Whether left to handle a loved ones estate, are in the process of downsizing/moving, liquidating of a business or perhaps even simply wanting to consign an item or two, Through The Vine Auctions, LLC understands the situation can be a bit stressful and sometimes seem overwhelming. You may be asking yourself, “Where do I start?” Start by contacting us!
Once we receive a call/text/email regarding a possible auction, a member of our staff will reach out to you personally to assess the situation. Afterwards, we will schedule a time we can meet up with you in person to look over the items in question. All that will be required of you at this point is to show us around. While on this tour we will be looking for possible rare, collectible or valuable items that may stand out to potential bidders, running numbers in our minds to determine what commission rate we would have to charge in order for it to be a successful and profitable auction for both you and our company as well as gauging the amount of labor and such that would be entailed in doing an auction. Following this walk-thru, we would take a moment to sit down with you to listen to any concerns you may have and to discuss all the various services we can offer to negate these concerns and ease the overall stress involved. After this conversation, should you feel comfortable choosing to continue to work with us at Through The Vine Auctions, LLC we would then like to discuss the terms of our auction contract in detail. Here, we would settle on a commission rate, go over what would be expected from both you as the seller and of us at Through The Vine Auctions, LLC and discuss the timeline, promotion of and next steps of your auction.
The first step, following the signing of the auction contract, is for one of our asset teams to come out with all the necessary photography, lighting, tagging and organizing equipment needed to begin the inventorying and cataloging process. The timeline for this process varies depending on the number of items involved and the amount of labor required (anywhere from 2 days to a month). Once our team has completed this task we will begin working on and launch your custom marketing campaign to get out the word about your auction as well as target the appropriate audience/bidders for the items found in your auction. At Through The Vine Auctions, LLC, we prefer to run an auction online for a minimum of 10 days. However, if required due to time restraints, we can conduct a successful auction in less time (may be subject to additional fees due to the process needing to be expedited). This is made possible due to the following we’ve acquired over our many years of service.
The auction will close on a weeknight. Through The Vine Auctions, LLC auctions feature both a “staggered ending” as well as a “soft close”. A staggered ending simply means that instead of all the items of an auction ending strictly at a set time (ex. 7:00 PM) that they will end in groups of anywhere from 1 – 25 lots at a time, in intervals of 3 – 10 minutes (ex. 15 lots end at 7:00 PM followed by the next 15 lots at 7:03 PM). This staggering gives the potential bidders an opportunity to slow down and view a handful of items at a time, leaving them feeling less rushed and creating an overall more enjoyable experience. A soft close simply means that if a lot receives a bid in the final 3 minutes of its original end time it will then go into overtime and receive an additional 3 minutes added to its end time. This process will continue with each additional bid until bidding has ceased and time runs out. (ex. A lot is set to end at 7:00 PM (6:59:59) but receives a bid at 6:58 PM making this lot’s new end time 7:02 PM.) The purpose of a soft close is to emulate the rapid last call bidding that can occur in a live auction on an online platform. These two features are beneficial for the seller and not only the bidders in that it allows items to be fought over before the auction closes causing them to bring more.
After the auction closes, team members from our staff will arrive on site early (on the day(s) of the scheduled pickup) to set up for pickup. During this time, we will receive payments, assist in the removal and loading of items and ensure a safe and secure environment for all involved. At the end of this scheduled pickup period, should there be any outstanding invoices, the credit cards on file for these unpaid invoices will be charged.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, our office staff will process your closing report and cut your check (less the agreed upon commission and fees) within 10 – 14 days of the close of your auction. This closing report will include an itemized list of the items sold at auction as well as the realized price of each item. In addition, this report will include a paid invoice for the agreed upon commission rate, promotional fees and any other fees that were laid out in the auction contract.