Silent Auction

Shhhhhh!!!!!!!
Be quiet!!
..............
Oh right, it's not a library, you can talk (^_^)
Just because it's a silent auction, you don't need to be "silent".

I've spent a good amount of time on eBay,
but this is my first real-life auction!!





In French, silent auction is called "vente aux enchères silencieuse".
Mouthful, isn't it.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect.
Well, that's not true.
I had an idea of what it was gonna be like.
I've seen "Cash in the Attic", "Bargain Hunt", and stuff on BBC,
I had an image of what an auction house would look like.
What I wasn't sure was if I see something I like.



So, when I came into the place,
I wasn't massively shocked or disappointed.
My dad loves antique items, but my mother and I don't.
Although, I appreciate antique stuff somewhat,
it's not something that makes me jump off the chair.

We picked up this booklet and started our tour!


The booklet lists the items displayed there with a description and
expected price range for each.

So, when something caught my attention, I would look it up.
Reading about what they are or how much they're supposed to be
was actually quite intriguing.
Some things seemed a bargain, others deemed outrageous.

I was searching for an antique picture frame,
but most of them cost more than what I was willing to pay.
And randomly, this jumped out at me.

The description says,
"Cauldron in brass with 4 handles, h. 35cm, diam. 52cm."
The reserve was 30 chf, and the estimate value was 80 to 120 chf.

I was bizarrely drawn to it. I thought, "it would make a great planter!"
So we bid.
Of course silently.
We wrote down the item number and our maximum bid.

I'm such a shopaholic.
The more I saw, the more I wanted to bid.
But like I told you in the beginning, I'm not a fan of antiques...

So, I started to question myself.
"Do I really like this? Do I need it? What am I gonna do with it?!"

But this item was beyond self-interrogation.

Ahhhhhh!!!! Adorable!!!!!!!
The description read,
"Chair in style of Louis XV in wood painted gray on decorative flowers,
raspberry colored fabric. Estimate value, 200 to 300, reserve, 50."

"This would look so perfect in the guest room!!!"

So I bid.

But when I inserted the bidding form in the locked entry box,
my buyer's remorse kicked in.
I bid 45 chf for the cauldron and 65 chf for the chair.
And paradoxically, I wished that I wouldn't win!!

What is wrong with me??

Well, sad (or happy?) to say, I didn't win either.
I guess I got my wish

But this was fun!!
It was Saturday when we went, but they were open on Sunday, too.
Unbelievable!!
I just found a way to go shopping on a Sunday!!
Twice or three times a year, though...