Today we’d like to introduce you to John Leonard.
John, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I began selling antiques and collectibles during college while on summer break. As I continued selling, I began attending auctions to look for new items to sell. After a few years of buying and selling as a hobby, I took the plunge in 2006 and opened an auction house in Naperville, Illinois. Our first auction was in May of 2006 and was a complete disaster! We only had 7 bidders show up for the sale and 5 were family members. Our first sale only netted only $387 in sales and was quite humbling. I stuck with the business and we moved to our current Addison, Illinois location in September 2007. After moving to our Addison location, we added internet bidding to our auctions which opened us up to global bidders. We have continued to improve our sales with high-end quality estate items and are proud to be approaching more than $2 Million in annual sales.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
From the get-go, we had trouble securing quality consignment items for auction. As the “new guy” in town, it took many years to establish trust and a sales record that allows us to secure the best items for auction. Additionally, the housing market crash of 2008 definitely slowed sales as we were trying to ramp up the business.
So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Leonard Auction, Inc. story. Tell us more about the business.
Leonard Auction, Inc. is a leading Chicago-area estate auction house. We specialize in helping families, individuals and professionals sell their personal property at auction. Our largest concentration of items is in Jewelry, Coins & Currency, Fine Art and Collectibles. We have found a wonderful niche of providing local, personal service to our clients while still being able to offer a global market via the internet. Our online auction catalogs provide great detail for each auction lot and provide reassurance to buyer and seller of what is being offered for sale. It is this honesty with the listing of each item that provides the foundation for our growth as a company. Sellers know we are working hard to make sure every item is properly identified and marketed while buyers know they are competing for items that have been properly vetted and examined.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I personally don’t put much stock in luck. I work hard every day to grow the business and have found that honest dealings and having integrity will allow you to succeed more than luck.
Pricing:
- Most of the items we sell are in the $100 – 2,000 range
- Our average lot was just under $200 in 2016
Contact Info:
- Address: 1765 Cortland Ct., Ste. D
Addison, IL 60101 - Website: https://www.leonardauction.com
- Phone: 630-495-0229
- Email: info@leonardauction.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leonardauctioninc
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/leonardauction
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/leonard-auction-inc-addison
- Other: https://www.bbb.org/chicago/business-reviews/estates-appraisals-sales-and-auctions/leonard-auction-inc-in-addison-il-88274675/
Image Credit:
Leonard Auction, Inc.
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