On Saturday, Nov. 4, Dean Cummins vocal chords finally started to get a bit strained as he began his last cry of the night.

It can be expected, though, as it was his third auction of the day.

“I usually suck on Halls menthol cough drops, drink water,” said Cummins, an auctioneer for approximately 29 years. “Some people say not to drink cold, others say not to drink hot. I don't know, luke warm is probably the best.”

To speak as long and as fast as he does, Cummins does what it takes to keep his voice strong. Often times, he hires another auctioneer to go with him to auctions simply so he can take a break if he needs one.

When Cummins was in the eighth grade at Cato-Meridian, he read an article about auctioneers.

“I was always fascinated and used to go to auctions with my grandparents,” he said.

As a sophomore in high school, he took two weeks of school off at the end of November into December and headed to Kansas City, Mo., to attend auctioneering college. He was trained with reading material, tounge twisters, which he can still recite as fast as can be, to perfect his cry. He also went through counting courses to quickly move from “do I hear one dollar” to the next interval and so on, jumping by fives, tens and more once the price begins to rise.

He returned to Cato and, as a 17-year-old young man, began his auctioneering career working alongside a number of veteran auctioneers until he became a trusted name himself.

“Farmers who I knew didn't want a 17-year-old in charge of selling their livelihoods,” he said.

By the time he was 23, Cummins opened Sun Harvest Realty Inc. because he wanted to be able to offer real estate at auction as well.

There's more to auctioneering Cummins explained, however, than just fast talking and yelling “sold” to the highest bidder. He is always crying two bids at the same time - the bid that has been secured and the bid he is looking for.

He also has an entire team of people that keep the auction running smoothly. Runners are there to deliver items to the highest bidder and to carry the next items for sale up to the auctioneer.

Clerks manually record the items and amount for which they sold. Not all auctioneers record things manually, but Cummins said he believes it is just as fast and reliable as electronically, without the hassle of an unexpected power outage.

Cashiers handle the money exchange, which is the real bread and butter of the business.

All sales must be paid for at the time of the sale by cash or check. Auctioneers work based on commission, so Cummins must understand the so-called science of how people spend money, and the thought process of why people attend an auction in the first place.

First off, when Cummins goes to auction, there is no buyers premium included in the price.

He grabs a pair of eye glasses off his desk to explain.

“If this item sold for $100, with the buyers premium, it'll cost $110, not to mention the 8 percent sales tax in New York,” he said, noting that livestock is exempt from sales tax. “If someone comes with $100, they'll have to stop bidding at $90 to pay the buyers premium.”

Cummins said he considers the 10 percent premium a penalty to the buyer and therefore works without. Often, the first question people ask when inquiring about a specific auction is whether there is a premium.

“It turns people off,” he said. “Especially on the more expensive items, and it really affects the bidding.”

Typically, he said he starts auctions with more unusual items that people couldn't find in most places like antiques.

“People collect anything and everything you'd be surprised,” Cummins said. “They collect canes, paperweights, high chairs, you name it. Sometimes people start bidding emotionally especially if it's a family heirloom or collectible.”

How bidding starts, he believes also affects how the overall sale of an item will go.

“Sometimes the hardest part of selling is getting the bidding started reasonably,” Cummins said. “Sometimes it'll start at $10 and the lower it starts, the more people are going to bid. If someone starts the bid at $100, no one else will bid; it's sold.”

The mentality, he said, is that starting a bid higher scares more people. So if an item might be worth $200, and the bid starts at $100 and that person is the only bidder, they bought the item at a bargain price.

“Why do people go to an auction?” he said. “To find a deal.”

And once an item is sold, it's sold, Cummins said, although there are instances of unintentional bidding when someone waves to another person.

There are other times when husbands and wives get in a bidding war without realizing, he said.

“The husband gets up to get a sandwich and is bidding and his wife is also bidding, and the price is going up and they don't realize,” he said.

In instances like that, Cummins will bring the price back down to where it was when that began happening.

Cummins considers his operation classic as compared to online auction sites like ebay.com, where that wouldn't be an option.

Staff writer Laura Boyce can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 236 or at laura.boyce@lee.net