Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011

Bradley Wade: New Kid on the Auction Block

Auctioneer Bradley Wade's voicemail greeting identifies him as "assistant vice GM of some things" at the Myrtle Beach Auction. At 28, he came into the auction business by a series of events that can best be described as fortuitous.

Born in Myrtle Beach and raised on the Grand Strand, Wade is a graduate of Conway High School. He studied surgical tech at Horry-Georgetown Technical College before entering the construction field, where he remained until the company that employed him was downsized. "A friend of mine, Adam Koenigsberg, started an auction house down here, and he knew I was laid off. He asked me if I'd help him with some renovations to his building," he says. "Two weeks later after putting in long days, he asked me how much he owed me. I told him I came out as a friend to help him." Ultimately, Koenigsberg asked Wade to come to work for him. "I had never been to an auction before, and had no clue about anything that went on - but he told me I would pick it up with no problem."

So Wade took the job. Months later, the two went to sell some items at the Myrtle Beach Auction at the old Waccamaw Pottery complex. "[Myrtle Beach Auction owner] Ed Hagins' daughter was a cashier there. And while Adam and I were waiting for our turn to sell, I was kind of hanging out and chatting with her." This encounter resulted in an eventual romance and marriage. "About that time, Adam and his partner were parting ways and closing down their business and we were approached by Hagins to come work with him." Hagins convinced him to go out and get his auctioneer's license. "He actually fronted me the money to go to school." After graduating from the Mendenhall School of Auctioneering in High Point, N.C., Wade passed the state exam and has been a licensed auctioneer for more than a year.

Wade says the main staple of the Myrtle Beach Auction [www.myrtlebeachauction.com] is flooring. "We do flooring, kitchen cabinets, appliances, home remodeling stuff, and tools - and we actually travel around the state doing this." The merchandise comes from assorted consigners. "Most of our appliances come from scratch-and-dents from big box stores we are not allowed to name, and the flooring comes from manufacturing plants. We also do special estate-style sales where people need to liquidate things for various reasons. And we do big Christmas auctions with a lot of name-brand toys and tools." They spearhead a toy drive for the Free Will Baptist Home for Children in Turbeville. "We select a bunch of toys and make sure that underprivileged kids have a Christmas."

But is Wade one of those fancy fast-talking auctioneers?

"All of the auctioneers have their own chant," he asserts. "One auctioneer started out when they still did the tobacco auctions, so he's super, super fast. And we do talk fast, but we try to make sure that our auction is very customer friendly. If you have a question, it doesn't matter if we're in the middle of selling," he says. "Stop us and ask us. We're not like those you see on TV - where if you wink at us or pull your ear, you just paid $1,000 for something."

Wade's work is not simply the auctioneering. With a grueling out-of-town schedule compounded with on-site work in Myrtle Beach - there's gathering items in the warehouse, loading and unloading trucks - setup and breakdown at auction sites and travel time around South Carolina. All of this makes for early mornings and late nights. "Everything has its own little challenges, of course - but we roll with the punches," he says.

Wade lives with his wife, Crystal Wade, and three children in Carolina Forest. And because he is also a family man, we asked what he does to decompress. "We get together with a bunch of relatives and try to have what we call family game night - just cook spaghetti or lasagna or have pizza, something that can easily feed a lot of people - and play board or card games. We also try to set time aside to go to church as a family. Sometimes it's difficult when you get in at six in the morning from an auction and church starts at eight. But we try to make it."

Future plans for Wade involve raising his family and staying with the business. "It's been on the beach for years and years, and I'd like to see it continue down here. Everybody knows Ed and he has a great reputation."

And folks are recognizing Wade more and more - outside of the auction. "I can't tell you how many times I've been in Wal-Mart and people know me by name and I know them by their numbers from the auction, like, 'hey 9102.' I'm glad I got into this business," he says. "It's stressful with a lot of manual labor and long hours, but it's definitely worth it."