October 30, 2025 • 21 mins
Mike Jones is a Hall of Fame Auctioneer, educator and owner of America's Auction Academy and co-owner of the World Wide College of Auctioneering. Over the course of his career, he's done it all. He won the International Auctioneer Championship in 1998 and went on to serve as President of the National Auctioneers Association in 2004 and 2005. Through his leadership, mentorship and passion for the craft, Mike has helped shape the future of auctioneering both on the auction block and in the classroom.
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Bill Von Bank (00:00):
The Growing Destinations Podcast is brought
to you by Experience Rochester.
Learn more about Minnesota'sthird largest city, which is
home to Mayo Clinic and featureswonderful recreational and
entertainment opportunities byvisiting Experienced Rochester
MN.com.
Mike Jones (00:15):
As much as I would love to tell everybody that
every auctioneer is in is on thesame footing, the reality is it
it's based on your effort.
You have to work hard.
Bill Von Bank (00:26):
Welcome to the Growing Destinations Podcast,
where we take a deep dive intodestination development and
focus on a wide range of topicsfrom tourism and entertainment
to economic development andentrepreneurism and much more.
I'm your host, Bill Von Bank.
We're on location in DesMoines, Iowa, at the Worldwide
(00:48):
College of Auctioneering School.
And I'm really excited towelcome one of the true legends
in the auction world, MikeJones.
Mike's a Hall of Fameauctioneer, educator, and owner
of America's Auction Academy,and co-owner of the Worldwide
College of Auctioneering, whereI just completed my auctioneer
training.
Over the course of his career,he's done it all.
He won the InternationalAuctioneer Championship in 1998
(01:10):
and went on to serve aspresident of the National
Auctioneers Association in 2004and 2005.
Through his leadership,mentorship, and passion for the
craft, Mike has helped shape thefuture of auctioneering, both
on the auction block and in theclassroom.
Mike Jones, welcome to theGrowing Destinations Podcast.
Well, you've had anextraordinary career in the
(01:36):
auction industry.
For those who might not knowyour story, how did you first
get your start as an auctioneer?
Mike Jones (01:42):
You know, as a young man, uh uh just as a youngster,
I grew up on a farm in NorthTexas, and we were always going
to the cattle sales.
And we the world championlivestock auctioneer actually
owned our local sale barn.
So we, you know, I was atintroduced to good auctioneers
or great auctioneers very earlyon.
(02:02):
My parents went to a lot of uhestate auctions and farm sales,
and then they got it intocollecting antiques, and so they
were always going to antiqueauctions, and that they would
drag me along, and and I got tobuying and selling stuff, and
then in time, uh I ended up inHouston, Texas, and uh went to
work for an auction house, anauction gallery, and which was a
(02:25):
very prestigious uh company,and uh worked there for a couple
of years, my final years ofhigh school, and then uh went
off to college, and then butevery week, uh weekend or so I'd
come back and work for theauction house.
And so uh after my first yearof college, I decided I would go
to auction school because Ithought that would be very
intriguing and I knew a lotabout it, and uh started my own
(02:47):
auction company in uh uh Januaryof 1979, and then uh started
having auctions, and that myfirst sale was in April of
of '79, and then I really neverslowed down after that.
Bill Von Bank (03:02):
Was there a defining moment for you that you
knew this was your career pathfor life?
Mike Jones (03:06):
I had other things I enjoyed doing because I was in
radio and I really enjoyedradio.
I thought I I might have afuture in that, and I did that
for several years, but I was inthe auction business the whole
time.
And so it actually helpedpromote my uh auction in my my
auction company.
And I would talk to the crowdand I'd say, Hey, uh, this is
Mike Jones.
(03:27):
Not talking to you as a uh discjockey, but I'm talking to you
as an auctioneer.
Next thing you know, I'mgetting more phone calls to
become an auctioneer.
And it just it just seemedautomatic.
I tell you what happened is I Inailed down a relationship with
Western Auto Store, which isnow called Advanced Automotive.
And uh Western Auto was out ofKansas City.
(03:47):
I had gone to auction school inKansas City, so I had a lot of
connections there, and I endedup selling about three or four
hundred uh Western Auto stores.
And when I got that gig, I Iwas selling a Western Auto store
somewhere in the United Statesevery week for 20 years.
Oh my gosh.
Well, you know, and then thatled to other things like
Montgomery Ward.
(04:08):
We sold all the Montgomery Wardstores, and then uh continued
to do retail businesses.
But once the business started,it was almost like we were just
on a roller coaster.
There was no getting off.
This was a roller coaster youcould not get off of.
Bill Von Bank (04:22):
And there's so many different opportunities
within auctioneering, whetherit's estates or benefit charity
auctions.
Can you talk us through alittle bit of that?
Mike Jones (04:31):
Yeah.
Well, and you know, that kindof fed into my life too, because
I started out doing littleconsignment sales, which led one
week later into doing estatesales and then retail stores,
and then shortly thereafter Istarted getting the real estate
business.
