Index:
1. Auctioneer Notes
2. Staff Articles
3. Auction Calendar
4. Consignment Corner
5. Company News

Auctioneer Notes

Welcome to another edition of Sunflower Seeds.  Starting with this issue, we are going to publish this newsletter weekly.  We will be using a company called Constant Contact to manage subscriptions.  Each staff member here at Sunflower Auction will begin contributing content from week to week.  I want to invite you to visit the newly redesigned Sunflower Auction website!  Just click the header above to visit the site.  We have created a modern styles-based website with easier navigation and improved content.  Please take your time looking around and give me your feedback.  We have also recently redesigned our auction gallery to better accommodate the types of items we will be selling at live auction.  Please join us on Saturday to see it for yourself.  These are exciting times at Sunflower Auction, and I want to thank you all for your support over the years as we look to the future together.

In the coming months, we will be focusing on areas of collecting that are always popular: coins, firearms and militaria. These areas of the market are hot right now, and we have the product knowledge and expertise in-house to create successful auctions. If we can assist you with a collection of this type, please give me a call. We offer very competitive rates for large collections and estates valued over $100,000:

Certified Coins:                5% Seller's Commission
Non-Certified Coins:        10% Seller's Commission
Militaria and Firearms:      10% Seller's Commission

As a company, we are now focusing primarily on live auctions, although core eBay still has its place.  We have broad product expertise in art and history, and it is our goal to handle every aspect of our clients' auction needs. We have all felt the power of eBay Live Auctions, and our sellers have been extremely pleased with the results. I would love to talk with you about harnessing this new tool to achieve top results for your collection. Please give me a call if there is anything I can do for you!

- Gregg Pfister, Auctioneer, Appraiser & Real Estate Agent

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Staff Articles

After months of getting to know many of you personally, I felt it was time to formally introduce myself to everyone. My name is Charles Keller. I am an historian by training and have worked in the auction industry for over nine years. I spent over eight years with a militaria auction house before joining Sunflower Auction’s team as Research Director. Here I found an organization that listens to its customers, pays consignors quickly, embraces change and confronts challenges head on.
 
As an historian and collector, I have considerable experience with historical artifacts as varied as Ancient Egyptian ushabti to Saddam Hussein’s personal uniforms liberated during the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I have assisted the Imperial War Museum, London, with collecting Holocaust artifacts for a special display, and academic archives for items such as Spanish-American War patriotic posters and original Third Reich/WWII artifacts.
 
I have a keen interest in the cultural and military aspects of the First World War and am on the Board of Trustees for the National WWI museum at the Liberty Memorial. I also sit on the executive committee of the H.G. Wells Society, U.K. My specialties range from cultural and military histories of the 19th and 20th centuries (including the First and Second World Wars) to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster.
 
Fads and fancies come and go in the popular imagination, yet historical artifacts remain the most stable kind of collectible to invest in. And I mean invest in. But beyond the economics, collecting allows you to experience history in ways most people must rely on museums for. To have a document signed by Abraham Lincoln, a uniform worn by Eisenhower, the rifle your father used in WWII, a 20-star 1818 American flag, a Prussian Spike Helmet your granddad brought back from France, etc, puts us in touch with our past in a way that is so deeply personal its almost priceless. For me this is the most compelling reason to collect.
 
Sunflower Auction is experiencing a renaissance in growth and excitement that we are eager to share with our clients and consignors. There has never been a better time for buying and selling pieces of history, and I look forward to speaking with you about your collection and how Sunflower Auction may be of service to you!

- Charles Keller, Director of Research

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Auction Calendar

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Consignment Corner

1. Consignments Wanted - We are always looking for real estate, estates and collections for auction consignment. Please give us a call, and we can arrange for the shipping and/or transportation of your collection to our gallery, or we can do an on-site auction. We can handle every aspect of an entire estate including real estate and personal property. Let us put our experience and reputation to work for you!

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Company News

1.  Federal Firearms License - Sunflower Auction is now a licensed dealer in firearms (commonly known as an FFL) as granted by the Federal Firearms Licensing Center (FFLC) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).  As such, we are licensed to:

(1) receive firearms from any individual or licensed dealer anywhere in the United States
(2) transfer ownership of firearms to residents of the state of Kansas directly from our registered premise
(3) transfer ownership of long guns to residents of any state directly from our registered premise
(4) send firearms to any other registered dealer in the US for them to transfer to a buyer in their state

We will use Proxibid to facilitate the sale of firearms to a worldwide audience, as firearm sales are not allowed on eBay. We are aggressively seeking large firearms collections to sell at auction. Please contact us if you have this type of collection. We offer competitive rates for the best items and largest collections.   Please see our Firearms page for further details.

2. Real Estate - Gregg Pfister, President of Sunflower Auction, LLC is licensed to sell real estate in Kansas and Missouri. David Schulman with Schulman and Associates, LLC is our licensed broker in Kansas and Missouri. If we can assist you with the sale of residential or commercial real estate, please give us a call. We offer both traditional and auction selling methods, and we can also conveniently sell your personal property at the same time.

3. eBay Live Auctions - Sunflower Auction, LLC is the highest rated eBay seller on the eBay Live Auctions platform. We just completed an Antique Toy auction on eBay Live Auction on December 8th and 9th that grossed over $100,000 for our seller. We registered over 1,300 bidders from 23 countries! This is the kind of marketing power we can bring to your estate or collection. Please give us a call to discuss your selling options today!

4.  Sunflower Auction has an immediate opening for a Bookkeeper at our state-of-the-art online auction facility located in Overland Park, Kansas. We offer tremendous opportunity for growth and a fun, fast-paced environment. This is a full time position. Come join us as we revolutionize the auction industry!

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Thanks for your continued business, and if there is anything we can do for you, please let me know.

Gregg Pfister, Auctioneer, Appraiser & Licensed Real Estate Agent
Sunflower Auction, LLC
7375 West 161st Street
Overland Park, KS 66085
toll free: (800) 440-9848
local phone: (913) 239-8624
fax: (913) 239-8623
gregg@sunflowerauction.com
www.sunflowerauction.com