Collingbourne Auctions driving forward

Collingbourne Auctioneers, the first business of its kind in Pattaya, established in 2009, has maintained a solid business within the local marketplace. Owned and operated by John Collingbourne, who hails originally from the valleys of south Wales in the United Kingdom, Collingbourne Auctioneers holds a Saturday auction every Saturday, starting at 11:00am. They turn over antiques, furniture, all sorts of home décor, original paintings and prints, jewellery, electrical goods, motor vehicles, statues, and anything else that might just have a buyer lurking in the audience.

Sensing there was still a niche in the marketplace, Collingbourne Auctioneers went into auctioning motor vehicles, motor bikes, boats, jet skis and the like as well. The auctions of these big-ticket items take place every Wednesday at 4:00pm.

John’s motto is ‘no item too large or too small’ to sell and, to help those who might have the means of making it out to his auction rooms, they have a pick-up and delivery service available.

While the British, in particular, seem to love auctions it’s amazing how many other nationalities quickly become almost addicted to the auction bug.

John Collingbourne was in the auction business in the UK for over thirty years. His sister, who started with him in Pattaya, went off to live in Cyprus and is running a major auction house on that Mediterranean island. It seems selling things ‘under the hammer’ is a family trait.

When he first moved to Thailand, about 17 years ago, John became involved with a resort in Rayong. He ran it quite successfully for a decade or so, and then, when most people are fiddling about in their slippers and looking to spend their days fishing or golfing or simply sleeping more, John decided he needed a new challenge.

He realized an opportunity existed in the Pattaya marketplace for a proper auction house and so he set up Collingbourne Auctioneers.

His plan was to create a place which would offer an easy way to buy and sell anything. His auction house, located in eastern Pattaya, specifically Soi Chaiyapreuk 2, has a nice cafe serving teas and coffees as well as a few snacks and even breakfast for those who feel a bit hungry after browsing the up-coming goods to be auctioned.

There is also a Wine Bar next door where customers can watch the auctions as they take place, live on a closed circuit TV. When the item they’re interested in comes up for bidding, they can then join the live action.

There is ample parking and most days the place is busy with people wandering through to inspect the up-coming items. John and his staff accept goods for auction from Monday to Thursday and then use Friday to prepare everything for the big day on Saturday.

For more information on Collingbourne Auctioneers visit their well-designed website: www.collingbourne-auctioneers.com Here you will see some of the up-coming items that will be offered for sale or you can download a basic, but nonetheless very useful, general auction catalogue for the upcoming sale in a convenient PDF.

There is also a new website, www.pattayabid.com which is updated every hour and holds pictures of every item for sale.