And you know, it seemed likeabout every five to ten years I
would get into another uhvertical.
And uh then I got into doingindustrial facilities and
(04:54):
industrial plants and reallyheavy into real estate.
And really that's the greatthing about the auction
industry, depending on what youenjoy doing, what you like.
You know, if you enjoy estatesales and you enjoy uh all kinds
of collectibles, there that's anatural opportunity.
Then there's a lot ofopportunity in that, especially
in buying and sellingcollectibles and antiques.
(05:16):
And then conversely, if you areinto retail businesses, there's
a lot of retail businesses.
You know, they're everywhere.
Consignments, that's a totallydifferent uh opportunity because
with with consignment auctions,you're dealing with different
sellers and lots of them.
Uh, you know, I've doneauctions where as a consignment
auction had eighty to a hundreddifferent sellers.
(05:38):
Well, when you have eighty to ahundred different sellers,
eventually they're going to havean auction.
Just them, and it could betheir whole uh operation.
And so I think uh that's athat's a really neat thing.
The real estate piece is veryintriguing because I think
that's the future growth.
Really the growth uh in thefuture is going to be doing all
(05:59):
types of real estate, whetherit's commercial, whether it's
land, whether it's residentialhomes.
And whenever the foreclosuremarket comes back, which it
will, uh that's just the natureof the United States, about
every 10 to 15 years we have adownward turn.
And uh those are hugeopportunities to do foreclosures
and bank auctions and things ofthat nature, which I've lived
(06:21):
through about three of those.
And uh the the door w getspretty wide when you have that
kind of business going on.
And then uh we don't even knowwhat the future is, you know,
because of the way the world istoday, we don't know what the
next big thing's gonna be.
There was a period about 10years ago, 15 years ago, where
domains were a big deal.
And there were my partner,Craig, he traveled all over the
(06:45):
world selling domains and uhbringing millions of dollars for
domains.
And that market's cooled downand that's kind of gone away.
And but the fundraising uharea, the benefit fundraising
auction business, I think isprobably the hottest right now.
Because because there's so many501 C threes all over the
(07:06):
United States.
There's a never-ending demandfor groups that need to make
money.
Bill Von Bank (07:11):
What do you think are the most important traits
that make an auctioneer trulysuccessful beyond just having a
great chant?
Mike Jones (07:18):
I think you need to be a people person.
I think uh someone that canhave conversations, someone that
is genuine, honest, believable,someone that has knowledge
about product, uh where they canspeak intelligently about
whatever they are selling, uhsomeone that uh is just a
natural person that can sit downwith you and have a cup of
(07:38):
coffee and and you just you hayou feel that genuine nature.
And I think that's the probablythe biggest, you know, th it
sounds a little trite, but it'sreally not.
You need to be a a person thatpeople trust.
And because they are trustingthe auctioneer with their their
uh their everything they have,you know, whether it's their
personal estate, uh, whetherit's their uh their assets,
(08:01):
their business assets.
You know, when you trustsomeone like that, uh that's a
huge responsibility.
And you want to go with anauctioneer that or an auction
company that has a reputationfor fair dealings and honesty,
because at the end of the day,it's about reputation.
Bill Von Bank (08:18):
And they heard from many of your instructors
during training also helping tobe a problem solver.
Mike Jones (08:24):
Well, that's ultimately what we are, because
you know, whether it's anindividual that just wants to
liquidate uh a certain type ofasset, maybe it could be uh this
sounds crazy, but you know,there's there's people that
collect millions and millions ofbaseball cards.
Well, I I did all thatautograph memorabilia, sports
memorabilia, celebritymemorabilia, guitars, rock
(08:46):
memorabilia, all types of music.
There's so many collectibleitems related to that.
And uh I think there's thatthat kind of thing is very
expensive.
It can really add up.
I'm a collector.
Uh, you know, I buy antique uhoil and gas signs, things from
the 40s and 50s and 60s, and Ithink uh people of my generation
(09:08):
in my age, a lot of us yearnfor the past.
And so we buy things thatremind us of the good times back
in the 60s and 70s and 50s, andand uh so we embrace it, and
then we buy all this stuff, andlike collector cars, perfect
example.
You know, for about the last 10or 15 years, the big market has
been the uh Camaros and theMustangs and the Shelby's
(09:31):
because the muscle cars havebeen really hot.
You know, 30, 40 years ago,people were collecting Model A's
and Model Ts.
Well, that generation is prettymuch all gone.
They've they're deceased andand that stuff, the the value of
the 1920s, 30s, and 40s carshas dramatically dropped
compared to what it was thegrowth that we had uh 30, 40
(09:53):
years ago.
Now the big growth is the thebaby boomers and the next
generation with the muscle cars.
Now I don't know what's goingto be next because vehicles are
not as collectible.
You know, people aren't gonnabe yearning for a Tesla.
So, you know, those enginesjust don't roar the same.
So I see a big change coming incollector cars.
