AZ Pima Auction

Welcome to AZ Pima Auction!

Are you looking for a highly qualified auctioneer to conduct your auction? If so, you should consider AZ Pima Auction. Mr. David K. Johnson is a licensed and highly qualified auctioneer. He has over 15 years experience and is considered professional and ethical in his practices. Most people do not know how to go about having an auction, so here are some questions that you need to have answers to. Look them over and decide if you really want to have an auction.

What do we do if we think we might want or need an auction?

Call David K. Johnson at 520-418-3454 to set up a time when he can come and preview your situation. When he makes that first visit, there is no cost and no obligation for either party.  He will listen and look and let you know if it would be to your benefit to have an auction. 

What does an auction cost?

An auction costs a percentage of the gross proceeds, additional hourly labor, and advertisement. There is no money “up-front”.  All the costs of the auction come out of the auction proceeds and are paid for you by Robin.  You then receive a final settlement report that outlines what the costs were and your net total with a check.  The percentage is based on what and how much you have to auction.  If you need and agree to a port-o-potty or if we need a dumpster delivered, that, too, would come out of the sale proceeds.  Each auction is different.

My family member died and his/her house is jam-packed with stuff---what do we do?

If you have decided on an auction with us, the only thing you really have to do, other than sign a contract, is take out what you are going to keep and then stand back and let us do our job.  We have a select team of trusted, experienced people who come in and take it from there:  We organize everything in boxes from the best items to the toiletries and cleaners under the sinks.  We will take care of trash--everyone has collected paper and plastic bags, empty margarine containers, etc. that just need to go.  More of what we do will be covered in following answers.

We are moving and want to auction off what we are not taking with us.  How does that work?

The best situation is to move first, give yourself  a little time to see if you want anything else or want to bring back some furniture that didn’t work out in the new place, and then to have an auction of everything that’s left in the house.  That’s the best situation, but if it does not work for you, we can work around almost anything.  Sometimes clients will move what they want to keep to a bedroom and then we can see clearly what sells and what does not sell.  When Doug visits the first time for a consultation, this is often a problem.  It’s hard to get an idea of the volume of what sells because a brother wants this, an in-law wants that, and you’re taking these, etc.  Eventually there has to be a physical separation and the best scenario is getting those items you need to keep out of the sale site.  If that doesn’t work, we can come up with some other plan for clarity.  One of the things we always need to avoid is advertising an item that the family later decides they want to keep.  It’s akin to false advertising even when done innocently.  Folks will often drive from miles away to come for that one item and it’s not right that they then have no chance to buy that item after it was advertised. 

Why is an auction better for me than a garage sale?

It’s our understanding that, with a garage sale, the items that don’t sell go back in the garage! You might end up with almost as much as you put out.  With an auction, most items do sell.  If there are left-overs, we can contract to take them away for trash or donation, leaving you with a “broom-clean” house.  With an auction, there is no pricing--everything goes to the highest bidder. 

I’ve heard of absentee bidding and phone bids.  Do you do that?

Yes, we do both.  We want all the bidding we can get so that you realize all the profit that you can--and we work on commission, too….  Once your auction is on the web, you might get folks from all over the US interested in one or more of your items.  One time Doug previewed an auction site and saw an empty box that used to hold Slim Jims that had the 3 Stooges on the front.  He told the client to be sure not to throw it away, that it would sell.  The client just laughed and said it was sitting right there waiting to go to the trash.  That box ended up selling by phone bid for $925 to a fellow in Las Vegas.  Meanwhile, there were 2 interested buyers at the auction bidding against him and each other. 

Do you have an auction house where we can take things?

Our business is based on the old-fashioned auction model.  We perform auctions on site, at a person’s residence, 95% of the time, but we can and do rent facilities for clients who need it. The benefits of having an auction on site are mostly monetary.  On site, at a person’s home, not only do items bring better prices because folks can see where it came from, but the cost of boxing up an entire house, moving it, setting it up for sale day, and paying the rental fee can be cost prohibitive.  Your auction may not be able to withstand that kind of outlay.

How soon do I need to contact you if I think I need an auction?

The sooner, the better, but we have had as little as 2 weeks to prepare and advertise without adverse effects.  With a busy schedule, for which we’re thankful, getting the date you want or need may be a factor, so soonest is best.

What’s the best day of the week and the best time of the year to have an auction?

The popular conception is that a Saturday is the best day and Summer is the best season for an auction, but this is not necessarily true.  Of course, Saturday is a good day for an auction, but everyone thinks that, too, so this means your auction is up against heavy competition.  We like to save Saturdays for the bigger auctions that can handle that kind of competition.  Some of our best auctions have been Sunday afternoons at 1:00 and week day evenings at 5:30. 

As to the best season for an auction, the Summer heat keeps people at home more than the Winter cold.  It seems like folks are itching to go somewhere in the Winter and early Spring and we have some of our biggest crowds then.  So, January and February are a great time for an auction.  It might snow and it might sleet, but people still go to auctions.  We always say that bad weather doesn’t hurt an auction outcome, but it does entail more work to prepare because of drop-cloths on floors, plastic, and tents.  There have been sales where we’ve shoveled snow from the front yard in order to bring out the items.  The near hurricane winds we had a couple of years ago happened during an auction and auction goers just pitched in and held down the tents and avoided the port-o-potty set under a tree while limbs and leaves blew around and the power went off.  The auction continued.  Bottom line is that any day or any season can be a good auction time.