How Does It Work?
We receive many calls and emails from clients who simply don’t know where to start. In front of them is a mountain of responsibility, little to no guidance, and a bucket full of frustration. If your first call is to Enlisted Auctions your mountain will vanish and your bucket... what bucket? Our staff has conducted well over a thousand auctions and will put the experience from all of them to work for you.
Consultation
What happens when you place that first call? An auctioneer on our staff will set up a free no obligation consultation with you. This consists of a visit to the property, whether personal property or real estate. Our services are reimbursed with a commission of your auction proceeds. These rates vary depending on the type, quantity, and quality of the items to be sold. On the initial visit we will give you a quote for this commission rate. We will also go over the available dates to find a day that is agreeable to both parties for the auction.
Contract
The next step in the process is a contract. This contract is required by Virginia. If you have hired an auctioneer that does not have a contract he may be in violation of this requirement. Our contract is a single page document spelling out the services we agree to provide for you as our client. It will have the details of the auction such as the dates and commission rates. This contract protects you as a seller against default from an auction company. The representing auctioneer and seller will both receive a signed original copy of this contract.
Advertising
Then it is on to the “elbow grease” work. Our staff will take an inventory of the items to be auctioned. They will take pictures of many of the items or real estate. This inventory list and pictures will be used in the advertisements for your auction. These ads will be placed on various web sites, used in color brochures, mailing lists, newspaper ads, and other media. The success of your auction hangs on the hinges of the exposure for your auction. It has been proven over and over that the more competitors (buyers) you have at your auction, the better your items will sell.
Sorting
So now we have a date picked out, a signed contract, and the ads are in place and grabbing attention. Our staff will now go through every single box, bag, closet, attic, hole, crawl space, etc. on your property. Each item we find that is marketable through auction will be prepared for the auction. The personal items (i.e. family pictures, personal documents, hidden cash, ECT...) are set aside for your inspection. We will never dispose of or sell items of such nature without consulting you. If you live out of the area these items will be packed and shipped to you. The garbage will also be set aside until after the auction. The end of this phase will have all the items prepared for auction and separated from the personal effects.
Set Up
If your items are going to be sold on site we will began setting up approximately two days prior to the auction. This set up will include large tents, fans, tables, food concessions, and a mobile office. These items will be used as space allows and weather dictates. The day before your auction we will set up the entire auction as it will be sold. From the moment the first item is moved from the home, Enlisted Auctions will provide someone to remain on site with the items until after the auction. A guard will stay overnight to provide you with security of mind that your items are in great hands.
In the event your items are going to be moved to a fixed facility, we will arrive on a predetermined day with our moving equipment and pack your items into our large moving trailer. Your items will be unloaded and set-up a day or two prior to the auction. This facility has an alarm system and will be locked down during the period of time that it is not staffed.
Auction Time!
Finally, the day is here. Your morning starts off with biscuits and gravy or a ham sandwich from our award-winning chef, Dave Bolden. Coffee will take the early morning chill out of your body and get you settled in for a great day. Customers will start to line up to register with our cutting edge computer system. They will likely smell your country ham sandwich and decide that you made a wise decision. The auction will start promptly on the advertised time and the day will be a blur from there. People from all over the country come to our auctions. Think of all these people gathering their own treasures and getting ready to spend a lifetime enjoying them. It is amazing to watch the excitement and social buzz only an auction can provide.
The last item has been sold and the final customers are paying for their purchases. Many times if the weather permits we can remove all of our equipment the day of the auction. If there are no complications, you will receive payment within hours after the auction.
Clean Up
The last step in the process is the trash removal. All the items that were left from the auction and the garbage from the house will be taken away and your floors will be swept. So you have gone from a mountain of responsibility to a clean swept home and money in hand for the items which have been sold.
We look forward to working with you on your mountain!