Bill Von Bank (10:15):
Is there a particular auction or
professional moment that standsout for you?
Mike Jones (10:19):
There's been a few.
I I definitely would have tosay working with the GSA,
General Services Administrationfor the United States
government, I did the the verylast live auction that they did
of any major consequence, andthat was in the mid to late 90s.
Uh I it was an $18 millionauction, and it was FEMA
trailers or FEMA manufacturedhousing.
(10:42):
But as far as fun, I grew upgoing to Six Flags Over Texas.
That's a theme park that was inTexas, and then they have one
in St.
Louis and have one in inGeorgia and in uh various
locations, but I got to do uhtheir surplus that they had
accumulated from the time theyopened the park.
So I doing Six Flags OverTexas, we had a lot of
(11:04):
television uh network peoplethere, a lot of stations.
And then uh I think another onethat was a real defining moment
that was back in 1982.
Uh I get to uh sell a town inTexas, and it was the town of
Tyoga, Texas, near where I grewup.
And uh it's the the birthplaceof Gene Autry, the singing
cowboy, and Rudolph thered-nosed reindeer and all that.
(11:27):
And um, and then 30 years laterI ended up auctioning off his
birthplace in Tyoga, Texas.
So I think that connectionbecause my it c was connected to
my grandparents.
He was uh he played guitar withmy grandmother when they were
kids, and and uh yeah, so we hadsome cool history, yeah.
Bill Von Bank (11:43):
You're a co-owner of the Worldwide College of
Auctioneering and the owner ofAmerica's Auction Academy.
What's your favorite part ofthat teaching experience?
Mike Jones (11:51):
Back in the early 90s and the late 80s, I had
wanted to teach at auctionschool.
And the opportunity, I went toauction school in in Kansas
City, and the opportunity justwas never made available to me
to become an an instructor.
And around 1992, I justdecided, you know what?
I knew everybody in the auctionbusiness.
I was very active with theState Association in Texas and
(12:14):
also the national, and I wasgetting, you know, I'd been uh a
member since 1979.
And I thought, you know what,people are always calling me
saying, hey, where can I go toauction school?
And I just decided to open up aschool.
And so when we opened up in 92,93, that was founded that
school and started it fromscratch and brought in some
really great instructors, andand it hit, and uh it was very
(12:38):
successful.
And so I have been running thatschool now for about 32 or 33
years, and that's been veryenjoyable, and I have enjoyed
it.
It's been great.
And then uh Paul C.
Bear, uh, who grew up here inIowa, that this school here in
Iowa started in 1933 by agentleman named Colonel Joe
Rice, and Joe Rice started it in33 and ran it for many, many
(13:01):
years.
And uh Paul C.
Bear, uh, another auctioneerthat's been a friend of mine for
gosh, I don't know, probably 35or 40 years.
He was our very firstinternational auctioneer
champion.
And he he had bought the schoolabout 25 years ago.
And then uh he and his partner,Vicky Ginder, just decided that
you know what, uh, it's time topass it on to somebody else.
(13:23):
And he called me and he askedme what I thought a school was
worth.
And I said, Well, I don't knowwhat it's worth, but I can tell
you if you ever decide to sellit, let me know because I might
be interested.
And it really I bought itbecause it because of its
history, the legacy, and thefact that they had graduated
over 40,000 auctioneers in thesince 33.
Yeah, almost a hundred years ofit.
And uh I thought, you knowwhat, it's kind of cool.
(13:46):
We got the one that we startedin Texas, and we've been running
it for almost 35 years, and andthen if we have worldwide, then
that's another opportunity.
And and I think I just loveeducation and I love the fact
the fact that I've gotten to doevery single thing I've really
ever wanted to do in the auctionindustry.
It's been gifted to me becauseuh we worked hard and and um and
(14:06):
the networks that we have, andI thought, what a great way to
to be in the business is to owntwo auction schools and and
influence others.
And so so you know, we'reclosing in on probably 50,000 uh
students that have graduatedfrom the two schools, and who
knows what's next.
Bill Von Bank (14:22):
The auction school experience is intense but
life-changing.
What kind of transformations doyou see in students from day
one to graduation?
Mike Jones (14:31):
I I remember one particular female in Texas, she
literally was scared to death.
She scared herself to death.
She would get up in front ofthe group and she'd never been
in front of a group before, andshe didn't have the confidence
to do anything, and sheliterally fainted in my arms on
the first day of auction school.
And then she puts in her eightdays, and at the end, she is a
(14:55):
strong uh public speaker, shehad self-confidence.
She walked uh up to thatmicrophone like she'd been doing
it for 25 years, and I thinkthat I tell people all the time,
auction school in my view, isnot auction school.
It's a life school.
I care about the auctionindustry, and that is the
(15:17):
platform that I have, but at theend of the day, it's more about
what we're training like thepeople in your class.
You know, you have a lot ofyoung people.
We hope that we influence theyoung people to be good people,
to be community-minded, to giveback, to give to to give uh to
children's charities and andother charities, just all kinds
(15:37):
of things.
