National Auctioneers Day to be celebrated April 15
Auctioneers across the country will celebrate National Auctioneers Day on Saturday, April 15. Some plan special auction charity events, while others had their Governors' sign proclamations, and some are doing media interviews to draw attention to the growing and changing auction profession. Auctioneers also are holding open houses and speaking to community groups about their trade.
National Auctioneers Day was created by the National Auctioneers Association as the third Saturday of April each year to draw attention to this vital industry that includes specialties such as household estates, business liquidations, autos, real estate, art, antiques and collectibles, and more.
The gross annual revenue generated by the live auction industry grew 10.6 percent in 2005 over the 2004 level, to a total of $240 billion in 2005. Real estate auctions are the fastest growing area as more homeowners choose to sell by auction because of its several advantages. A detailed brochure with these and more statistics is at www.auctioneers.org, the website of the National Auctioneers Association. Click on the button on the right side of the page that says “Auction industry grows by 10.6%.”
Many auctioneers are also broadcasting their onsite auctions simultaneously on the Internet (an event called a Webcast), which brings in bidders from across the world to participate live in an auction as if they were right in the auction room. This is among the many technological changes occurring in this old profession.
Auctioneering dates back to the Roman Empire. The "Oxford English Dictionary" of 1595 is the earliest English reference to the auction.
Here are some historical tidbits from the National Auctioneers Association:
The late 17th and early 18th century marked the auction's transition from a small event with a few hundred people to a larger gathering. Auctions were promoted in the periodicals of the day and held in rented coffeehouses or inns.
In America in the 1860s, Civil War Colonels auctioned off the spoils of war and surplus. Only officers of the Colonel rank could conduct an auction, spawning the use of the term "Colonel" by many auctioneers still today.
In the early 1900s, real estate auctions were becoming very popular and, in 1904, half of all real estate in New York is estimated to have been sold at auction.
During the Depression years, some auctioneers traveled the country to liquidate the estates of farmers whose farms had failed because of drought and bank foreclosures.
By the early 1990s, auctioneers were beginning to incorporate technology into auctions. Some began using big screens to show photographs of small items. By 1995 auctions burst into the realm of cyberspace. One of the most popular online auction companies, eBay, was launched.
With more than 6,000 members from throughout the world, the National Auctioneers Association is the largest organization of its kind dedicated to promoting the auction method of marketing and enhancing the professionalism of its members. Member benefits range from federal legislative representation to comprehensive continuing education programs, including coursework to earn the following professional auctioneer designations: Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI), Accredited Auctioneer, Real Estate (AARE), Graduate Personal Property Appraiser (GPPA) and Certified Estate Specialist (CES). The organization was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kan. For more information on the NAA and its programs, log on to www.auctioneers.org.
National Auctioneers Association
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