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Sold to the Highest Bidder |
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Written by Chris McBain-Berry, Assistant Editor
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Wednesday, 07 May 2008 |
 You heard of the phrase, Fake It Till You Make It?
Well, auctioneer Greg Peiffer launched his career on that bit of advice.
Seems that he was in charge of a fundraiser in Bascom, OH in 1995 for 700 people who were prepared to bid on nearly $10,000 of sports memorabilia from the Cleveland Indians baseball team. But at the appointed time the auctioneer didn't show up. When trying to decide what to do, a friend told him to just get up there and fake it. So he did. And he liked it.
"Several months later I decided to check it out," Peiffer said. He attended two weeks of schooling in Willard, OH, one of three auctioneer schools in the state of Ohio, and became a licensed apprentice. He had to work a minimum of 12 auctions a year and then proceed to Columbus to take tests to become a master auctioneer. All auctioneers are licensed by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. "The requirements are very strict," he said.
In 1997 he became a licensed auctioneer and has since held hundreds of auctions. "I've sold boats, cars, gold, antiques, livestock, farms and anything else that can be sold. I limit myself to Erie, Ottawa, Seneca, Wood, Hancock and Sandusky counties," he said.
Estate work is the most enjoyable for him since he said he enjoys helping families. "It's bitter sweet sometime because it can represent the end of an era."
There are surprises along the way. For instance, during a bank foreclosure in Seneca County he was to auction 30 printing presses. Most were bought by scrap metal dealers for $200-$300 a machine. About three fourths of the way through, the stakes changed. "I started out asking for a bid of $100, then $200. But two men kept bidding...$10,000, $20,000, $30,000. That machine sold for $47,000!" It was a special machine that made punch cards, and both men owned businesses that needed that particular machine for parts in order to keep their business going.
As of now, Peiffer is still busy with his primary job as General Manager of two radio stations- one in Findlay and one in Fostoria where he as been employed for 30 years. The part-time resident of Catawba will have a full-time career as auctioneer when he retires.
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