Auction Action
Despite a downturn in Phoenix real estate, auctioneer Paul Sarver is carving out a strong niche with a weekly auction that offers brand new furniture—and some well-known brands—at prices far below those of the area’s traditional furnitur
January 2008 By Jo Fleischer
Every Friday night, hundreds of Phoenix-area residents—and a few furniture dealers—gather in a midtown showroom for a one-of-a-kind furniture auction that involves almost entirely new products, including everything from leather sectionals to complete bedrooms—from brands you’d recognize.
Paul Sarver, the 44-year-old owner of Phoenix Furniture Auction, is an industry newcomer who bought the business two years ago. Sarver previously worked in the financial services sector before he and two partners bought the 22-year-old auction house from Sarver’s former client.
Sarver owns the bulk of the business after buying out one of his partners early on. He has an unusual background for a furniture retailer, having served a 16-year stint in the Air Force. He’s also been a drummer for 34 years, and one night his band was playing a song by the rock band America in a club when members of the band (who scored hits with “Horse With No Name” and “Sister Golden Hair”) wandered in. The chance meeting led to Sarver joining the band for a worldwide tour in 1990-1991. He continues to fill the drum seat for a popular Phoenix band, Help Me Rhonda, but auctions keep him from playing on Friday nights.
A Furniture Revolution
Upon buying the business two years ago, Sarver said his goal was to “revolutionize the way people think of furniture auctions” by shifting from selling used and damaged goods to almost all new furniture, including higher-end goods. His showroom is filled with a wide range of merchandise that includes some prestigious lines by manufacturers who initially resisted selling through an auction. After all, prices on any given Friday night swing wildly, depending on the makeup of each week’s crowd of bidders and the intensity of the bidding action.
On a Friday night in late November, sofas sold for as little as $185 and complete dining room sets (of a type sold exclusively in Robb & Stucky stores) were being offered for $2,100, including an enormous china, a twin-pedestal table and six chairs. Sarver said the chairs alone retail for as much as $1,000 each.
In his office, Sarver pointed to a local retailer’s ad that featured an ornate four-poster bed for $1,797 and said, “In our auction, we sell that for $750. I also have closeouts where you can save 90 percent on what a (local) retail store sold it for.”
Rock-Bottom Prices
Sarver keeps those ads handy, and when customers come in during the week looking for something specific, he’ll urge the shopper to price the item in a local store and then return to see similar items come up for auction—with bidding starting at either zero or, in reserve auctions, a little bit above wholesale.
Fact Box
Paul Sarver, the 44-year-old owner of Phoenix Furniture Auction, is an industry newcomer who bought the business two years ago. Sarver previously worked in the financial services sector before he and two partners bought the 22-year-old auction house from Sarver’s former client.
Sarver owns the bulk of the business after buying out one of his partners early on. He has an unusual background for a furniture retailer, having served a 16-year stint in the Air Force. He’s also been a drummer for 34 years, and one night his band was playing a song by the rock band America in a club when members of the band (who scored hits with “Horse With No Name” and “Sister Golden Hair”) wandered in. The chance meeting led to Sarver joining the band for a worldwide tour in 1990-1991. He continues to fill the drum seat for a popular Phoenix band, Help Me Rhonda, but auctions keep him from playing on Friday nights.
A Furniture Revolution
Upon buying the business two years ago, Sarver said his goal was to “revolutionize the way people think of furniture auctions” by shifting from selling used and damaged goods to almost all new furniture, including higher-end goods. His showroom is filled with a wide range of merchandise that includes some prestigious lines by manufacturers who initially resisted selling through an auction. After all, prices on any given Friday night swing wildly, depending on the makeup of each week’s crowd of bidders and the intensity of the bidding action.
On a Friday night in late November, sofas sold for as little as $185 and complete dining room sets (of a type sold exclusively in Robb & Stucky stores) were being offered for $2,100, including an enormous china, a twin-pedestal table and six chairs. Sarver said the chairs alone retail for as much as $1,000 each.
In his office, Sarver pointed to a local retailer’s ad that featured an ornate four-poster bed for $1,797 and said, “In our auction, we sell that for $750. I also have closeouts where you can save 90 percent on what a (local) retail store sold it for.”
Rock-Bottom Prices
Sarver keeps those ads handy, and when customers come in during the week looking for something specific, he’ll urge the shopper to price the item in a local store and then return to see similar items come up for auction—with bidding starting at either zero or, in reserve auctions, a little bit above wholesale.
Fact Box