We want people to be goodpeople.
That's why we open and closewith a prayer, and uh that that
is a uh symbolic way to wrap theschool up, and that tomorrow
we'll see that because uh we'llwe'll close everything up with a
prayer and send everybody alongthe way, and that we we just
pray that everybody got whatthey wanted out of it.
Bill Von Bank (15:58):
Between worldwide and America's auction academy,
how do you keep the curriculumfresh and relevant with so many
changes happening in theindustry with live events to
online and hybrid auctions?
Mike Jones (16:10):
I think we taught the same way for many, many
years.
But here's the deal this is howyou need to look at things.
In 1995, that was the advent ofeBay.
eBay changed the game.
And eBay changed the gamebecause people were selling
collectible items at auctionsand estate sales.
These were items that were massproduced, but they were
(16:33):
collectible.
After eBay came online and westarted having these online
opportunities, it pretty wellkilled all those markets,
whether it was Beanie Babies orany of those collectible items.
They're mass-produced.
And then once it became anonline feature, you could get
all you wanted anytime, all daylong, 24-7.
(16:53):
There's no more collectible toit.
Nobody's going to drive fromIowa to Illinois or Iowa to Ohio
to sit and bid on beaniebabies, but they would before
1995.
So now you wake up, here we arein 2025, and I think the the uh
the thing that's great for usis we have great instructors.
(17:14):
So you have these greatinstructors who sell for in
different uh areas.
So we've got, you know, KurtJohnson was here to, you know,
he was here and taughtfundraising and benefit
auctions.
Well, he's on the cutting edgeof everything happening with
benefit auctions.
We had uh Matt Moravec, who isthe lead auctioneer for Meekum,
Collector Car Auctions, and hewas here, and he's on the
(17:37):
cutting edge of that.
So when you have greatinstructors, they bring great
knowledge that keeps everythingcurrent.
Now I will tell you this thebig change that's gonna happen
in 2026, and it's coming, youhaven't been a part of it yet,
but you're gonna hear about it,and uh the public will hear
about it.
We have already pre-recordedall of our classroom classes,
(17:57):
and we'll be rolling out ahybrid this next year.
So students will be able totake half of their classes,
which were all the classroomlectures, they'll be able to do
do that remotely, and then theywill come to our locations,
either in Texas or or here in uhIowa, to take their the chant
class and learn how to become anauctioneer to actually stand up
(18:19):
and be an auctioneer.
So you'll get about 35 to 40hours of the chant, and but
that's all it's gonna be whenthey come to school.
They're going to literally getan overdose of that, which I
think is great because it'll itit'll give people the
opportunity to take all thepre-classes.
They'll have a couple of monthsto take those classes,
everything from bankruptcy toany of the any of the classes,
(18:41):
the real estate classes, andthey're presented by the same
instructors and some others.
They'll have multiple choicesof instructors.
So I think that's going to bethe big change, and it's
technology.
We spent hundreds and hundredsof thousands of dollars to do
this.
So the game's changed, thetechnologies, the various
auction platforms, the onlineplatforms, will be uh more
(19:03):
defined.
We're already presenting them,but we'll be able to present
them even better in the next fewyears.
Bill Von Bank (19:09):
As someone who shaped so many auctioneers'
careers, what's the single pieceof advice you find yourself
giving new graduates most often?
Mike Jones (19:19):
Practice.
You gotta practice.
It's not gonna come to you.
I hear that.
You you know, uh as much as Iwould love to tell everybody
that every auctioneer is in ison the same footing, the reality
is it it's based on youreffort.
You have to work hard.
It it it's no different thanselling real estate.
If you're gonna sell realestate, I would say anybody can
(19:41):
sell real estate, but you knowwhat?
It's like professional golf.
Selling real estate andauctioneering are very similar
in that there's five percent,maybe six percent or if you're
lucky ten, that make the bulk ofthe money.
And why?
Because they work harder, theyput in more hours, and they
practice more, and then theyalso know more because they're
(20:03):
they're they're learning uhwhile the other people are
talking about being anauctioneer and they're sitting
at home or they're sitting intheir office and they're not
doing anything to make itbetter.
Uh, I really think that's thenumber one advice that I would
give anybody that comes out ofauction school is you become the
best student and you become thebest practitioner, because that
(20:25):
that'll make the difference.
Bill Von Bank (20:26):
Mike, this has been such a great conversation.
I've really enjoyed hearingyour story.
And as a student at WorldwideCollege of Auctioneering, it's
been especially meaningful tolearn from you both in the
classroom and here today.
Thank you for being our gueston the Growing Destinations
Podcast.
Mike Jones (20:42):
I certainly did enjoy it, and uh I I I enjoyed
your show, and I look forward tolistening to episodes myself.
When I'm going down the road,I'll be listening to you.
Bill Von Bank (20:51):
Thank you.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you for tuning in to theGrowing Destinations Podcast.
And don't forget to subscribe.
