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THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2000 GOING ONCE: Norm Webster (left) of Central Ontario Auctions trolls the crowd for bids while Jake Kuiken of Halton Hills Furniture holds up a maga- zine rack. - Maggie Petrushevsky photo Auctions move new goods By MAGGIE PETRUSHEVSKY The New Tanner Auctions used to be the way to get rid of used goods. Not any more, says a local auctioneer. "Americans take new stuff to auctions first (rather than to a store) to get cash flow- ing. Now we're seeing the trend catching on here too," says Norm Webster of Cen- tral Ontario Auctioneers. Traditionally auctions were connected to farm or estate sales. Families moving, downsizing or getting rid of household contents tended to get an auctioneer to sell off the property they no longer wanted or couldn't store, Webster says. Recently however, auc- DON'T DELAY rte ky Feb 29th tions have become an alter- nate way of moving new mer- chandise for Canadian mer- chants. Furniture retailers like Uncle Joe's in Guelph, and more recently Halton Hills Furniture owners Ron and Jake Kuiken of Acton, have had Webster auction off ex- cess stock from their stores. Even computer companies sell their stock by auction. "When retailers order sev- eral of one item, say 10 rock- ers, and find they still have one left after three months, - they put it with their auction stock," he says. "They may not get quite as much money as they did for the other nine, but they're better to get cash flow out of it than to let it sit in stock until it's out of style and can't be sold at all." Auctions are even the popular way to get rid of real estate, Webster says. A lot of American real estate is sold that way and an auctioneer near Kingston is having "great success" with real es- tate auctions. Sales are going so well he doesn't even need to have reserve bids on prop- Reserve bids are placed by someone (often the owner) to prevent an auctioneer from being forced to sell an item for far below its market value. Webster says anything can be sold by auction provided the auction is marketed and advertised properly to draw the appropriate crowd. "We spend a lot on mar- keting and advertising to get the right crowd," he says, "so there's no need for reserve bids." Douutoun Spa | & Zelarxatiou 7 Georgetown's only "UNISEX" Aesthetic & Fitness Spa Dance-Fit! Thursday evenings 8:30 - 9:30pm Benefit from a1/2 hour of Fitness & Toning then enjoy a 1/2 hour of Dance Steps from Jazz & Latin Adult & Teen Ballroom, Latin & Swing 10 week program $50.00 + GST Enthusiastic, Friendly Instructors make Fitness Fun Dance for Fituess Dance for Fun Gentlemen's Deep Cleansing Revitalizing Facial This facial addresses the special needs of men's skin. Profile Peel Facial (Non-surgical facelift) Gold Card Pay $250 Receive $300 in Services Pay $500 Receive $600 in Services Unlimited Tanning for February $35.00 "New Arrivals" Romantic Lingerie $16.00 -- $35.00 SWEETHEART ESCAPE HOT TUB SESSION 30 MINUTE ANTI-STRESS MASSAGE PEDICURE OR TIME SAVER FACIAL CHAMPAGNE DELIGHT