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Going once, going twice, get going to the Taipei City auction

Some attractive items are up for sale at the Taipei City auction, which takes place every Saturday at Chungshan Soccer Stadium. PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMES

Go once or twice and you'll be sold on the Taipei City auction. Located in a second-floor corner of Chungshan Soccer Stadium, the auction of mostly furniture and bicycles is held every Saturday morning, but is open for pre-gavel gazing throughout the week.

The storage area of several hundred-ping contains a surprisingly large selection of second-hand items that have been donated to the city government or picked up off the streets. Each item has been restored to near-new condition and marked with an opening bid (起價).

"Usually there is only one person interested in any one item. In cases like that, the item will go for the opening bid," said one of the auctioneers overseeing the items earlier this week. He asked not to be named because "people will call here pretending they have guanxi and try to get an upper hand."

The opening bids are reasonable to say the least: Bicycles start at NT$400 and have all been completely refurbished. Antique wooden desks go for NT$1,000 and wooden wardrobe closets can cost as little as NT$1,500. You can get a hardwood bathtub for NT$800. But the selection doesn't stop there.

There are baby cribs, beds, book shelves, chairs, coat racks, cocktail carts, coffee tables, credenzas, curios, desks, dining tables, dressers, end tables, medicine cabinets, school desks, shoe racks, sofas and more. You may not have use for a second-hand altar but, given the right stools, there is one available that would make an excellent bar -- not to mention a conversation piece. Bidding starts at NT$3,000.

The auction itself doesn't much resemble an auction. Instead of items being put before a seated audience, the audience members simply go stand next to the desk they're interested in or sit in the sofa of their choice. The auctioneer makes his way around the room and, when he comes to you, the bidding on your item begins.

Wearing a headset microphone, he calls out the item's number and its opening price. "Going one, going twice," says the auctioneer, and the item's new owner is handed a card to take to the cashier.

There, the buyer is given a photo of the item along with a receipt that allows him or her to walk out past guards with their purchase. If you've bought more than you can fit in your car, you can leave your purchases there to pick up at a future date.

The process is amicable among bidders and the large majority of items go to the one interested person and for the opening bid. If you've long wanted a yellow vinyl sofa, this is the place to come. You'll likely have little competition.

Occasionally two or more people are interested in the same item and the price goes up incrementally. During last Saturday's auction, some five or six items were squabbled over by competing bids, and, at the end of each sale, the audience applauded.

"It's all very friendly," said the anonymous auctioneer "Chinese people do not like to buy second-hand goods and so we rarely have aggressive bidding."

NOTES: The Taipei City auction begins every Saturday at 11am at the Chungshan Soccer Stadium, located at Zhongshan North Road. and Minzu West Road. Doors open at 10am. Several items can be viewed and even bid for on the Internet at http://www.dep.taipei.gov.tw.
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