shared on social media by auctioneers. ...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 17, 20202 min read


Providing as much information as possible?
Do auctions work better when sellers provide as much information as possible about what they are selling? Two American economists who...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 16, 20202 min read


High bids in excess of market value
A couple is retiring and moving from Vermont to Florida. They are selling their Vermont waterfront home at auction. They hire a local...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 15, 20202 min read


The winner’s curse
At an auction, who wins? The highest bidder, who outbids everyone else. Let’s ask another question … who loses? Maybe this same bidder...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 14, 20202 min read


Auctions during Coronavirus
Auctions are indeed continuing during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Cases across the United States tended to wain during the...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 13, 20202 min read


Auctions & the Nobel Prize
Stanford University economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson won the Nobel Prize for work improving auction theory and inventing new...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 12, 20202 min read


The auctioneer “double standard”
Are women and men auctioneers treated differently? Do we as a society expect different things from women and men auctioneers? Do [many]...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 11, 20202 min read


Auctioneers and facts
If I’ve learned one thing as I’ve grown older — some people (including some auctioneers) tend to believe (or not) the messenger, with...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 9, 20202 min read


Disputed, missed, late, and tie bids?
Auctioneers spend a bunch of time worrying about things they shouldn’t spend any time worrying about. Namely disputed, missed, late, and...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 7, 20203 min read


You’re not marketing your auction
We’ve held that actually auctioneers only need “alpha” and “beta” (the highest possible bidder and the next highest possible bidder) and...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 5, 20202 min read


Terms, conditions & fairness
You have to listen carefully … as in some cases you’re being lied to. Can auctioneers treat bidders differently — capriciously — in...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Oct 2, 20203 min read


Did the “best” auctioneer get the job?
Auctioneers compete for jobs — contracts if you will — in order to sell cars, livestock, estates, real estate, etc. In many cases,...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Sep 30, 20203 min read


The NAA: The Auction Advocate
The National Auctioneers Association (NAA) has launched a podcast (first appearing yesterday, September 28, 2020) — ...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Sep 29, 20202 min read


Escalation clauses and auctions
In so-called “hot” real estate markets (seller markets,) often sellers are presented with multiple offers soon after listing. In such...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Sep 28, 20203 min read
Ask an auctioneer if it’s trash or treasure
There may be no better person to talk to if you are trying to discern if this “thing” is trash or treasure. Auctioneers are exposed to...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Sep 26, 20202 min read


How To Buy A House At Auction … not really.
How would you go about buying a house at an auction? First step? Don’t read this article, and if you do, ignore most all that it says:...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Sep 24, 20203 min read


The NAA: How auctions work
The National Auctioneers Association (NAA) has launched a blog (first appearing yesterday, September 21, 2020) — www.howauctionswork.com....

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Sep 22, 20202 min read


Should we just do the minimum?
I have written more than once about “commercially reasonable” auction standards. They are largely considered the highest standard...

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer
Sep 21, 20202 min read
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