I have to say that our interaction & business with Bob Hogstrom was incredibly frustrating &…read moredisappointing. We sadly needed the services for an estate sale quickly due to a combination of various circumstances beyond our control. I called several 'estate' people, he was the 1st to respond. He came right over, told my husband it was no problem to have the auction off site, he had 2 trailers, it works, all fits, etc., it worked with out very limited time frame so we proceeded to move forward. I received a text from Bob a few days later to tell me what day & time his crew would arrive to "pack." Now, to me, this seemed right on track with what he had told my husband, however when the people came at the designated time "to pack" (Bob was not there) they had no materials or trailers as they were told by Bob the auction was being held on site. Nope, not what was agreed upon at all. Bob arrives, he is immediately defensive telling me (mind you I have not met him in person yet) how his trailers are full and it'll cost me extra to have him take it somewhere else, etc,. So I cave because I need this done. Then he says, "Wait, when do you close on the sale of the house? " proceeding to tell me that the new owners will need to give us permission to hold an auction there after the closing. THE PLAN WAS TO HAVE IT OFF SITE! So, I get my Realtor to ask their Realtor to ask the buyer if this is ok....ugh! They say ok, but understandably ask to have the auctioneer cover the carpet, I mean it is their house & they were not planning on gobs of people traipsing through it. This was not an unreasonable request. Bob practically had a hissy fit, telling me he wasn't going to do that because it was a liability if someone slipped and fell. Every single thing with him was an argument. So in the middle of preparing for the ON SITE auction we were having my mother's funeral, yes, you read that right. Another reason I did NOT want this done at the house, it would have simplified things for our family to have it loaded on trailers and moved, but that was not what we had. So, family arrives at the house from out of state for the funeral while the "packers" are arranging things. My sister in law mentioned she would like a particular Wreath. It didn't seem like a big deal to me, but I suggested she mention it to Bob. Another family member wanted a chair. I cannot explain the level of unprofessionalism this man displayed, stomping his feet as if he were a spoiled child, throwing his hands in the air. He told them they would need to travel back to Ohio to attend the auction & bid on items if they wanted them now. He treated the family with complete disdain - it was appalling. He even came back the next day while we were at the funeral reportedly to take more photos but I have no doubt he was verifying that no items were missing. Even leading up to the day of the auction he couldn't seem to keep his act together, arguing with my husband over their conversations & refusing to cover the carpet. He eventually dropped off a roll of plastic for us to do ourselves, it was not enough of course so we had to buy more. The day of the auction is a day I will never forget. Bob may have "fucking been an auctioneer for 30 years" which he loudly yelled at the staff in his clerk trailer but I would say 30 years is enough. Time to quit. He was awful to my family. He did NOT EVEN ATTEMPT fair pricing on valuable items. He knew many people in the crowd personally & seemed as if he had his own side racket going on. Sold a $3,500.00 desk for $1.00, yes that's not a typo. Sold an $1,800.00 solid wood wall unit for $10.00. Other valuable antiques like a phonograph, he didn't even put forth effort, it was a joke. Even the other auctioneers that came to help him out came over to us to apologize for his behavior. Bob didn't care, wanted the sale over, & the folks that bought things for mere pennies were all pals of his. Completely unethical. I wish I could go back in time because I would NEVER hire him. His license should be reviewed and revoked.
