Auction Kings is a television reality show that follows the lives of auctioneers and their patrons. The show premiered in September 2009 and was filmed throughout the year. The show follows Paul Brown, owner of the Gallery 63 in Sandy Springs, Georgia. The team of professionals there work to discover the true value of items and aggressively seek out potential bidders. Delfino Ramos, the gallery’s general manager, also repairs items when necessary. The team also tags and price each item in preparation for auction.
Paul Brown, the owner of Gallery 63, grew up watching his father run an auction house. In 1989, he joined his father’s business. In 2005, he purchased the gallery. Over the years, Paul has auctioned off some unusual items, including a Vampire hunting kit, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, a Woolly Mammoth tusk, a letter by Albert Einstein, and a giant Bat skeleton.
A man comes in with a 92-carat ruby necklace. Another seller brings a vintage Louis Vuitton trunk that Paul tries to repair. An early 1900s Louis Vuitton trunk and a Samurai sword are also on the auction block. A 19th-century ladies’ pistol and a vintage Coca-Cola machine are also on offer.
Auction Kings has also taught viewers that they can never predict the outcome of an auction. On one episode, a Rolex Submariner sold for USD $18,000 versus the estimated range of $8,000 to $10,000. Meanwhile, a Cartier 18k gold bracelet sold for $8,500, far below its estimate. If you’re planning to sell your item in an auction, it’s important to remember to follow up with a phone call.
While the show is often funny, viewers should be cautious. The auction house takes a cut of the sale. While the buyers and sellers don’t know it, the auction house does. The show doesn’t give you the full breakdown of the fees that the sellers pay the auction houses. However, the show’s opening credits imply that Paul takes anywhere from fifteen to twenty percent of the final sale price.
In later seasons, Jon becomes a trusted employee, while Elijah takes more responsibility over the auction house. In some episodes, the auction house even has a toe-pulling device for unlocked cases. In addition, the crew from Back to the Future came to the auction to promote the Delorean.
