Fountain City Auction readying for the 18th Annual Advertisement Auction

By Jamie Schnell

schnellj@knoxfocus.com

Fountain City Auction will be starting 2023 with their 18th Annual Advertising Sale this Saturday. The huge sale is preceded this year with an antique and estate auction on Friday, January 6 at 7 p.m.  The advertising sale starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 7, with some bids starting as low as $5. While both auctions are online only, items can be previewed in person through January 5.

This advertising sale and specialty sale will include business items included in every January sale, and an added mixture of items such as vintage lunch boxes, peddle cars, tractors, vintage toys, milk bottles, signage(including neon), Coca-Cola vending machines, railroad items, and redone trolley car seats.

Fountain City Auction owner Greg Lawson explained to The Focus that this particular sale takes the longest as they collect items from consignors for it yearlong.

The FCA team has spent many days and hours preparing for this sale. Linda Salem, an employee of Fountain City Auction for nine years, is well-versed in the preparation of this annual sale. Linda told The Focus, "I'm looking forward to the revenue of the sale and overall improvement in the upcoming year."

FCA new hire Scott Smith is "looking forward to meeting the people and seeing the different items that will be coming in."

Lawson is expecting an increase in online bidders as a product of increased email marketing and an increase in the number of consignors. "A win-win for everybody."

Each item is cataloged online with a photo and proper description. FCA staff is careful to give precise information specifically for those who are bidding from out of state and cannot attend a preview. Fountain City Auction went from having live sales of 250-300 people in-person to over 9,000 customers online.

What will be new in 2023? While the popular gun and knife, coin, auto and estate sales will continue, Lawson would like to increase the number of auctions per weekend and to hold private on-site collection sales specifically tailored to the owner or administrator of an estate.

Greg Lawson knows the value of hard work as he grew up on a farm and learned valuable lessons from his father. His father would ask, "You want to eat? You like a warm bed and a roof over your head? Then you need to work."

Greg has continuously applied that lesson and believes it had a hand in the success of the significant changes for the auction house in 2022: adding staff, increasing advertising, and gaining repeat business through word of mouth as the families of clients and customers grow.

"That's where you retain and build your businesses; by doing a good job for them, doing what you say you will, making sure they get paid in a timely manner and keeping families very much involved in the process."

Fountain City Auction is a 10,000-square foot climate-controlled facility located at 4109 Central Avenue Pike in Knoxville, Tennessee. Customers can join the bidding at [url="http://www.fountaincityauction.com"]Fountain City Auctions in Knoxville TN | Buying & Selling Estates, Antiques & Collectibles[/url] and may call the office for additional auction needs at (865)474-9931.

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