- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

It is a business like no other. You don't know what you will be selling, who your customers will be, or what prices they will pay. What is the appeal?

"Pretty much exactly those things," laughs Rob Snider, one of the third generation of auctioneers in his family. "Every day that I come to work, I never know what is waiting for me. There is always something new to learn, and someone bringing something new to teach me. What other job is like it?"

I'm sitting with the Snider family at the Rockford Auction Centre, making use of some comfy furniture before it gets sold, and looking over a sea of glass, and quilts and – that day – hundreds of electric guitars and guitar parts.

Since Elwood Snider started the business in the early '60s, sales have included antiques, furniture, art and housewares, farm equipment, building materials and once – an airplane. "Whatever we can get our hands on," the auctioneers agree.

It is the reputation the family has built up over fifty years in the business that brings consignors to their door. When people are clearing out an estate, downsizing for a move or culling a collection to make way for new pieces, they call Sniders' Sydenham Auctions. They trust the Snider family, but they also trust the auction method of marketing to get them the going market price.

Rob explained the essence of an auction - in most sales you need one buyer. In an auction, you need at least two.

It is the auctioneer's task to find the people who want to buy your stuff, and those buyers could be anywhere in the world. "There are collectors' clubs for just about anything you can imagine," Jim says."Our job is to expose your items to the marketplace – to the knowledgeable collectors."

Case in point – a tray lot of a dozen watches with no obvious distinguishing features came up at one sale. Enquiries quickly began to come in about one particular watch - from Toronto, Virginia, Ottawa, Oregon. The Sniders took more pictures of the watch of interest from every angle, so that every interested bidder had the same information. Eventually the tray sold for $900 and was packed and shipped to its new owner.

The rare 1895 wooden bicycle in the photo above sold for $29,900 to a buyer in Australia.

The addition of on-line auctions to the mix has made space and time disappear. All the items sell one at a time – every lot becomes more special when each one gets days of attention. The weather and the lateness of the evening that could reduce both the number of bidders and the prices, no longer have that power. This has definitely been a benefit for the consignors.

For the buyers, the on-line auction provides a better opportunity to do comparative research, says Rob. The excitement and anticipation are still there – maybe even heightened over the week.

Registering is simple and secure, and if you're not going to be at your phone or desk when the auction is closing, you can still leave your maximum bid.

The Tuesday before every on-line auction closes, the Rockford Auction Centre is open from 8 until 4, so there is still the opportunity to wander among the tables and check out the things you've noted on-line or fall in love with something you never expected.

While they haven't completed a full year to make an exact business comparison of live and on-line auctions, the Sniders can see the benefits of the new addition. In a live auction, about two-thirds of those who take a bidder number make a purchase. That ratio seems to be the same on-line, but registered bidders are up thirty to forty percent.

"We miss our regular customers – we do," said Missi Snider of the changes in the business model. Whether people came for the socializing, the bargains, the treasures or the hot dogs, they always got hours of pleasure.

But Missi's a practical woman who has spent more than one stormy night at the check-out. The mix will be important. She can remember her youngest son Mark up on the hay wagon with his grandfather Elwood. "That's why he became an auctioneer."

Live auctions aren't going away – they are an experience like no other. There will be future auctions with both on-line and live components, and the Sniders will still be doing farm sales "on location".

But clearly new people – some of whom have lived in the area all their lives - are discovering Sydenham auctions for both buying and selling for the very first time. It's unlikely they will be able to resist what the rest of us have known for years.