Come Tuesday evening, Ray Austin is ready to make some deals.
Wearing a black cowboy hat, jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, the man known as "the King of Auctioneers" took the stage of the Cooperstown Junction auction barn on a warm June evening, microphone in hand, just as the clock on the wall signaled 5:30 p.m. Adopting a gunslinger's stance, Austin turned on his microphone and gestured to a couple hurrying through the back door. "Get right in here," Austin rasped. "You're going home with some merchandise tonight. We've got your umbrella stands here, so much a piece, twice the money. Who's got a five-dollar bill for 'em?"
Within five minutes, Austin had dispatched not only the umbrella stands, but an oil painting, a box of screwdrivers, a step stool and a few other items without missing a beat. As buyers nodded, pointed and held up small wooden paddles or cardboard cards to signal their bids, Austin smoothly navigated the bidding and quickly moved on to the next item. Small lots, like the screwdrivers, were carried to their new owners by runners _ some youngsters, others well into maturity.
Buyers of furniture fielded Austin's ubiquitous follow-up question, "You takin' it tonight?" Answers in the affirmative were greeted with a rare smile from Austin and the command of "Out the door with it," sending still more of his employees out to the loading dock with the item in question.
Part of Austin's speed is thanks to his legion of workers, which number among them several relatives ("about five," Austin estimated, spanning five generations among them).
Tall and small, young and old, the workers at Austin's hoist up and show off everything from sleeper sofas to fine china to prospective bidders.
On auction night, Austin's Auction is packed to capacity. Customers sit shoulder-to-shoulder in folding chairs padded with aging cushions. Besides the furniture stacked on the main stage, every other available surface is put to use. Tables are loaded up with dolls, tools, glassware, books, paper items and other small treasures. Aisles are piled high with more boxes. Extra light fixtures hang from the rafters; near the back door, skis, saws and power tools spill out into the parking area.
Austin's is a general auction house, which means it will sell just about anything, although "I don't go in for cattle and horses," Austin explained. The auction house opened its doors in 1970; Austin took his first shot at his craft at the tender age of 14.
"I just gave it a try," Austin chuckled, and found that he liked it enough to stick with it.
While the auctioneering may be much the same as it was nearly 40 years ago, some things have changed; prospective auction-goers today can preview items online at the auction house's website. Even still, Austin has kept his open-door policy intact.
"We're the only auction house I know of that's open all the time," Austin explained. "Most auctions are only open a couple of hours before sale time; we're open all the time."
Another well-known name in local auction circles also got his start as a youngster.
"I started right at the bottom," explained Kevin Herrick of Lettis Auction Service in Oneonta. "I came to work with Jim (Lettis) between stints of college ... I started out as a runner, and slowly moved myself up the ladder. Eventually the three of us, Jim Lettis and Joe Mitchell and myself, became partners in the business."
Herrick bought the business about five years ago, continuing an Oneonta tradition that started in 1952. After tagging along with his mother to Lettis Auction in the early 1970s, he found all the "old stuff" to be pretty interesting. This led to a degree in anthropology from Hartwick College, a thesis in material culture and a continued interest in the field.
"It's always been interesting for me to look at objects and explore not only their monetary significance, but also their cultural significance," Herrick explained. "I could have gone into teaching, but this is fun. This is interacting with different folks from all walks of life."
Of course, not all of the auction business is fun and games; especially when estates are involved, Herrick explained, delicacy and tact are important.
"The first think you want to do is be mindful that the merchandise you're looking at is more than just merchandise to these folks," Herrick said. "They have memories associated with these things."
When all the memories have been doled out to family members, Herrick and his workers come in to sort through what's left.
"Part of the service we provide is that we can clean out a house from cellar to attic. We take the things that will sell, and I subcontract a refuse remover to take everything else," Herrick said, adding that, like Austin's, Lettis is a "soup-to-nuts auction house ... we sell everything."
Louise Corsover of Franklin was counting on just that type of variety on a drizzly Thursday at Lettis.
"I make mosaic sculptures, so I look for odd things, unusual things," Corsover explained while customers milled about, munching on hot dogs, greeting friends, and checking out the evening's offerings of vintage Coca-Cola souvenirs, railroad history books, assorted furniture and countless other treasures.
Corsover's favorite auction find, she said, was a set of figurines from a model railroad layout.
"They were made in Germany, and there were all these different scenes _ ice skating, a wedding _ about 60 of them altogether. I didn't get it right away, either; I had to fight someone for it," Corsover said with a laugh.
Corsover echoed an observation of Herrick's: that auctions are largely the province of the older generations.
"Look around you," Corsover said, gesturing at a sea of salt-and-pepper heads. "It's all retired people here. And it's a shame, because it's really a good place for a couple who's starting out."
Herrick called that generation gap "the most frustrating thing in the business."
"I really wish there were more of that retail-type buyer, and that young people didn't get stuck with all this debt (from buying new furniture)," Herrick said. "There's always bargains to be had ... we're no Sotheby's and we don't pretend to be."
Those looking for something a little closer to Sotheby's need look no further than Hesse Galleries in Otego. The auction house sprang from owner F.W. "Buzz" Hesse's interest in archaeology, and has since grown into a destination for antique dealers and collectors throughout the Northeast, and beyond.
Hesse was bit by the antique bug as a youngster, almost by accident.
"I had learned, when I was a young kid, that you could sometimes find (archaeological) artifacts in antique shops," Hesse explained. "I went into an antique shop looking for artifacts, and lo and behold, there were all these very interesting things there."
Although Hesse made a career for himself in archaeology, his love for antiques abided all the while, but his wallet couldn't always keep up.
"I found out I had the proverbial beer bankroll and champagne taste," Hesse said, "which is why I started selling some antiques. That provided me with some cash flow."
Hesse and his wife, Jackie, started out on the flea market and antique-show circuit, but it wasn't too long before the idea of establishing a home base took hold. After noticing the fine prices antiques were fetching at auctions where he was a customer, Hesse had the thought of getting into the auction business himself.
"I said to myself, Listen, there's no sense crying and moaning about this; I think you ought to consider the auction,'" Hesse said. Following his own advice turned out to be a good move; 34 years later, he is reaping the rewards of his hard work.
Dealing with antiques requires a level of expertise, one that Hesse has honed through years of experience.
"The key to all of this is honesty. If we don't know what we're looking at, we say so. When I present what we do and how we do it, people appreciate it and they accept it," Hesse explained, because they know they will be treated fairly.
While bidding at an auction or consigning an item may be intimidating to a newcomer, Hesse said he is there to help in any way he can.
"We always encourage questions _ they can ask right there in the audience," Hesse explained. "We believe strongly in our buyers and our company being on the same page."
