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Rod’s Corner – What’s Hot and What’s Not – 9/27/2023

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Hi everyone, and welcome to this edition of What’s Hot and What’s Not, a publication of the Steffen Group that helps keep everyone up to date on what items are selling strong in the auction business along with those items that are not selling strong currently.

There continues to be talk about “Live Auctions” and many wonder if those days will return. In the past few months, I have found and attended three live only auctions. Two in Northern and one in Central Indiana. All three were very nice estate type auctions with some excellent antique and collectable offerings. The thing that I noticed though was how few actual bidders were present. Each auction offered roughly 50 bidders. While there may have been a few more present, it was made up of the auction staff and family that were not actively taking part in the bidding process. I must be honest; I absolutely loved the atmosphere and energy of the auctions but as I spent the day observing and bidding, I could not help but think of the money that was lost for the sellers due to the small pool of bidders.

These experiences have confirmed to me the importance and benefit of the Online Auction process in order to achieve the highest possible prices for the sellers. The question that may be running through your mind is “Will the Steffen Group ever do live auctions again?” The answer is that we may do live auctions for our sellers if it is the best decision for them and the circumstance that surrounds their auction needs but right now, we believe that the online auction method of marketing is going to achieve the best results for most sellers.
So let’s get to the part you are all looking forward to as we take a look at what is HOT and what is NOT in the auction business at this time.

Hot

Native American Artifacts: Authentic artifacts have a high level of collectability and therefore, sell strong in the auction market. This can include arrowheads, stones, headdresses, blankets, and many other historical items. One of the key points to remember with all types of artifacts is that if there is documentation as to where they came from it helps to keep the history of the piece

Crocks And Pottery: While there was a day when crocks and pottery of all types were used for everyday purposes such as storage and transport, they are now set aside for decorating our home and are quite collectible. As with most collectibles, the condition is highly important to their value. Other factors with crocks and pottery that have a large impact are size, color, and decoration. The crocks with the blue salt glaze can be quite expensive. The Steffen Group sold a 5-gallon, highly decorated crock jug at auction for $650.

Tin Types: I wanted to mention the importance of tin types. These are the old pictures that were on a tin background and quite rigid. While more than likely, no one knows the people or places in many of the pictures, these antiques are highly sought after. Many collect them to decorate with. One Tin Type recently sold online for over $150.

Farm Related Items: There are a great deal of farm-related items that are collectable. This can include hats, tool cubbie cabinets, work benches, advertising and seed signs, John Deere, International Harvester items, anvils and so much more. Because of this we always encourage people to let us take a look in their barns before they start cleaning them out. I recently saw a DeLaval wall mount wood box with a pretty rusty sign on the front sell for over $1000.

Not

Couches And Soft Furniture: These types of furniture are many times quite soft sellers. There are several reasons for this. Some people wonder if they had pets, did they smoke, was it used daily or infrequently? The other factor that comes into play with this is the color and fabric style. Because these tend to be primary pieces in a rooms décor, buyers are many times quite particular as they approach this type of purchase and as a result will lay off even a quality piece just based upon the color or history.

Dining Room Tables: As our world changes, so have our dining habits. Many new and remodeled homes now have bar seating and smaller breakfast nook dining areas. Many do not even have a dining room. Because of this, the days of needing a nice dining room table and chairs are gone for many families. This, in turn, has led to an overabundance of dining room tables. The double drop leaf dining room tables of the past are super soft sellers. Some that have remained average are the large harvest tables with multiple leaves. That may seem odd, but some do still want the opportunity to have a large table for family get togethers with the convenience of it being much smaller when not needed.

Pictures And Framed Prints: Like couches and soft furniture, pictures are used as statement pieces of décor in a room. Because of this, they many times will sell soft. Many times, I have heard people talking about buying a picture because they were going to repurpose the frame. At auction, we typically try to group two, three or more together to help create active bidding. Now, an exception to this can be signed prints, oil paintings and very old pieces. These pieces will continue to hold their value.

Franklin Mint / Danbury Mint Collectables: Now, I know that these are under the What’s Not Hot category, but I wanted to take a minute to talk about these two collectible makers. They have made a vast amount of almost every type of collectible and some are exceptionally difficult to sell at all. They do have many others that are sought after, very collectible items that can afford very strong prices. I have seen these collectibles in estate auctions where they may not get a bid on some collector plates to where they have sold for over $100 for one item. This is an area that the knowledge of your Auctioneer at The Steffen Group can help you decide what is best to keep and what may be more donatable.

