Do you recall back in school when the teacher was talking about something you didn’t understand? You felt like you were the only student who didn’t grasp what was being said, but the truth was there were plenty of others sitting around you who didn’t get it either. Lack of comprehension is not a problem limited to students in classrooms and examples can be found everywhere … including auctions. 

Have you ever heard an auctioneer call bids and what was being said didn’t register with you? If you have, you can be sure others present were feeling the same effect and also didn’t know what the auctioneer was saying. Even if you haven’t personally experienced this problem, plenty of auction-goers do at plenty of auctions - and the faster the auctioneer goes, the greater the comprehension issue becomes. 

Here is a snippet from an auctioneer’s chant:

“I’m bid a hundred - now a quarter. I’m bid a hundred, now a quarter, one ana quarter, one ana quarter, now a half. One ana half, one ana half, 75, 75, now 200 dollar. I’m bid 200. Now two ana quarter, two ana quarter, now a half. Two ana half - will ya’ give two ana half? Now a half. Seventy-five where? Now 75, 75 … now 300 dollar…”

This is the siren song of an auctioneer, but what does it mean?

Seasoned auction-goers understand the components of the chant but, to a lot of newcomers, they might as well be listening to Chinese spoken with a Russian accent. They don’t have a clue what the auctioneer is saying or why. Let’s clarify the basics of the chant.

The chant is a speech tool used by auctioneers to offer the lots they handle to bidders. It is comprised of three elements: (a) the “bid” is the first number called and it is the amount that has actually been bid for the lot; (b) the “ask” is the second number called and it is the amount that the auctioneer is seeking to have bid next; and (c) “filler” words are included to separate the “bid” and “ask” numbers. 

We will break down the excerpt from the chant above to identify these elements. 

“I’m bid a hundred,” means just what it says - someone has bid $100 for the lot and the auctioneer has that bid in hand. He immediately seeks a higher bid. 

“Now a quarter,” means that the auctioneer is asking for a “quarter” increase in the bidding. Since he has a bid for $100, a “quarter” increase would be a raise of $25. 

“Now,” “will ya’ give,” and “where” are “filler words” used to make the chant more conversational and interesting to bidders than just calling two numbers in succession. Auctioneers develop unique styles for their chants and incorporate favorite filler words and phrases which can be about anything they want to use. 

The auctioneer’s selection of the bid increment is a lot more technical than is choosing filler words.

The decision on the increment to use is based upon several factors that the auctioneer quickly considers. These include the amount of the previous bid, the auctioneer’s estimate of value for the lot, the anticipated interest of the bidders in it, and the amount the auctioneer feels the lot will bring. Except in rare instances, the bid asked for will be an increment equal to, or less than, the increment that the auctioneer last accepted. 

Take the example above and suppose the opening bid had been $25, with three additional, like bids having driven the bid amount up to $100. It would be logical for the auctioneer to seek another $25 to advance the bidding. It would be illogical to ask for a $100 increase, unless the auctioneer concluded he had started the bidding too low and there was sufficient demand in the audience to trigger a bid at that increased level. 

Likewise, if the first bid had been $100 and the auctioneer estimated the lot would sell for $150 to $175, the $25 increment would be a good one to use next, but he could have gone with $50 or even tried for another hundred.

Choosing a bidding increment is subjective and different auctioneers would select different increments under the same circumstances. The key is that the auctioneer wants to move the bidding for a lot from start to finish as fast as he can. He accomplishes that when he uses the largest bid increments that he can in order to call as few bids as possible in getting to the end quickly.

From the introduction of a lot through the last bid called, an auctioneer on a slow walk in the park will handle 30 lots an hour. An auctioneer intent on moving things along will dial the speed up to 60-75 lots an hour.

A “fast gun” will smoke along at up to 120 lots an hour which is two per minute every minute without let up.

So why do auctioneers talk like this and do it so rapidly, instead of just announcing the bid amount and asking for the next bid?

There are three reasons.

First, most auctions have a lot to be offered in a limited time. Bidders represent the demand needed to drive the bid amounts for the lots to the highest levels and many of them are not interested in being at an auction any longer than necessary. When they leave, the money leaves with them.

Consequently, auctioneers need to move through the lots as rapidly as possible in order to expose them to the greatest potential demand and achieve the highest bid prices. 

Second, a good chant spices an auction so as to gain and hold the interest of the audience, while injecting a sense of pep and high energy which encourages bidders to respond accordingly. 

Third, auctioneers do not want bidders to engage in careful analysis and reasoned decision making. They want to press bidders into acting fast on impulse and emotion. This is all part of getting the highest bids for the lots and auctioneers supercharge the offering process with an accelerated chant to do it. 

So what is the most important characteristic of a good chant - speed … high energy … uniqueness? No, it is none of these. The most outstanding attribute of a good chant is clarity. This is because bidders who cannot understand a chant will seldom bid and none should. Bidders should know where an auctioneer is at all times with the numbers before bidding. It is the job of the auctioneer to ensure they have this understanding.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Steve Proffitt may write to him in care of this publication.