Flooring

How auctioneers can only “guess-timate” the true price of rugs

I’d always thought that auctioneers had an easy time of it, but apparently not. You’d not only assume it was a fun, stress-free job, but that it must be easy for them to judge estimates for the selling price of lots.

According to auctioneer Stephen Drake estimating the worth or rugs is the hardest, “a complete minefield” in his opinion. He goes on to explain that despite being able to professionally distinguish its attributes (“It’s probably about a hundred years old. It’s got a pink-crimson ground; it’s got a central medallion; and it’s got a foliate triple border.”), it’s still mind bogglingly difficult to pinpoint a cost.

Take for example, a large area rug that came from one of Cambridge’s collegiate halls; he’d estimated it might sell for between £200-400. Surprisingly, he found buyers bidding higher and higher until it eventually sold for £9,500.

“As the price was going up and up and up, people who were standing on the rug were backing away … You get these things that you just can’t imagine what the price is.”

Clearly baffled by the perculiarities of his trade, Drake sighs. When he explains that the key to being a good auctioneer is realising that time is money and that he ought to be selling around 120 lots an hour in five hour stints, it becomes a very tiring occupation due to the sheer concentration it requires to be continuously looking for bids from potentially 100 buyers at any given time in the room.

Credit where it’s due, we’re not sure it sounds like the easy occupation we once thought it was.

Fortunately it’s far easier to judge the cost of a new rug because all the hard work’s done for you by the retailer and there’s none of the disappointment of someone else grabbing your dream accessory before your eyes.

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Tags: antique, auction, large area rug, rugs