Auction Q & A

General Info

Q: What types of auctions does AAA Auction and Realty do?
A: AAA Auction and Realty is a full-service auction company. Our experienced auctioneers are fully licensed to legally sell your cars, guns, and real estate. In addition to doing online consignment auctions and traditional on-site live auctions, our owner, Tony Elfelt, is a certified benefit auction specialist who is often asked to conduct live benefit auctions. AAA Auction and Realty is also a real estate brokerage, and we represent buyers and sellers in real estate transactions using either the auction method, or traditional real estate sales techniques.

Auctions 

Q: Where do your auctions take place?
A: If your facility or residence is large enough to conduct a live auction, we will conduct it at your location. If you would rather not have the auction at your location or if your property is not large enough to support an auction, we will conduct the auction at the Anoka Auction and Estate Center (AAEC) at 530 West Main Street in Anoka, or at another facility. Common facilities to use for auctions are county fairgrounds, VFW's, American Legions and other halls. 

If you need help moving your items to the Auction Center, we can help you with that. If we come to your location, we bring everything necessary to hold a good old-fashioned auction. We can also do all of the set-up or show you how to do it. If you don't have enough items for your own auction, we can add your items to other items we have for a consignment auction.

Items for online auctions are typically stored at and picked up from the AAEC. 

Q: What is a reserve auction?
A: A reserve auction is an auction where the seller has the final choice to either accept or reject the highest bid. Common places to find reserves are at auctions of real estate or of other valuable items.

Q: What is an absolute auction?
A: In an absolute auction, an item sells for the highest bid regardless of the amount.

Estate Sales
 
If an estate sale fits your needs best, our experienced staff will conduct an estate sale for you at your location or indoors at the Anoka Auction and Estate Center. Your items will be displayed in an attractive way and they will be priced by our certified appraisers. The Anoka Auction and Estate Center is conveniently located at 530 West Main Street in Anoka in the Anoka Shopping Center, where there is plenty of room inside your sale and outside for parking. We can even transport your items to the Estate Center for you if you like. We are also happy to make an offer on a whole estate if you would rather liquidate an estate right away. We also buy single items. 

For Buyers

Q: What is an absentee bid and do you accept them?
A: An absentee bid is a bid placed on an item before the auction starts. The bid is usually guaranteed with a credit card. The auctioneer will then bid for you as much as is necessary, up to your maximum bid, for you to win the item. For example, if your maximum bid is $100 and the bidding is progressing in $10 increments, and if the last bid was $50, the auctioneer will put you in for $60. If no one else bids, you will win the item for $60. There is usually a $5 fee if you are the winning bidder with an absentee bid.

Q: What is a Buyer's Premium?
A: A Buyer's Premium is an additional charge paid by the purchaser of an item. It is often around 13% of the winning bid. For example, if a buyer purchases an item for $100.00, the total charge to the buyer would be $113.00. This amount, together with whatever the seller is being charged, makes up the auctioneer's commission.

Q: How do I pay for my items?
A: AAA Auction accepts cash, in-state checks, Visa and Mastercard.

Q: Do I have to pay sales tax?
A: Usually there is no sales tax charged at an auction where all of the items are from one seller, but there are some exceptions. For example, when we sell inventory owned by a business, buyers must pay the same sales tax that they would have paid at that business. Sales tax is charged at consignment auctions when the items are from more than one person. The buyer's premium is also taxable.

A: If you have only a few things to sell, you are welcome to consign them to us for sale at one of our auctions. It is very common to combine items from more than one seller in order to have a good amount of items to sell. AAA Auction reserves the right to refuse any items that have no value or that are inconsistent with the other items being sold.

For Sellers

Q: Why should I sell at auction?
A: Auctions are the best way to sell items for their true market value. The excitement of the auction experience often helps bring even higher prices for the items sold. Auctions are also predictable because the seller can determine the day his merchandise will sell as opposed to placing an ad in the paper and hoping the telephone rings. Also, all sales are "As Is," so returns are not a problem.

Q: How much would it cost me to have you do an auction for me?
A: We determine the commission for a full estate auction or a business liquidation on a case-by-case basis. The commission depends on the amount of work involved and the approximate value of the auction. We are also able to charge a reduced rate for an estate auction if we are asked to sell the real estate too. So, if we are doing an auction that brings in a lot of money, our rates are very low. On the other hand, if the auction has a low value, we will need to charge a higher rate.

Q: I don't have enough items for a full auction. What do you charge to sell something on consignment? 
A: The commissions for our consignment auctions are based on a per item sliding scale. The more an item sells for, the lower the commission rate. These rates apply to items you bring to the Auction Center. The rates may differ if we transport your items. Those rates are determined on a case-by-case basis.

This table shows our drop-off commission rates:

A: We will have a check for you within seven days of the auction.

Q: What do I have to do to get ready for the auction?
A: Most of our clients set up their items for their auctions themselves. We will show you how to group your items and how to display them. Most people have friends and family help with this job because it can be a lot of work. If you are unable to set up your items for the auction, we will hire people to do that for you and bill you for that service.

A: Usually everything sells at an auction. For example, if something does not get a bid by itself, we simply add other items to it until a bid is made. However, if there are things left over after an auction that the purchaser fails to remove from the property, it is the seller's responsibility to remove them. Once again, AAA Auction can provide help for that if our seller cannot do it himself or herself.

Q: Who does the advertising?
A: AAA Auction does all of the advertising for the auction. This will include newspapers and various internet web sites. It also may include direct mail. Although the auctioneer initially pays for the advertising, the seller reimburses the auctioneer for all of those expenses out of the sale proceeds. These expenses are discussed with our clients when the auction contract is signed.