OUR STORY 

If you are considering having an auction to create some cash flow because times are really hard, please continue reading.  This is an unbelievable story, and I have certainly learned a lesson (one of many) in the business world. 

The year 2011 was the hardest year for our company.  We didn't think it could get any worse than it was in 2009.  Someone told me back then, just hang in there.  It will be bad for another year and then things will get better.  Well, we have hung on, and things have not gotten better.  Sales have continued to plummet.  

I am digressing, but I wanted to set the stage for why we decided to have an Auction.  At the end of 2009, on Christmas Eve, we had about $98.00 in the bank -- obviously not enough to pay our employees their payroll checks.  We were trying desperately to do some repairs for one local restaurant that would bring in about $1000.00 for the day.  That would help us with a portion of payroll, but not all of it.  Unfortunately, we did not get that job, and we had to come up with another $3000.00 out of our personal pockets to come up with enough to pay our employees.  That day, I was astonished that the following words came out of the mouth of one of my employees:  "Thank goodness we didn't get that job -- it's Christmas Eve -- and we want to get out of here!"  My heart was crushed.  It was then that we figured out that we were either going to have to reduce our staff considerably or go completely under.  

We went on a diet and then asked for our daily bread.  At the beginning of 2010, we trimmed five employees from the payroll.  However, even with the reduced number of employees, it was still hard.  We began praying daily that God would send people to our business.  We asked God for guidance to make the right decisions when we gave quotes to people for their furniture.  We asked God to lead us in the right direction when trying to find the right furniture for our customers.  And we asked God to bless the furniture and that the furniture might be a blessing to those that purchased it.  

We managed to get through 2010, and on paper, it turned out to be an awesome year.  It didn't feel so awesome because we had gone so far into debt that we were struggling to make ends meet.  But, the worst was yet to come.

2011 would turn out to be the Beast that would almost do us in.  We continued to pray and to ask for guidance for how to reduce expenses.  God led us in the right direction.  He is powerful and almighty!!! And we are so thankful to our God. We continued to make ends meet, and we would shuffle money from one account to the other -- robbing Peter to pay Paul.  And, by the Grace of God, continued to make payroll each week, pay our federal taxes on time, and pay our sales taxes by the 20th of each month.  

Then comes July -- our worst month ever, or so we thought.  Business just came to a halt.  The heat in Texas was so debilitating.  Even when customers would come into the store, I dreaded going into the warehouse to try to sell them anything.  My husband and I began trying to figure out what to do next.  We prayed about it and decided that maybe moving to a more profitable area with an air conditioned showroom would be better for us.  And maybe to a location closer to our home in Lewisville, Texas.  We had been driving 45 miles each way every day from Lewisville to Haltom City.  We began searching for a building to lease closer to home.  And, we found one.  It was a great location, rent would be exactly what we could afford.  We made an offer and began trying to figure out how to logistically handle a move.

My dad had moved the business once before, and I remember his nightmarish tales about how much it cost and how hard it was.  So we began praying about how to make this happen.  We would need to have a surplus of money to pay first and last month's rent at the new place, and then to pay rent on our existing location while we transitioned to the new location.  One day, while driving to work, I thought I heard God tell me to have an auction.  I would have never thought of this on my own.  I never really even considered it except for one time when we thought we were going out of business.  But, it would be a quick way to reduce inventory, and to raise some cash that was not allotted to anything in particular.  This seemed to be the best way to plan for the move. 

I knew of an auctioneer that handled restaurants going out of business.  I knew  he was reputable, and so I contacted his office several times.  He never returned my calls.  Odd!   It should have been a message to me.  But I decided to pursue it further.  I Googled 'Auctioneers in Fort Worth, Texas', and a list came up.  The one I selected was near the top of the list.  It's funny, it doesn't show up on the top when I Google it today -- and in fact, it is very near the bottom of the page.  I think Satan himself had a hand in this. 

I picked up the phone, dialed the number, and the auctioneer himself answered the phone.  Wow -- what service.  I actually get to talk to the person in charge.   We talked briefly, he came by the next day, we selected a date that was only three weeks out.  This was too good to be true.  The auction was scheduled for August 27th.  The next few weeks were busy with sorting through our inventory, organizing, and pulling things together for the auction.  This was happening in the heat of August -- where we broke the heat wave record of 1980.  

