Auctioneer serves County needs

By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
    MAPLETON — Looking to make a move and need to sell a house full of furnishings? Or maybe new farm machinery is needed and selling the old equipment is an option to raise the money necessary to upgrade. Matt Gregg of Gregg Auctions can help you turn those unwanted items into cash.
    Gregg has been in the business for nearly four years and is licensed by the state of Maine.
    “In 2008, I attended Yankee School of Auctioneering in New Hampshire because I felt there was a need for an auctioneering company in northern Maine. The majority of active auctioneering services are in southern Maine,” said Gregg.
    Having grown up and currently being involved in farming, Gregg said he’s purchased and sold equipment in auctions.
    “It’s a comfortable format and one I feel a lot of people have been missing here — both buyers and sellers. I have been a licensed auctioneer with the state of Maine for three years, doing mostly charity and fund-raising events,” he said.
    Last spring, he held a consignment auction featuring agricultural and construction equipment.
    “That auction led to another and another — a few estate sales. I’m also looking to have an agricultural auction at our farm in Mapleton around June,” said Gregg.
    All of his auctions are by consignment.
    “This means the consignor agrees to sell an item at an auction, I promote the items going up for sale, handle the sale of the item and take a percentage of the sale price,” he explained.
    The auction format is a good way to sell items because the auctioneer handles the sale and payout is quick, said Gregg.
    “There is an audience that is there to buy and people realize that the item is going to be sold that day, so if they want to buy, they will bid. Most auctions are a catered event and are entertaining,” said the auctioneer.
    “I talk fast, like most auctioneers do, so the sale items move along at a good pace,” continued Gregg.
    The auction company is made up of local staff.
    “This is a local company — I and all my staff live here in Aroostook County, so the profits made from a sale stay in the local economy,” said Gregg, noting 2011 saw about $120,000 worth of items sold. “The auctions have been good so far.”
    Gregg ended 2011 with a construction equipment sale in Caribou around October, with an auction in November at the Mapleton Lions Hall featuring antiques and home furnishings.
    The 2012 auction season is getting under way, with a home antiques/furnishings event set for Saturday, March 24, at the Mapleton Lions Hall. On Saturday, June 16, Gregg will auction off agricultural and construction equipment at Maple Meadows Farm, 830 Mapleton Rd., Mapleton.
    “If anybody would like to contact me about any of my auctions or has anything to consign, they can call me at 551-7153 or e-mail mgregg@maine.rr.com,” said Gregg. “Or they can stop and see me at either 880 or 830 Mapleton Rd., Mapleton.”