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Auctioneer
As auctioneer, you act as the public face of the auction house for regular, particular or specialised sales events.
An auction house sells items by putting on an event, producing a brochure of sales items andtaking bids from clients and attendees, who bid to promise to purchase an item (otherwise called the ‘lot’), should their bid hold the highest value. The auction house makes its money through commission on the value of the sold item.
The auctioneer acts as the conductor in the orchestra – in complete control of the room. You need to be aware of all the prospective buyers who may bid in the most subtle ways.
As an auctioneer, you are also involved in valuing, curating and organising each sale event as well as promoting it and contacting your network to promote attendance and bids (sales).
You must be an adaptable person, because the role also includes:
Length of Training
3+ years
Salary Expectations
£12,000-50,000+
Qualification Requirements
Experience
To be an auctioneer, you need experience in a retail environment or the re-commerce sector, such as in an antiques shop, or have worked as a junior in an admin or salesroom assistant position. You may also have been involved in photoshoots and setting up displays.
You need experience making sales and doing auction house admin, like recording sales.
Knowledge
As an auctioneer, you have your finger on the pulse of previous and current salesroom figures and understand sales trends and market demands.
You also must have honed your personal and professional network to source and promote items for sale.
You need discretion, a thorough understanding of materials and be able to value items using your experience and specialist knowledge.
Skills
• Able to command and monitor a room
• Have an awareness of your surroundings and be able to notice subtleties
• Excellent attention to detail
• Be organised and have great admin skills as maintaining records is crucial
• Good at retaining knowledge
• Have a sound understanding of business
• Have good numeracy skills
Personal Attributes
• An excellent communicator
• A quick thinker
• A people person with the ability to demonstrate empathy
• Outgoing
• Take pride in your appearance
• Have a professional demeanour
• Able to work under pressure
• Enjoy working as part of a team
• A reliable and trustworthy person, as you handle other people’s valued items
• Organised, with a methodological approach
• Understand geology, base compounds and the makeup of materials to verify authenticity
Qualification Requirements
Generally, you need GCSEs and A levels to start as a salesroom assistant where you gain experience and work up to the position of auctioneer.
Established and well-known auction houses require a degree in decorative arts or a specialist domain (jewellery / silversmithing) with additional professional qualifications, like gemmology or diamond grading, for valuations.
Sotheby’s and Christie’s, for example, run their own post-graduate courses and entry schemes.
Once in this field, it is possible to work towards Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) membership.
Role also Called
Auctioneer, Salesroom manager, Auction house manager, Negotiator, Valuer