This podcast is brought to youby Experience Rochester.
Find out more about Rochester,Minnesota, and its growing arts
and culture scene, itsinternational culinary flavors,
and award-winning craft beer byvisiting Experience Rochester
(21:11):
Mn.com.
The Growing Destinations Podcast is brought
to you by Experience Rochester.
Learn more about Minnesota'sthird largest city, which is
home to Mayo Clinic and featureswonderful recreational and
entertainment opportunities byvisiting Experienced Rochester
MN.com.
Mike Jones (00:15):
As much as I would love to tell everybody that
every auctioneer is in is on thesame footing, the reality is it
it's based on your effort.
You have to work hard.
Bill Von Bank (00:26):
Welcome to the Growing Destinations Podcast,
where we take a deep dive intodestination development and
focus on a wide range of topicsfrom tourism and entertainment
to economic development andentrepreneurism and much more.
I'm your host, Bill Von Bank.
We're on location in DesMoines, Iowa, at the Worldwide
(00:48):
College of Auctioneering School.
And I'm really excited towelcome one of the true legends
in the auction world, MikeJones.
Mike's a Hall of Fameauctioneer, educator, and owner
of America's Auction Academy,and co-owner of the Worldwide
College of Auctioneering, whereI just completed my auctioneer
training.
Over the course of his career,he's done it all.
He won the InternationalAuctioneer Championship in 1998
(01:10):
and went on to serve aspresident of the National
Auctioneers Association in 2004and 2005.
Through his leadership,mentorship, and passion for the
craft, Mike has helped shape thefuture of auctioneering, both
on the auction block and in theclassroom.
Mike Jones, welcome to theGrowing Destinations Podcast.
Well, you've had anextraordinary career in the
(01:36):
auction industry.
For those who might not knowyour story, how did you first
get your start as an auctioneer?
Mike Jones (01:42):
You know, as a young man, uh uh just as a youngster,
I grew up on a farm in NorthTexas, and we were always going
to the cattle sales.
And we the world championlivestock auctioneer actually
owned our local sale barn.
So we, you know, I was atintroduced to good auctioneers
or great auctioneers very earlyon.
(02:02):
My parents went to a lot of uhestate auctions and farm sales,
and then they got it intocollecting antiques, and so they
were always going to antiqueauctions, and that they would
drag me along, and and I got tobuying and selling stuff, and
then in time, uh I ended up inHouston, Texas, and uh went to
work for an auction house, anauction gallery, and which was a
(02:25):
very prestigious uh company,and uh worked there for a couple
of years, my final years ofhigh school, and then uh went
off to college, and then butevery week, uh weekend or so I'd
come back and work for theauction house.
And so uh after my first yearof college, I decided I would go
to auction school because Ithought that would be very
intriguing and I knew a lotabout it, and uh started my own
(02:47):
auction company in uh uh Januaryof 1979, and then uh started
having auctions, and that myfirst sale was in April of
of '79, and then I really neverslowed down after that.
Bill Von Bank (03:02):
Was there a defining moment for you that you
knew this was your career pathfor life?
Mike Jones (03:06):
I had other things I enjoyed doing because I was in
radio and I really enjoyedradio.
I thought I I might have afuture in that, and I did that
for several years, but I was inthe auction business the whole
time.
And so it actually helpedpromote my uh auction in my my
auction company.
And I would talk to the crowdand I'd say, Hey, uh, this is
Mike Jones.
(03:27):
Not talking to you as a uh discjockey, but I'm talking to you
as an auctioneer.
Next thing you know, I'mgetting more phone calls to
become an auctioneer.
And it just it just seemedautomatic.
I tell you what happened is I Inailed down a relationship with
Western Auto Store, which isnow called Advanced Automotive.
And uh Western Auto was out ofKansas City.
(03:47):
I had gone to auction school inKansas City, so I had a lot of
connections there, and I endedup selling about three or four
hundred uh Western Auto stores.
And when I got that gig, I Iwas selling a Western Auto store
somewhere in the United Statesevery week for 20 years.
Oh my gosh.
Well, you know, and then thatled to other things like
Montgomery Ward.
(04:08):
We sold all the Montgomery Wardstores, and then uh continued
to do retail businesses.
But once the business started,it was almost like we were just
on a roller coaster.
There was no getting off.
This was a roller coaster youcould not get off of.
Bill Von Bank (04:22):
And there's so many different opportunities
within auctioneering, whetherit's estates or benefit charity
auctions.
Can you talk us through alittle bit of that?
Mike Jones (04:31):
Yeah.
Well, and you know, that kindof fed into my life too, because
I started out doing littleconsignment sales, which led one
week later into doing estatesales and then retail stores,
and then shortly thereafter Istarted getting the real estate
business.
And you know, it seemed likeabout every five to ten years I
would get into another uhvertical.
And uh then I got into doingindustrial facilities and
(04:54):
industrial plants and reallyheavy into real estate.
And really that's the greatthing about the auction
industry, depending on what youenjoy doing, what you like.
