Behind the Scenes of a Cookie Jar Auction

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My name is Bill Kasting.  I run an auction company in Southeast Missouri called “Kasting Auction & Appraisal.”  I am an avid cookie jar collector and have conducted three nationally advertised cookie jar auctions over the past year or so.

 

I thought some of the readers and members of the ACJA might want to know what goes on in the weeks and days leading up to an auction, as well as what happens on sale day itself.

 

This is the story of our first auction:

 

This sale resulted from a family member contacting me via email after finding the “Cookie Jar Matchmaker” web site I run.  Her mother had died and left between 800 and 1000 jars in the estate.  The family was trying to find a buyer to purchase the entire collection.

 

I replied that even if I wanted to buy that many jars at once, there was no way in the world I would be able to afford them!  I did ask if they had considered having an auction. We had several discussions over the next few weeks about the advantages of an auction versus selling on ebay or to a single individual. The estate decided to sell via auction and my wife and I traveled to Arkansas to inventory and examine the jars. 

 

We spent two days actually picking up and looking at each individual jar.  We cataloged each jar by name (if known) or description, maker and any flaws found. I also took lots of photos of the shelves of jars and closer photos of the more interesting ones that I thought worthy.  We discussed advertising options with the family and where we wanted to conduct the sale.  It was decided to hold the sale in my home region of Cape Girardeau because it is located on Interstate 55 almost exactly between the cities St. Louis, Missouri  and Memphis, Tennessee.  Also, I would not have to obtain an Arkansas auctioneer’s license if the collection were brought here.

 

The estate decided to take responsibility for packing and transporting the jars to Cape Girardeau.  This saved them quite a bit of money as it would have taken several days for my crew to package this collection for transport.  The family had several weeks to package the jars in the evenings and did not mind bringing them since they wanted to be present at the auction anyway.

 

After returning home, I had several tasks to perform over the next few weeks.  At the top of the list was finding a place big enough to hold that many cookie jars in an area with good access for easy inspection!  I knew we would be doing a two day sale so I needed a hall from Friday (for setup) through Sunday.  Only two local motels had meeting rooms large enough to suit our needs.  One would not be available for an entire weekend for several months, and the other wanted far too much money.  Local VFW  halls and the like all had some type of activity on at least one day every weekend.  After searching for more than a week, I decided on the National Guard Armory.  The acoustics weren’t very good, but acceptable.  It was available for an entire weekend in October, and it was in my price range.

 

Next, I had discussions with my crew about how we wanted to conduct the sale.  Until this time, we had primarily been a household and estate type auction company that went to an address and sold the contents on-site.  Not a formal type of presentation, we just sold whatever was next in line.  I knew if we didn’t have some type of organized method of selling, all of the “money” jars would sell the first day and we would be left with low end jars to try and hold a crowd on the second.  We decided to have an “Order of Sale” with lot numbers and to bring each jar up to the front of the crowd to sell.  Each registered bidder would receive a printed order of sale with makers, names, flaws, etc. noted.  It would mean more work before the auction began, but should make the actual sale move more smoothly.  We decided to sell 500 lots on Saturday and the balance of the collection on Sunday.

 

My next task was determining this “Order of Sale.”  How to keep the sale interesting and the better jars scattered out over two days?   My solution was to assign each jar a category by value.  Category “A” were jars I thought would bring less than $20.  Category “B” should bring less than $50.  Category “C” less than $100 and Category “D” less than $200.  Finally Category “E” jars should bring more than $200.

 

By my calculations, I wound up with about 35 category “E” jars, 60 or so “D” and so on up to several hundred “A’s.”   I then started my “Order of Sale.”   In every 25 auction lots, there were approximately twelve “A” jars, six “B’s”, four “C”, two “D” and one “E”.  This was a guideline only--if I got off occasionally, I didn’t let it bother me.   I also wanted to make sure I kept “groupings” on the same day.  For example, we were selling the entire Wizard of Oz series by Star Jars.  I wanted to make sure we sold all of those on the same day in case a person interested in them would not be able to attend both days of the auction.   Finally, I wanted to end each day with a special jar to keep the crowd until the very end.   On Saturday, we ended with the Enesco Snow White and on Sunday with the American Bisque Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

 

After contacting the family and confirming the auction dates and location, I began working on advertising.  Since this was going to be a nationally advertised sale, I wanted a nice large two color flyer on glossy paper and easy to browse information on my auction company web site. 

 

I began this process by breaking the all of the jars down into categories and makers such as: American Bisque, McCoy, Treasure Craft, Artist Jars, Advertising Jars, Misc Pottery and the like.  Then I had to cull the list into a manageable number that would fit onto a Sale Bill.  I chose those jars I thought would pique a potential bidder’s interest.  This smaller list and other auction information was taken to the printer and used in the layout of the sale bill.

 

My next priority was Internet advertising. I always post information about our auctions on my web site.  However, I wanted this sale’s pages to be special.  I knew that I would be accepting absentee bids, so there needed to be some good information about the jars for potential bidders to study.  Of course, extra information would be handy to help folks decide whether they wanted to attend the auction in person as well.

