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Crocker Farm, Inc., York, Pennsylvania

Remmey Bank Leads Successful Sale

by Karl H. Pass

The Zipp family of Anthony and Barbara along with their three sons Brandt, Luke, and Mark held their fifth stoneware and redware auction on Saturday, May 20 at the York Expo Center's Old Main building on the York, Pennsylvania, fairgrounds. This was a new location for the Riderwood, Maryland, business, which had held its four previous auctions at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center in Boonsboro, Maryland. "We're pleased to be in York and plan to be here again in the fall," stated Tony Zipp.

One reason for the move, according to the Zipps, was the more reliable cell phone service for the steady stream of phone bidding requests. Another factor was the high-speed Internet service for eBay Live bidding. They also anticipated crossover traffic from dealers and collectors attending the two large antiques shows going on next door, and this played a role in picking the date of May 20.

The nearly 500-lot sale, including addenda, grossed $584,727 (including buyers' premiums). This marks the highest-grossing sale to date for Crocker Farm. Phone, absentee, and eBay Live bidding accounted for 203 lots. There were 196 registered in-house bidders.

All five members of the Zipp family are involved in the business, especially in catalog production. Luke does the photography, Brandt does computer layout, and Mark is the cataloger. During the auction, Brandt heads up eBay Live bidding, and everyone else works the phones. It was common for two to three phone lines to be used on any given lot in the sale. Bidders feel confident bidding on the phone because of the detailed condition report given for each lot in the catalog.

The Zipps now print estimates for each lot and also state in the catalog if the lot holds a reserve by printing a bold R following the estimate. Only three lots held a reserve, and they all sold. They were not any of the high-powered pieces.

Stoneware and redware collectors are like a small fraternity. All the players know one another, and many often sell, barter, and trade to each other. Some collectors meet on a regular basis in groups such as the Mid-Atlantic Pottery Society. Many collectors specialize in pieces by particular makers such as J. & E. Norton or M. & T. Miller or collect from specific regions or pottery centers such as South Amboy, New Jersey, or Baltimore, Maryland.

A diverse sale such as this is attractive to a wide spectrum of collectors, and many came from New York state, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland. The range of material the Zipps put together is far more extensive than any other specialty pottery auction company. Northern, southern, midwestern, and mid-Atlantic regions were represented. There was a large selection of Virginia and New York state stoneware, as well as an abundant offering of John Bell pottery.

The auction house charges a 10% buyer's premium, and for consignors there is a competitive straight 10% commission, which aids the Zipps in getting quality consignments.

The Zipps' next sale will be held in the fall, again in the Old Main building on the fairgrounds in York. For more information, contact Crocker Farm at (410) 337-5090 or visit the Web site (www.crockerfarm.com).