You know, if you enjoy estatesales and you enjoy uh all kinds
of collectibles, there that's anatural opportunity.
Then there's a lot ofopportunity in that, especially
in buying and sellingcollectibles and antiques.
(05:16):
And then conversely, if you areinto retail businesses, there's
a lot of retail businesses.
You know, they're everywhere.
Consignments, that's a totallydifferent uh opportunity because
with with consignment auctions,you're dealing with different
sellers and lots of them.
Uh, you know, I've doneauctions where as a consignment
auction had eighty to a hundreddifferent sellers.
(05:38):
Well, when you have eighty to ahundred different sellers,
eventually they're going to havean auction.
Just them, and it could betheir whole uh operation.
And so I think uh that's athat's a really neat thing.
The real estate piece is veryintriguing because I think
that's the future growth.
Really the growth uh in thefuture is going to be doing all
(05:59):
types of real estate, whetherit's commercial, whether it's
land, whether it's residentialhomes.
And whenever the foreclosuremarket comes back, which it
will, uh that's just the natureof the United States, about
every 10 to 15 years we have adownward turn.
And uh those are hugeopportunities to do foreclosures
and bank auctions and things ofthat nature, which I've lived
(06:21):
through about three of those.
And uh the the door w getspretty wide when you have that
kind of business going on.
And then uh we don't even knowwhat the future is, you know,
because of the way the world istoday, we don't know what the
next big thing's gonna be.
There was a period about 10years ago, 15 years ago, where
domains were a big deal.
And there were my partner,Craig, he traveled all over the
(06:45):
world selling domains and uhbringing millions of dollars for
domains.
And that market's cooled downand that's kind of gone away.
And but the fundraising uharea, the benefit fundraising
auction business, I think isprobably the hottest right now.
Because because there's so many501 C threes all over the
(07:06):
United States.
There's a never-ending demandfor groups that need to make
money.
Bill Von Bank (07:11):
What do you think are the most important traits
that make an auctioneer trulysuccessful beyond just having a
great chant?
Mike Jones (07:18):
I think you need to be a people person.
I think uh someone that canhave conversations, someone that
is genuine, honest, believable,someone that has knowledge
about product, uh where they canspeak intelligently about
whatever they are selling, uhsomeone that uh is just a
natural person that can sit downwith you and have a cup of
(07:38):
coffee and and you just you hayou feel that genuine nature.
And I think that's the probablythe biggest, you know, th it
sounds a little trite, but it'sreally not.
You need to be a a person thatpeople trust.
And because they are trustingthe auctioneer with their their
uh their everything they have,you know, whether it's their
personal estate, uh, whetherit's their uh their assets,
(08:01):
their business assets.
You know, when you trustsomeone like that, uh that's a
huge responsibility.
And you want to go with anauctioneer that or an auction
company that has a reputationfor fair dealings and honesty,
because at the end of the day,it's about reputation.
Bill Von Bank (08:18):
And they heard from many of your instructors
during training also helping tobe a problem solver.
Mike Jones (08:24):
Well, that's ultimately what we are, because
you know, whether it's anindividual that just wants to
liquidate uh a certain type ofasset, maybe it could be uh this
sounds crazy, but you know,there's there's people that
collect millions and millions ofbaseball cards.
Well, I I did all thatautograph memorabilia, sports
memorabilia, celebritymemorabilia, guitars, rock
(08:46):
memorabilia, all types of music.
There's so many collectibleitems related to that.
And uh I think there's thatthat kind of thing is very
expensive.
It can really add up.
I'm a collector.
Uh, you know, I buy antique uhoil and gas signs, things from
the 40s and 50s and 60s, and Ithink uh people of my generation
(09:08):
in my age, a lot of us yearnfor the past.
And so we buy things thatremind us of the good times back
in the 60s and 70s and 50s, andand uh so we embrace it, and
then we buy all this stuff, andlike collector cars, perfect
example.
You know, for about the last 10or 15 years, the big market has
been the uh Camaros and theMustangs and the Shelby's
(09:31):
because the muscle cars havebeen really hot.
You know, 30, 40 years ago,people were collecting Model A's
and Model Ts.
Well, that generation is prettymuch all gone.
They've they're deceased andand that stuff, the the value of
the 1920s, 30s, and 40s carshas dramatically dropped
compared to what it was thegrowth that we had uh 30, 40
(09:53):
years ago.
Now the big growth is the thebaby boomers and the next
generation with the muscle cars.
Now I don't know what's goingto be next because vehicles are
not as collectible.
You know, people aren't gonnabe yearning for a Tesla.
So, you know, those enginesjust don't roar the same.
So I see a big change coming incollector cars.
Bill Von Bank (10:15):
Is there a particular auction or
professional moment that standsout for you?
Mike Jones (10:19):
There's been a few.
I I definitely would have tosay working with the GSA,
General Services Administrationfor the United States
government, I did the the verylast live auction that they did
of any major consequence, andthat was in the mid to late 90s.
