By ERIC RODENBERG
AntiqueWeek Associate Editor CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Steve Poteet has been around the auction ring long enough to know what people want.
As a result, Poteet – who has created print and digital advertising for antique dealers and auction houses for the past 25 years – has devised a unique auction format that, he believes, will satisfy buyer and seller alike. The auction will feature a 20-second bid clock, as well as an innovative preview video format – “Under the Magnifier” – which enables prospective bidders to minutely view online every detail of the object up for sale.
The new auction company, ClaritySells.com., will launch its first sale on March 28. ClaritySells will be a real time Internet auction, with capabilities for bidders to make phone bids and sealed absentee bids through the company’s website.
Poteet and his son, Jesse, who has a double degree in business and computer communications, are featuring more than 200 lots of 18th and 19th century furniture, historical memorabilia, estate jewelry, silver, paintings and more.
“Consignors to our auction have clearly gone to their treasure chests to consign items, which they never thought likely they would ever part with,” Steve Poteet says.
One of the items – with clear provenance, according to Poteet – is an elegantly jeweled and beaded purse which was given to the wife of President Ulysses S. Grant by her eldest son, U.S. Grant Jr., while they lived in the White House. Within the purse are several handwritten notes, some purportedly from the younger Grant, portraying the history of the purse, Poteet says.
In addition to a fine array of antiques, what makes the auction interesting is the availability the prospective bidder has to view the offered item. In addition to a searchable database, once the item in question is brought up on the computer screen, the video format enables the viewer to preview the item “under a magnifying glass.” In this way, the previewer has the opportunity to see any flaws and minute inscriptions on the piece.
This is particularly useful in paintings, where artist signatures can be viewed in great detail, according to Poteet, or the markings on various sets of silver, gold or other precious metal.
“On the Internet, it’s the picture that sells an item,” Poteet says. “Our program loads fast and clear on the Internet … and it’s the clarity that sells it. I’m not aware of anyone else who has this capability.”
In addition, should this not be enough for any prospective bidder, ClaritySells also offers a personal appointment for physical review of any item. For the March 28, auction appointments are being set between March 23-27 for preview. ClaritySells is located in Cleveland, northeast of Chattanooga.
At the same time, this unique start-up will feature a 20-second time clock for each lot. In short, the auction on each lot will only end after the item has not received a bid within 20 seconds. After each bid, the auction is reset back to 20 seconds and continues until the time period expires.
“The typical auctioneer wouldn’t want that much time,” Poteet says. “They’re wanting to generate the excitement, they don’t want the bidder to have that much time to think … but I think 20 seconds is a reasonable time. After 20 seconds, if someone wants to bid, they’re going to bid.”
The clock format evolved over the past three years while Poteet, who owned Image Plus, Inc., assisted auctioneers in preparing and administering sales.
“We began doing Internet live auction in 2001,” he said. “Since 2005, I’ve done 41 (live auction) sessions. And I saw bidders wanting to bid, often in increments in the thousands of dollars, while the auction was going off. I saw a lot of agitated bidders who couldn’t get their bid placed. There were numerous times when there was a lot of money left in the item because of that … I know because I was on the console.”
Going to the 20-second clock should enable everyone who wants to bid, the opportunity to bid, Poteet says. And without slowing the pace of the auction.
“I figure we can go through 50 lots an hour,” he says. “If it takes us eight hours to get through the auction, that’s fine too … we’re working for the consignor.”
Contact: 423-339-5581 or www.claritysells.com |