Thank you for reading another edition of What’s Hot and What’s Not but please remember that while these items are both HOT and NOT right now, the market is ever-changing and there are always exceptions. Please reach out to one of the Steffen Group Auctioneers so that we can help guide you to achieving top dollar for your valuable assets.
Reminder: We have a few openings for Higher-End antiques, collectibles, coins, hunting, fishing, and advertising items for our annual Year End Consignment Auction at the Ossian Auction Gallery. Contact us right away to reserve a spot for your items.

Rod’s Corner – What’s Hot and What’s Not – 6/14/2023

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Hi everyone, and welcome to this edition of What’s Hot and What’s Not, a monthly publication of the Steffen Group that helps keep everyone up to date on what items are selling strong in the auction business along with those items that are in a soft market.

Every week I have conversations with those that are in the process of down-sizing their homes and collections.  Most conversations lead toward the owners being concerned that their children have no interest in the things that they have collected over the years and that they will be thrown out or donated when there could be great value in these collections.  I want to encourage you that if you are in this stage in your life, please reach out to any of the Steffen Group Auctioneers.  Our auction team can help assist with everything from finding your next home to selling your real estate, personal property, and quality collectibles.

When it comes to selling real estate, our team will also discuss with you whether it would be best to list your home with one of our realtors or to auction the property.  There are distinct advantages to both options. We have the team and the resources to help you maximize the value of your assets in this market.

On the personal property side, we have several options on how to best address the items that you will not be taking to your new home.  If you have high-end collections, whether it be automobiles, coins, or antiques and primitives, we can help you determine what would be the best avenue to help you achieve the highest possible price for your items.

At the end of the day, we hope to be more than just a realtor or an auctioneer for you; We hope to be your business partner.  Together, we can help maximize the value of your real estate and personal property.

So let’s get to the part you are all looking forward to, as we take a look at what is HOT and what is NOT in the auction business at this time.

Hot

Pharmaceutical & Medical Items : Whether it be medical bottles, mortar & pestles, Dr. bags, signs, small medical instruments, or even furniture, vintage drug store and doctor’s office items have become quite collectable.  We recently had an auction with a metal body medical cabinet with glass sides that sold for over $2,000!

Vintage Christmas: I made a trip to a large antique show recently and one of the first things that I noticed was that vintage Christmas is becoming more and more collectible.  Christmas blow molds like the Nativity, Candles, Candy Canes, and Santa are very sought after.  Shiny Brite glass ornaments are also quite popular especially if they are in their original box.  Don’t forget about the vintage ceramic Christmas trees with the light in the base! These are in high demand right now as they are a wonderful memory for many of Christmas past.

Salesman Samples : Antique salesman sample pieces are miniature small scale versions of an actual commercial product that a salesman would take with them to different retail locations in an attempt to get them to purchase the full size for their store.  These can be anything that would have been sold, from a cast iron stove to a livestock feeder to a canoe.  These were not mass produced and, as a result, can be quite expensive.  I have seen many sell through the years and while most are in the hundreds of dollars range some can reach tens of thousands of dollars!

Not

Small Household Appliances: Small household appliances like toasters, coffee makers, and electric frying pans will almost always sell but they are not worth the bother.  These are such a common staple item that most households have so there is not a need or desire to purchase another one.  These are best donated to those in need.

Crafts: While crafts can certainly have value at shows and festivals, they are typically very soft sellers at auction;  They do not bring high dollar amounts as a rule.

1970’s Wood Furniture: While we have seen some improvement in the furniture market, this era of furniture has remained quite soft.  This includes the ever-popular coffee tables, glass inset tables, hexagon tables and the glossy furniture that was made during this period.  These were well made and can still be quite helpful to someone just starting out on their own.

Treadle Sewing Machines: The old Singer, White and other treadle sewing machines, while quite beautiful, have a very limited collectability.  There was a period when these were highly sought after as décor pieces.  Unfortunately, this time has passed and these are in a down market.  At the very best, I have seen the bases repurposed into entry and side tables.  Even with this repurpose, they have remained soft in price.  I recently saw three very nice repurposed sewing machine bases sell at auction in the $20 to $30 range.

Thanks for taking the time to explore another edition of What’s Hot and What’s Not in the auction business. Be sure to remember that while these items are both HOT and NOT right now, the market is ever changing and there are always exceptions.  Reach out to one of the Steffen Group Auctioneers.  We will be glad to discuss with you the best possible way to promote your items through the auction method of marketing!