Uh I it was an $18 millionauction, and it was FEMA
trailers or FEMA manufacturedhousing.
(10:42):
But as far as fun, I grew upgoing to Six Flags Over Texas.
That's a theme park that was inTexas, and then they have one
in St.
Louis and have one in inGeorgia and in uh various
locations, but I got to do uhtheir surplus that they had
accumulated from the time theyopened the park.
So I doing Six Flags OverTexas, we had a lot of
(11:04):
television uh network peoplethere, a lot of stations.
And then uh I think another onethat was a real defining moment
that was back in 1982.
Uh I get to uh sell a town inTexas, and it was the town of
Tyoga, Texas, near where I grewup.
And uh it's the the birthplaceof Gene Autry, the singing
cowboy, and Rudolph thered-nosed reindeer and all that.
(11:27):
And um, and then 30 years laterI ended up auctioning off his
birthplace in Tyoga, Texas.
So I think that connectionbecause my it c was connected to
my grandparents.
He was uh he played guitar withmy grandmother when they were
kids, and and uh yeah, so we hadsome cool history, yeah.
Bill Von Bank (11:43):
You're a co-owner of the Worldwide College of
Auctioneering and the owner ofAmerica's Auction Academy.
What's your favorite part ofthat teaching experience?
Mike Jones (11:51):
Back in the early 90s and the late 80s, I had
wanted to teach at auctionschool.
And the opportunity, I went toauction school in in Kansas
City, and the opportunity justwas never made available to me
to become an an instructor.
And around 1992, I justdecided, you know what?
I knew everybody in the auctionbusiness.
I was very active with theState Association in Texas and
(12:14):
also the national, and I wasgetting, you know, I'd been uh a
member since 1979.
And I thought, you know what,people are always calling me
saying, hey, where can I go toauction school?
And I just decided to open up aschool.
And so when we opened up in 92,93, that was founded that
school and started it fromscratch and brought in some
really great instructors, andand it hit, and uh it was very
(12:38):
successful.
And so I have been running thatschool now for about 32 or 33
years, and that's been veryenjoyable, and I have enjoyed
it.
It's been great.
And then uh Paul C.
Bear, uh, who grew up here inIowa, that this school here in
Iowa started in 1933 by agentleman named Colonel Joe
Rice, and Joe Rice started it in33 and ran it for many, many
(13:01):
years.
And uh Paul C.
Bear, uh, another auctioneerthat's been a friend of mine for
gosh, I don't know, probably 35or 40 years.
He was our very firstinternational auctioneer
champion.
And he he had bought the schoolabout 25 years ago.
And then uh he and his partner,Vicky Ginder, just decided that
you know what, uh, it's time topass it on to somebody else.
(13:23):
And he called me and he askedme what I thought a school was
worth.
And I said, Well, I don't knowwhat it's worth, but I can tell
you if you ever decide to sellit, let me know because I might
be interested.
And it really I bought itbecause it because of its
history, the legacy, and thefact that they had graduated
over 40,000 auctioneers in thesince 33.
Yeah, almost a hundred years ofit.
And uh I thought, you knowwhat, it's kind of cool.
(13:46):
We got the one that we startedin Texas, and we've been running
it for almost 35 years, and andthen if we have worldwide, then
that's another opportunity.
And and I think I just loveeducation and I love the fact
the fact that I've gotten to doevery single thing I've really
ever wanted to do in the auctionindustry.
It's been gifted to me becauseuh we worked hard and and um and
(14:06):
the networks that we have, andI thought, what a great way to
to be in the business is to owntwo auction schools and and
influence others.
And so so you know, we'reclosing in on probably 50,000 uh
students that have graduatedfrom the two schools, and who
knows what's next.
Bill Von Bank (14:22):
The auction school experience is intense but
life-changing.
What kind of transformations doyou see in students from day
one to graduation?
Mike Jones (14:31):
I I remember one particular female in Texas, she
literally was scared to death.
She scared herself to death.
She would get up in front ofthe group and she'd never been
in front of a group before, andshe didn't have the confidence
to do anything, and sheliterally fainted in my arms on
the first day of auction school.
And then she puts in her eightdays, and at the end, she is a
(14:55):
strong uh public speaker, shehad self-confidence.
She walked uh up to thatmicrophone like she'd been doing
it for 25 years, and I thinkthat I tell people all the time,
auction school in my view, isnot auction school.
It's a life school.
I care about the auctionindustry, and that is the
(15:17):
platform that I have, but at theend of the day, it's more about
what we're training like thepeople in your class.
You know, you have a lot ofyoung people.
We hope that we influence theyoung people to be good people,
to be community-minded, to giveback, to give to to give uh to
children's charities and andother charities, just all kinds
(15:37):
of things.
We want people to be goodpeople.
That's why we open and closewith a prayer, and uh that that
is a uh symbolic way to wrap theschool up, and that tomorrow
we'll see that because uh we'llwe'll close everything up with a
prayer and send everybody alongthe way, and that we we just
pray that everybody got whatthey wanted out of it.