Here are a few photographs of our ware house the day of the auction.  You can see we had plenty of things to sell. 

BEFORE AUCTION

The day of the Auction, we may have had 30 people show up -- not 30 different bidders -- 30 people, for which there may have been 18 bidders.  Obviously, it was not advertised as promised, and it was probably the worst day of the year to have an auction -- simply because of the heat.  By the end of the day, our warehouse was completely cleared out -- naked!!! We could have played roller hockey in the warehouse.  Our items were sold for pennies on the dollar.  But, I was still optimistic, because we would soon have a lump sum of money with which we could begin making changes to our business.  Here are some photos of the aftermath!

AFTER AUCTION

On that day, the auctioneer made statements like, "I'll see if I can get over here next week to give you part of the settlement".  It was then that I really looked at the contract -- it stated he would pay us in 20 business days from the date of the auction.  Wah!  We would have to wait 20 more days.  I had not anticipated that.  So we counted out on the calendar, and figured it would be September the 23rd.  Oh -- wait -- there is a holiday in there -- Labor Day -- so make that September the 26th.  That meant waiting 29 days to get our settlement. 

We had a naked warehouse, nothing to sell.  Rent was due in a few days.  I began having total nightmares!  Satan was working on me.  I was unbelievably sad and in total shock.  Surely, this was not what God meant to happen to us when I heard the message to have an auction.  And, I began to think that maybe the message was actually from Satan instead of God.  I'm still not sure. 

Luckily, we had a few good special order sales, and we were able to start building our inventory again.  As time got closer to our 29th day, I was beginning to realize that by the time we got our settlement, we would have so many bills to pay that we would use the entire settlement to catch up.  But I was then relieved that we had that money coming, and maybe that is why we had the auction.  Still looking for signs.  

So what do you think happened next?  Day 29 -- September 26th -- we come to work.  We are hopeful we'll hear from the auctioneer early that day.  By 11:00 a.m. -- I started getting a little concerned.  So, we picked up the phone to call him.  The lady that answered the phone said she just happened to be in the office, but that the auctioneer was out of town and not scheduled to come back until the next day.  Oh no, surely you are mistaken.  The deadline is today, and we have waited a long time for this settlement.  We asked her to contact him and get back in touch with us as soon as possible.  

Another hour went by.  No word yet!!! So we called her again.  She had not been able to get in touch with him.  He does not have text capabilities on his phone.  He wasn't answering his phone.  So, we began trying other ways to reach him.  We called his cell several times.  We called his office several times.  Left messages, called from different lines to that he might not know who was calling.  We tried to reach his employees that helped with the auction.  And finally, I sent him an email.  
  

It was during our panic that day that we started looking deep into his company.  It was then that I found the Texas Auctioneers Association.  This is an organization that was created to make sure that auctioneers abide by a strict code of ethics for the purpose of promoting and preserving the auction method of marketing.  In other words, they are there to protect the consumer.  Of course, I called them, and to my dismay, my auctioneer was not a member.  I told the lady that answered the phone our story.  She advised us to contact the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration and file a formal complaint.  Reason number one was that he was not fulfilling his agreement, and number two -- and the real reason, auctioneers are required by law to settle with the customer within seven days of the auction.  You are kidding me -- right? Well, I contacted them immediately and completed the complaint form.

It was probably around 4:00 p.m. that we finally heard from him by email.  He said he would be in at 1:00 p.m. the next day with a check.  Whew!!! I was so grateful that we had actually heard from him.  My mind was at ease.  But apparently, he was working up a case to be really mad at us for trying so desperately to get in touch with him that day.  He came in at 1:00 p.m. on the dot the next day.  Unfortunately, my husband and I were delayed at a doctor's appointment, and our employee was left here to deal with him.  

He stormed in with a check for the full amount.  Slapped it down on the counter and left ranting and raving about how we had harassed him the day before with all the phone calls and trying to reach his employees.  He was supposedly furious and threatened that he could sue us for what we had done.  

Unbelievable!!!!  People will tell you there is no such thing as a post dated check.  We even called the customer service center for our bank.  They told us at first, no, we do not pay attention to the dates on checks.  We just let them go through.  But when you ask a little bit more and you begin describing the situation, guess what -- they do look at the date, and no bank will try to deposit a POST DATED CHECK for the amount we were receiving.  Surely, Satan was sitting wherever he sits, giggling with pure delight.  And we are thinking this will never end.  Our real concern was that when October 10th came, and we tried to deposit the check, we would be delayed another two weeks to be able to file with the city.  
 

