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The air temp was below zero in Center City;  but auction fever was keeping things toasty inside Barry Moe’s mainstreet auction house.  About 40 people, undeterred by last week’s  cold snap, showed up to be entertained and to score some unique finds.   
Indeed, if there weren’t unique items there’d be no auction....from lawnmowers to armoires...Moe joked,  while walking around with a reporter prior to his fifth event at this site.

The space used to house his antiques store.  “I tell people I’m still selling antiques only now I’m selling one every 30 seconds,” he chuckles.

Moe Auction Service LLC in downtown Center City provides live auctions the first and third Wednesday of the month, starting at 6 p.m. until whenever items are gone.  

Moe tries to do 100 items or “lots” of combined goods, per hour, he said. Last week’s list of 278 items stretched the action closer to three hours.

Depending how things go,  his long term plan is to eventually only provide auctions on-line,  using the Center City building for storage and pre-view of items. He’s kind of feeling his way along and responding to what customers ask for.  

Moe loves what he calls “new age auctioneering” using the Internet to bring items to a much wider audience, but he has a passion for the live-auction atmosphere too.   He was 12 or 13-years-old when he caught the auction bug, he explained. His parents would drop him off at rural auction locations for the day.  He once successfully bid on a car before he had a license.
Anybody who enjoys auctions must possess a certain level of patience and prowess.  The bidder who knows not of what he buys can get burned.  The successful hunt for the “sleeper” item, as Moe calls an investment gem, is what auction-goers crave.   Deals were excellent last week, by the way,  minus those high-rollers who inflate prices.  

Moe has developed a full service auctioneering menu.

The first step-- make an appointment so he can assess objects that you might like to place on auction. He’ll transport it and store it,  and advertise the heck out of the auction.

He does have a philosophy about what he wants to be known for selling and what he steers clear of. His vision is that people will come to his marketplace looking for solid wood, true collectibles and goods that will last, not necessarily “antiques” but classic items.  He doesn’t shy away from trendy though, and he’ll also take a beat-up piece if it’s a diamond in the rough.

The layout in Center City is ideal for viewing all the items. Display rooms are set-up and items are clearly labeled with their lot number that ties back to the numbered catalogue.  This is nice because if there’s one shortcoming when it comes to on-site auctions; it’s those scattered groupings lacking any rhyme or reason.

Staff were readily available and moving about the showroom prior to the auction, helping bidders needing details last week.  
Five people worked the floor moving items to the front of the audience, shifting sold goods to the pick-up area, plus somebody monitors  Internet bidding and the pre-submitted maximums, while the cashier is kept on her toes reconciling purchases for bidders who hit their evening limit early.

Moe’s Auction website  posts pictures and information five days before an auction.  The doors open for “preview day” from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays.

You can also come anytime after 2 p.m. the night of a Wednesday  auction and check things out-- make a night of it.  
Moe encourages visitors to  enjoy the grill menu at Al’s Saloon,  directly across the street,  and doesn’t mind at all if somebody brings a to-go order with them, so as not to miss any of the auction.  

The Internet has also made it  easy for bidders to contact staff and submit financial information, so they can be registered “in the system.”  Place a maximum bid on something even if you’re unable to attend.

The “absentee bidding” submittal is halted one hour before the start of the auction.

And, should your bid excitement over-reach (size-wise) whatever you happen to be driving to the auction that night, you also get a few days to claim and haul away your treasure.

See for yourself:
The next auction is Wednesday, January 21.  

Check in with the cashier at the front counter and get a bid-number by providing identification.

The auction house phone number is 651-257-9119 if you have estate items to part with or are considering consignment and want assistance. or see  MoeAuctionService.com

Items are sold as-is so look things over carefully and remember sales tax is 6.8 percent, and there is a 15 percent buyer’s premium added. 

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