Public Kansas City Auction FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

What are your auction fees? Winning bidders pay Kansas City sales tax + a bidder commission of 5%. Consignment fees vary depending on quality of items and amount of effort required to bring these items to our Kansas City auction house. Generally from 35-50% (ie: you consign quality, high demand items – the percent is lower than if auction personnel are required to travel and physically remove items from an estate). Commission may be even lower for quality jewelry, vehicles, etc. Please, call to discuss.

May I bid on my own items? NO! We run an honest Kansas City auction. Consignors, or agents of the consignors, are strictly forbidden from bidding on their own items. We will not ruin our reputation to make an extra buck. If you don’t want to sell it, don’t bring it here. If we discover you are fraudulently “running up” bids, you will be banned from the auction and criminal charges may apply.

Should I consign my items or take them to the thrift store? If “thrift store” even entered your mind during the decision process, that is exactly where you should take them.

How many people attend your Thursday night Kansas City auctions? We consistently have about 100 – 150 present at each public auction, with new customers added every week.

What type of consignment do you accept?
Generally: furniture, jewelry, antiques, collectibles, and artwork. Specifically: we like to sell quality, antique, and utility furniture as well as tools, gold and silver, military related items (all time periods and countries – we especially buy and sell WWI and WWII material: US, German, Japanese, and other countries; we also buy and sell Vietnam related militaria in the Kansas City area – and are interested in any military relics.), some firearms (pre 1899 manufacture only, will work to sell collections and quality pieces under sale brokered under FFL holder) retro and vintage items, many different types of artwork, vinyl records, old toys (cast iron, tin litho sheet metal, Barbie, pop culture, tv and radio, brewery and distillery related, Americana, bizarre and macabre (within reason), action figures, etc., sports memorabilia, Kansas City and other regional history items – the list goes on and on. We do have an appreciation for items often overlooked by other Kansas City auction and estate sale companies – unique items catch our eye, and we are often able to relay the quality of such items to our bidders. Again, call 816.960.4664 to discuss.

What do you not accept?
Every day use items are best donated to thrift stores: coffee cups, toaster ovens, clothes, bedding, workout equipment, etc. Books (unless old or otherwise desirable) and VHS tapes/machines fall into the above category as well. . However, when we provide total estate cleanout services in Kansas City – we are able to dispose of these items if necessary. Again, call 816.960.4664 to discuss if you have any questions.

Soodie Beasley: Antiques and decorative arts, interior design, interior and exterior architectural elements, and fine art. soodiebeasley.com – 800.641.9086. If you live in the Midwest, Soodie is the person to contact.
Charles Keller: Antiques & Fine Art, Historic & Militaria, Antiquarian Books & Ephemera, and more. www.charleskeller.net – 816.289.5400. Charles is a good friend of the auction, and a man of impeccable taste and integrity.

How does your Kansas City auction differ from Kansas City estate sales?
 This question is often asked by those facing an estate liquidation, and the answer has many components. While we have the capability to host estate sales in Kansas City, we prefer the auction process – and host auctions in Kansas City every Thursday evening. The main difference between services offered by estate sale companies in Kansas City and our Kansas City auction service is time. An estate sale company usually needs at least a week prior to the sale of being physically present on the site for auction setup, cleaning, etc. This is usually the home of the person whose estate is being liquidated. After this long set up, comes the day(s) of the sale – usually over a weekend. During the sale HUNDREDS of people will wander through the property.

Many people choose Andrew Turner Auctions rather than using an estate sale company in Kansas City because they don’t like the idea of strangers being on their property for such a long period of time, considering the liability as well as potential for theft. Our auction company makes it quick. We show up with the crew and a truck and remove auction items within a matter of hours rather than weeks. We are also able to store the items – at no additional cost to the consignor – until the auction is held. Regarding liability: does the estate sale company carry liability and workman’s compensation insurance? While certainly there are some who do, unfortunately the vast majority do not. Andrew Turner Auctions carries both a general liability and work comp insurance policy. In addition, many Kansas City estate sale companies (and other auction companies for that matter) simply use “contract” labor during the setup and the sale. While each person has their own opinion about paying taxes, the IRS has a series of 20 questions an employer should answer to determine whether an employee is considered “contract”. More often than not a worker can not legally be considered a contract employee. Andrew Turner Auctions employees are all payroll employees, with all taxes and social security paid each period. Again, maybe not a big deal if the job is getting done, right? But, perhaps, in the bigger picture it is a question of honesty and integrity – two characteristics which should be paramount in your decision of selecting an organization to handle the sale of personal property.

Of course the amount of money gained from the proceeds is an area of concern, and could differ between an estate sale or an auction. Honestly, the amount of money made may be a bit greater with an estate sale – but not always. Again, the time involved will be greater as well, and there will be many items that do not sell which may potentially remain a burden to the seller. Our auction company removes sellable items from the estate, leaving the consignor much more time to organize charitable donation or clean-out of remaining items (we are also able to help with this process).

When you are paid as a consignor with Andrew Turner Auctions, you receive a detailed printout generated from our proprietary auction software detailing all items sold with sale price. While some estate sale companies may provide a detailed report, the majority simply hand over a check after the sale, with little or no inventory or accounting of items sold, or provide a basic report with all items sold falling into a handful of categories (housewares, jewelry, tools, etc.).

There are surely many other differences as well, if you have any questions or concerns – please feel free to call: 816.960.4664 or email andrew@atakc.com.

If you decide to use a Kansas City estate sale company, or at least shop around, here are three companies we recommend: Summit Estate Sales, Brown Button, or Nifty Estate Sales. While we cannot speak to the details of their company structure, but they are organizations we work with on a regular basis and have found them to be honest and professional. Please, tell them you found their information here.

Is this auction house for sale? You bet! Profitable. Turn key. Get on it. Call Andrew: 816.960.4664