 

My layout for the web site included a front “information” page with general information about the auction such as dates, times, location, etc.  I included a few pictures of some of the better jars and general categories of jars to be sold.  At the bottom of the page were links to pages with more specific information.  Other pages included the break down of the jars by maker and category I used in the sale bill. I also had pages with many more pictures of the jars that I had taken while cataloging them in Arkansas. A “Terms of the Sale” page had information about payment methods accepted and the like.  Next was a page about the process for submitting absentee bids.  I also included a page with directions to the auction and motel information for those who would be spending the weekend.  Finally, I published the actual “Order of Sale” with lot numbers and descriptions of flaws.  Every jar to be sold was listed on these pages.

 

With the web page designed, I began actively promoting the auction.  I contacted Barbara Crews at the collectibles site on about.com and asked if she would give the sale a plug in one of her newsletters.  I also put a notice in the forums of her web site and on the bulletin board in the ACJA site.  Over the next few days I put notices up on every antiques/collectibles/auction site that I could find.  I even put a notice on the Usenet in the rec.antiques and rec.collectibles groups.   I’ve since regretted that decision, since I was immediately bombarded with spam emails that continue to this day!

 

With Internet advertising taken care of, I next turned my attention to the national antique related newspapers.  After a bit of research, I decided to place one fifth page advertisements in both Antique Week and in the Antique Trader. The folks at both papers were a delight to work with and made the process easy.   I emailed a few pictures and the auction information to the respective magazines and they did all of the layout work.  We decided to have the ads appear two weeks before the auction to allow people time to make travel arrangements, request sale flyers and the like.

 

Finally, I worked on advertisements to be published in the local newspapers.  This was relatively easy, as this was around the fifth time I had worked on some type of advertisement for this auction!  These ads would be seen on the Sunday and Wednesday before the actual sale.

 

The events of 9/11 occurred about this time, and as horribly as it affected me on a personal level, it also put this sale in jeopardy. The next week I was contacted by the National Guard and informed that our contract had to be broken.  They were very apologetic, but with the uncertain times, they could not guarantee the Armory would be available the weekend of the sale.  They would keep me “penciled in”, but if the local Guard Units were activated I would not be able to use the facility that weekend. 

 

I contacted the estate and discussed options with them.  The sale bills had already been approved and were at the printers. The newspaper layouts had also been approved. Moving the sale would mean redoing all of those ads at a substantial cost.  Plus, if we moved the sale, we would still have to find another suitable facility which had already proved difficult.  We decided to take our chances that the Armory would be available that weekend and to keep the auction as scheduled.  As a worst case scenario, we would conduct the sale in a city park located a half block away.  We would put large signs in the Armory parking lot directing the bidders to the sale.  

 

With that decision made, I had a bit of a lull until the auction.  I spent the time working on a mailing list.  I used the names of everyone I had bought from or sold a cookie jar to in the past couple of years on ebay.  I also took the member directory of the ACJA and used every name that I thought lived within a reasonable driving distance.  My apologies for sending unsolicited flyers to those who didn’t wish to receive them.

 

After getting the sale bills from the printer, I spent my days off for the next month visiting every antique store I could find within a hundred mile radius and leaving flyers at each. I mailed sale bills to those on my mailing list and even set up a booth at a local antique show with my own jars to distribute flyers to those who showed interest.  In short, I worked my tail off promoting this auction.  I wanted lots of attention and good attendance at the sale.

 

Everything proceeded smoothly after that.  The national ads were published and looked very professional.  The web site was getting literally hundreds of hits.  Questions and absentee bids were coming in by phone and via email.  Then came the news we had been dreading—one of our local Guard units was being activated the weekend of the auction.

 

Actually, it could have been much worse.  The unit was being activated on Friday and would be shipping out for training that evening.  We could still use the Armory for the auction on Saturday and Sunday, we just wouldn’t be able to start setting up until about 9:00 Friday night.  Bad luck,  but not a complete disaster.  I had originally planned to start setting up the auction at about 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning and hoped to be finished by 5:00 in the afternoon.  Oh well, the best laid plans....

 

The family arrived with the jars in the early afternoon on Friday.  I met them at their hotel and gave directions to the site.  I told them when to deliver the jars and asked if they would help unpack to expedite the process.  They (thankfully) agreed.  I also enlisted the help of my family and in-laws to help set up the jars.

 

Finally, the time arrived. My crew and I got access to the Armory around 8:30 that night and began setting up tables for the jars and chairs for the bidders who would be arriving in less than 12 hours.  The family arrived with the jars about 9:00 and we began unpacking.  The actual unpacking of the jars wasn’t a problem.  The bottleneck occurred when we tried to number the jars according to the Order of Sale.  I was the only person who knew which jar was which!  So all jars had to go through me for identification, then find that jar in the Order to number it. Then the numbered jar had to be carried to the table where it belonged during the sale.  Finally all of the packing material had to be cleaned up and made ready for the bidders to use during the sale. 

