March/April 2002
Profile: David Reynolds, Auctioneer
By Janet Fletcher, Napa Valley Food and Wine Writer

Shareholders and guests who attend our 33rd Annual Shareholders' Celebration on Saturday, May 18, will witness America's premier charity wine auctioneer in action. Described by one observer as an "irrepressible fundraising force," David Reynolds will sell anything for a cause, including his good parking karma. The man once auctioned two pizzas for $8,000.

An ebullient Englishman who admits to being an inveterate ham, Reynolds discovered more than a decade ago that he had a talent for the auction stage. His quick wit, relentless enthusiasm and ability to coax bidders into battle have helped raise record amounts for the Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction, the Mendocino Wine Affair, the Sun Valley Wine Auction and others.

"People who buy these lots want to make a donation," says Reynolds. "What I'm doing is making it fun for them."

A former wine retailer and computer consultant, Reynolds got his first auctioneering gig in the mid-1980s when a friend thought his British accent might boost the take at a struggling Idaho auction. Today the Sun Valley Wine Auction is one of the top five charity wine auctions in the country, and Reynolds still presides.

About 10 years ago, he decided to turn the hobby into a business. At the Missouri School of Auctioneering, 1le "learned his numbers," the rapid-fire call for bids that an auctioneer must be able to do without thinking. To improve his delivery, he hired a voice coach, whom he still sees once a week. And to learn to manage crises like the two heart attacks and the malfunctioning sound system that nearly derailed one Wine Country auction–he joined an improvisational theater troupe. "That seemed like a good way of dealing with things that you can't predict," says Reynolds.

Today, Reynolds & Buckley, the San Francisco firm he formed with his wife Colleen, works 50 charity auctions a year and Reynolds is a celebrity in fundraising circles. For philanthropic causes, he has auctioned everything from dinner with Sophia Loren to the right to name an aardvark. For the latter, he elicited a winning bid of $17,000, which, the auctioneer notes, means that he had another bidder at $16,000. To the crowd's amusement, Reynolds has threatened to fine people for "spousal restraint" and entered the bidding himself when he thought a lot was too low. When two bidders stalled at $5,000 on the pizza lot at a Sarasota, Florida, event, the gavel wielder had an epiphany. "I realized there were two pizzas," he recalls, "so I said, 'How about $4,000 each?"' Done.

Sometimes, says the auctioneer, "I just ask for cash." Last year, Reynolds reminded our auction guests that Chalone Wine Foundation supports a training program that helps low-level restaurant workers advance. Spontaneously, he asked people to raise! their paddles to sponsor an individual at $500 each, an effort that yielded enough to fund training for 18 workers.

To improve results, Reynolds puts the auction lots in strategic order. "The first few lots are wines that everyone knows, so you don't have to sing their praises. You can sell them cleanly and quickly and set the pace," says the auctioneer. "The biggest lot goes about two-thirds of the way into the auction, not at the end. Because if you sell a trip for $10,000, somebody else has mentally spent $9,500.You might as well give them something else to buy."

Early in the auction, Reynolds finds some excuse to get every guest to put his or her paddle up. Do it once, he figures, and you're less intimidated about doing it again. If you plan to attend the auction this year, consider yourself forewarned: You're in the hands | of a master at motivating people to feats of benevolence.

How to get the lot you want

After 15 years as a charity auctioneer, David Reynolds has some observations on what makes a successful bidder. If you want to go home a victor, follow these tips:

• If you're really interested in a lot, wave your paddle enthusiastically at the opening bid The auctioneer will notice you and keep coming back to you.

• To win, stay involved in the bidding Those who hold back, waiting for the action to slow, often hesitate too long "I see that so often," says Reynolds. "You think you'll get in at the last minute, but then you can't make the decision. Am I going to get into the bidding? Yes. No. Yes. No.' There is a time restraint."

• Never stop at a round number. