Buone, a tax attorney from La Jolla, tries to get up here once a month to the only regularly scheduled antique auction in southwest Riverside County. He drops by others in San Diego County as well, constantly on the prowl for a good bargain that he can resell at a profit. Not even a handsome chicken dish on the counter where people register to bid is sacred. Halfway into the auction, while Wendler and I talk in her office, one of her employees tells her somebody wants the dish. Off it goes for bid.
Action is the operative term here.
It seems half the people have cell phones, checking with partners somewhere else about how high they're willing to go. Many people tell me they're antique dealers. And you're apparently a nobody in this crowd unless you're peddling on the Internet. The rule of thumb here is that you're buying stuff at half the price of what it would be in an antique store. Lynda Tilkey has been to the auction several times, but she couldn't work up the courage to bid until tonight.