My husband decides to go to his 'office', which is the epitome of the junk yard with the junk yard dogs.  He was met by a Rottweiler and a Pit Bull. My husband is not the strong type -- well muscle strength is what I'm referring to.  He is tall, skinny, grey hair, balding, coke bottle thick glasses -- you get the picture.  Not really in a position to defend himself if confronted with a real criminal and his vicious dogs.  The dogs were running lose.  But somehow, he had the nerve to go in, bad dogs and all, and confront this auctioneer.  It turns out, the dogs were really sweet and all he had to do is just talk to them like you would talk to a puppy.  Before he left, they were rolling over and practically begging him to "pet my belly, please!!!"  But, the auctioneer wouldn't even answer the door.  He has his girlfriend answer.  My husband tried to talk to him in a calm voice, but the auctioneer starts yelling and swearing and is totally furious.  He told my husband to leave and not come back and that we would get paid on the 10th, and not any sooner.

My husband came back and we both said a prayer of thanks that he still had all his fingers and toes.  We had a lot of, "what ifs"!  What were we thinking??? No money is worth losing your life over.  So, what do we do next?

I have a classmate that is the chief of police for the city of Euless, TX.  I called him and talked over the situation with him.  He made a few jokes about what he would like to do (can't really repeat those), and then seriously advised me to talk to the city's lead fraud investigator.  I did, and guess what -- the auctioneer had not actually committed fraud -- yet!  What are we supposed to do?  

We could do nothing except wait patiently, and occasionally call the bank to see if there are funds for the check.  There never were any funds in that account. On the morning of October 10th, I sent the auctioneer an email.  Can we cash the check today, I sweetly asked (preceded by a prayer).  The reply is -- come on by my office today.  I've got half of the money in cash, and I'm sure you want to keep it off the records, right! I'll have the rest by Friday.  Sure buddy -- whatever.  I'll take half today -- versus nothing if I try to cash the check.  He wasn't even gutsy enough to be there when we went to pick up the cash.  He had his girlfriend give it to us.  But first, we had to make our way through the junk yard dogs.  

Oh, and the real funny thing is that when we were on our way to his junk yard, he passed us in his vehicle.  We turned around and followed him.  He drove his way through a maze of turning here and there, and finally parked his truck and dashed into the office of a mechanic's shop.  He sat down in the front office facing the window looking at us as we drove up.  We sat in the car outside waiting for him to come out.  He knew we were on our way.  We had just spoken with him and said we would be there in 10 minutes.  He was too chicken to even face us.  I called him on his cell while he was sitting in that office.  He said -- oh the money is at the office (junk yard). 

We picked up half the money, and over the course of the next ten days and several excuses and lies, he finally paid us all the money he owed us in cash.  Instead of using the money to get ahead, we used the money to catch up.  I still  have his fake check.  What a loser and a disgrace to auctioneers everywhere.  I finished filing the formal complaint about him, and we heard back from the case worker that he will be investigated, and that we had provided enough documentation to prove our case.   

I know God blessed us with this entire event and there is a lesson for us in there somewhere, either that, or God just really does not want us to move our business.  I really think that he is preparing us for the future.  And, God even helped me have empathy for the auctioneer.  I know how hard times are and how difficult it is to maintain and pay your bills on time.  I just go about it in a different way.  When I am approached about my 'late' bills, I try to be as honest as I possibly can be.  People are usually very understanding and appreciate the honesty.  

So, in retrospect, if I had it all to do again, I wouldn't.  Or, if I did, I would certainly go through the Texas Auctioneers Association first.  I would also plan for it better.  I would start six weeks out, advertise that we are having a sale.  Begin by marking things down slightly, increase the discount each week, and one week prior, I would just try to get the cost out of the item.  I would have the auction in the Spring or Fall.  I would be in charge of the advertising, too.  

I hope that our story helps you know a little bit more about what to expect from an Auction.  Today, we are rebuilding.  Here is a photo of our warehouse now -- please come see us!

 

 We thank God for every customer that walks through our doors.  I hope and pray that our sincere gratitude is what the customer experiences.  

God Bless You, Vicki Duval

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