The hours flew by or dragged on, depending on your point of view.  We finally finished numbering and placing jars at 4:30 Saturday morning.  I went home, grabbed a shower and took a nap for a couple of hours.  I was back at the Armory at 7:30 am to open the doors for the preview and found folks outside the door waiting for me.  The rest of my crew came straggling in an hour or so later.  To be honest, none of us even felt like being awake much less conducting an auction.

 

The sale was scheduled to begin at 9:30 am and I spent the couple of hours before the sale setting up my P.A. system and talking with the bidders including answering questions about the jars, how the sale would be conducted, etc.  I was surprised to find we had folks attending the auction from Arizona!  I’d never been to a cookie jar sale before and was amazed that someone would drive that far just for an auction.

 

Finally, it was show time! At 9:30, everyone was seated and I gave my “opening remarks.”  These include welcoming the crowd, letting them know why the sale is being conducted, where the restrooms are located, terms of the sale, the order of sale and the like.  I also gave them a brief description of the previous night’s activities so they might understand if we seemed a bit “dull” at times.   Everyone seemed sympathetic.

 

We started the sale by auctioning the McCoy Coalby Cat jar and continued nonstop for 500 lots.  We sold the Enesco Snow White jar (#500) at just after 5:00pm.  Most of the lots were cookie jars, but a few were planters, wall pockets and other “Go Withs.”  Our method of selling was to bring the jars to a pair of tables in front of the crowd.  We would sell from those tables after announcing the lot number and immediately take the jar to the purchaser.  They were encouraged to use boxes and packing materials the jars had been delivered in.  The crowd stayed with us all day and were very pleasant to work with.   I don’t think we made too many mistakes, although I did “lose my money” a couple of times and forgot who had the high bid.  It’s a very funny feeling to know how much a jar is selling for, but lose track of who is actually buying it!   Anyway, folks were very understanding. 

 

Bidders were required to pay for Saturday’s purchases before leaving the premises even if they planned to return on Sunday.  They would be allowed to use their same bidder number the next day.

 

Normally after an auction, my crew and I have a tradition of going  to a local restaurant for dinner and drinks to wind down.  We all passed this evening.  I believe I was in bed by 7:30 pm and almost slept the clock around.  Refreshed, I returned to the Armory the next morning for the second day’s auction in much better spirits.

 

As the crowd came in that morning, I was delighted to note that not only had we kept most of the bidders from yesterday, we had gained some new bidders that had not been able to attend the day before.  I talked with one couple that had driven up from Alabama strictly for the second day’s sale.  Several people gave me compliments about Saturday’s sale and others on the web site content and the printed Order of Sale.          

 

The Sunday portion of the auction began at 10:00am with the McCoy Gray Rooster jar and we sold  nonstop until 4:30 pm when we finished the auction with the American Bisque Rudolph-the-Red-Nosed-Reindeer.   There were more pottery items this day including several high end pieces of McCoy pottery and some vintage Black Americana pieces.

 

At the end of the two days, we had sold 1018 lots of which 874 were cookie jars.  The remainder consisted of other pottery items such as vases, teapots, planters and other go withs.   All types of jars were represented in the auction.  Vintage jars from American Bisque, McCoy, Sierra Vista, Doranne, Abingdon, Shawnee, Twin Winton and others.   Modern makers included Treasure Craft, Benjamin & Medwin, Sigma, Star Jars, Fitz & Floyd, Vandor and others.  Artist jars by Shirley Corl, J.D. James, Alfano Art Pottery and Gail Gerds were sold.  Vintage Foreign jars from Japan and new jars from China were also sold.  The high dollar jar sold was a Brayton Green Dress Mammy at $735.00 and the lowest was a metal cookie tin at $1.00.   The collection as a whole sold for just over forty thousand dollars.

 

We had 92 bidders present over the two days with people coming in from Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Indiana and Missouri.  Successful Absentee bids were executed for bidders from Washington State, Utah, Texas and Florida.

 

Comments after the sale were generally favorable.  I received compliments about the prices received–several folks thought we got top dollar for a lot of the jars.  I also got more comments about the web site content and order of sale.  A few people complimented me on my knowledge of the jars and thought it made the auction more enjoyable.  But to be fair, one lady did chide me for talking too much about the jars.  She said that I wasn’t there to educate people, but to sell.   I should just be quiet and let the jars sell themselves.

After the bidders had departed, we still had to clean up the Armory.  It took an hour or so to take down all of the tables and pack up the jars the absentee bidders had won as well as my P.A. system and all of the tickets and such.  Over the next week,  I had to contact the absentee bidders with their totals, pack those jars for shipping.  I also went over each lot ticket carefully to calculate the final sale total, pay the advertisers, pay the help and finally, pay the estate.

 

Overall, the auction was an enjoyable experience.  I met some interesting people and learned quite a bit about hosting an auction on that scale.  The estate was very happy with the auction results as the collection sold for more than the appraisal value.

 

I’ve been commissioned to sell two other cookie jar collections from attendees of this first auction.  I consider both to have been successful sales. Both  had their own adventures and stories, but none were quite of the scale recounted here.  

 

The End