Rod’s Corner – What’s Hot and What’s Not – 4/12/2023

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Hi everyone, and welcome to this edition of What’s Hot and What’s Not, a monthly publication of the Steffen Group that helps keep everyone up to date on what items are selling strong in the auction business along with those items that are not selling strong currently.

I wanted to start out by sharing some different perspectives of the online auction bidding and selling process.  Typically, we run our auctions seven days and they all end with what we call a “soft close”.  The soft close will allow only a few lots to close each minute (typically 2 to 4 lots) and the best part is that if someone bids on the item in the last 2 minutes, it adds another minute to that auction lot in order to allow time to notify the person who was outbid and to give them a chance to increase their bid on that item.  This has proven to be a unique and excellent tool to help maximize the value of an item.  Not to mention that it is fun to just sit and watch an auction close observing people bidding back and forth in the last few minutes to win the item that they are after.

From the seller’s perspective, I have helped clients sell their valuable assets and sold my own things at online auctions.  While there may be bidding on some or all items through the week of the auction, patience and trust in the auction process is key to helping you through the week of bidding.  Part of the draw of the auction for the bidder is the intention of getting a great deal on something.  Because of that, many times the bidding remains soft on items until it gets to the end of the auction.  While on occasion, you will see people competitively bid on an item all through the week, most commonly, most of the bidding takes place in the last 24 hours with a concentrated focus of bidding on the last hour and as the lots get ready to close.  So, sit back, enjoy, and have your coffee and a comfortable chair ready with your laptop as you watch the fun during the closing hours of the auction on the last day,

 

So, the moment has come to look at what is HOT and what is NOT in the auction business at this time.

Hot

Green Depression Glass / Uranium Glass: Last month we talked about depression glass being in a soft market right now but that the green depression glass, also called uranium glass and glow glass, was quite popular.  This type of glass glows under a black light and people of all ages are collecting it.  Many are creating black light curio cabinets to show the beautiful glow of this glass.  I have seen the recent sale of a uranium glass oil lamp and lamp.  Both were right at $150.00 each.

Pedal Cars and Tractors: The pedal toy market is a strong market now and has been for some time.  These great toys can range from cars and tractors (most common) to firetrucks and airplanes.  While some love and appreciate these pieces of history in their original condition, many are having these pieces professionally restored.  Even if a piece is not complete, it may still have some value as collectors are looking for parts for restoration.

Gold Silver and Currency: These items continue to remain strong as more people are collecting and using these as investment tools.  Many times, these area selling above what the current precious metals market price is as buyers believe that these markets will continue to rise in the coming years.  We typically work with a professional in this area to help ensure that we properly identify and market these for an auction.

Vintage Board Games: While these are not going to allow you to retire with your auction proceeds, the collectability of vintage board games has recently grown.  The keys to having these be successful in the auction are that the condition is good, all pieces are present and certainly the topic, with rare being the goal.  A vintage complete Sorry game sold recently for $28.00.

 

Not

Antique Clocks: Certain antique clocks will always bring a good value.  The biggest problem that I have seen with the sale of antique clocks are that while people love them, they many times need cleaning or repair and it is almost impossible to find a clock repair service and when you do, their prices are more suited to repairing and cleaning only high-end clocks.  Now, do not throw your beautiful clock in the trash, but do remember that they are not worth what they once were.

Punch Bowls and Snack Sets: The days of punch bowls and snack sets, the rectangular glass trays with a spot for your snacks and a little ring to put your punch cup in, are pretty much behind us.  Unless these are a rare exceptional piece, we do not recommend selling these at auction.  They would be best served as a donation.

Hand Made Linens and Doilies: While many times the detail and workmanship of hand made linens and doilies are beautiful they are not selling strong.  They typically are put in small groups in order to achieve a bid.  They have become a somewhat unappreciated art. Now, be sure to remember that quilts and coverlets are different. Those are both selling well.

Drinking Glasses: Used everyday drinking glasses, mugs and simple stemware are all a difficult sell.  They are so prevalent, that there is not much of a market for these in a used condition.  While we are talking about drinking glasses, I want to mention that many of the restaurant character glasses are not selling well. However, some of the more rare, older ones and most all of the Pepsi Looney Tunes glasses are selling for a respectable price right now.

 

Well, it’s time to wrap up another edition of What’s Hot and What’s Not, be sure to remember that while these items are both HOT and NOT right now, the market is ever changing and there are always exceptions.  Make sure that you reach out to the Steffen Group for all of your auction needs.