Bill Von Bank (15:58):
Between worldwide and America's auction academy,
how do you keep the curriculumfresh and relevant with so many
changes happening in theindustry with live events to
online and hybrid auctions?
Mike Jones (16:10):
I think we taught the same way for many, many
years.
But here's the deal this is howyou need to look at things.
In 1995, that was the advent ofeBay.
eBay changed the game.
And eBay changed the gamebecause people were selling
collectible items at auctionsand estate sales.
These were items that were massproduced, but they were
(16:33):
collectible.
After eBay came online and westarted having these online
opportunities, it pretty wellkilled all those markets,
whether it was Beanie Babies orany of those collectible items.
They're mass-produced.
And then once it became anonline feature, you could get
all you wanted anytime, all daylong, 24-7.
(16:53):
There's no more collectible toit.
Nobody's going to drive fromIowa to Illinois or Iowa to Ohio
to sit and bid on beaniebabies, but they would before
1995.
So now you wake up, here we arein 2025, and I think the the uh
the thing that's great for usis we have great instructors.
(17:14):
So you have these greatinstructors who sell for in
different uh areas.
So we've got, you know, KurtJohnson was here to, you know,
he was here and taughtfundraising and benefit
auctions.
Well, he's on the cutting edgeof everything happening with
benefit auctions.
We had uh Matt Moravec, who isthe lead auctioneer for Meekum,
Collector Car Auctions, and hewas here, and he's on the
(17:37):
cutting edge of that.
So when you have greatinstructors, they bring great
knowledge that keeps everythingcurrent.
Now I will tell you this thebig change that's gonna happen
in 2026, and it's coming, youhaven't been a part of it yet,
but you're gonna hear about it,and uh the public will hear
about it.
We have already pre-recordedall of our classroom classes,
(17:57):
and we'll be rolling out ahybrid this next year.
So students will be able totake half of their classes,
which were all the classroomlectures, they'll be able to do
do that remotely, and then theywill come to our locations,
either in Texas or or here in uhIowa, to take their the chant
class and learn how to become anauctioneer to actually stand up
(18:19):
and be an auctioneer.
So you'll get about 35 to 40hours of the chant, and but
that's all it's gonna be whenthey come to school.
They're going to literally getan overdose of that, which I
think is great because it'll itit'll give people the
opportunity to take all thepre-classes.
They'll have a couple of monthsto take those classes,
everything from bankruptcy toany of the any of the classes,
(18:41):
the real estate classes, andthey're presented by the same
instructors and some others.
They'll have multiple choicesof instructors.
So I think that's going to bethe big change, and it's
technology.
We spent hundreds and hundredsof thousands of dollars to do
this.
So the game's changed, thetechnologies, the various
auction platforms, the onlineplatforms, will be uh more
(19:03):
defined.
We're already presenting them,but we'll be able to present
them even better in the next fewyears.
Bill Von Bank (19:09):
As someone who shaped so many auctioneers'
careers, what's the single pieceof advice you find yourself
giving new graduates most often?
Mike Jones (19:19):
Practice.
You gotta practice.
It's not gonna come to you.
I hear that.
You you know, uh as much as Iwould love to tell everybody
that every auctioneer is in ison the same footing, the reality
is it it's based on youreffort.
You have to work hard.
It it it's no different thanselling real estate.
If you're gonna sell realestate, I would say anybody can
(19:41):
sell real estate, but you knowwhat?
It's like professional golf.
Selling real estate andauctioneering are very similar
in that there's five percent,maybe six percent or if you're
lucky ten, that make the bulk ofthe money.
And why?
Because they work harder, theyput in more hours, and they
practice more, and then theyalso know more because they're
(20:03):
they're they're learning uhwhile the other people are
talking about being anauctioneer and they're sitting
at home or they're sitting intheir office and they're not
doing anything to make itbetter.
Uh, I really think that's thenumber one advice that I would
give anybody that comes out ofauction school is you become the
best student and you become thebest practitioner, because that
(20:25):
that'll make the difference.
Bill Von Bank (20:26):
Mike, this has been such a great conversation.
I've really enjoyed hearingyour story.
And as a student at WorldwideCollege of Auctioneering, it's
been especially meaningful tolearn from you both in the
classroom and here today.
Thank you for being our gueston the Growing Destinations
Podcast.
Mike Jones (20:42):
I certainly did enjoy it, and uh I I I enjoyed
your show, and I look forward tolistening to episodes myself.
When I'm going down the road,I'll be listening to you.
Bill Von Bank (20:51):
Thank you.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you for tuning in to theGrowing Destinations Podcast.
And don't forget to subscribe.
This podcast is brought to youby Experience Rochester.
Find out more about Rochester,Minnesota, and its growing arts
and culture scene, itsinternational culinary flavors,
and award-winning craft beer byvisiting Experience Rochester
(21:11):
Mn.com.
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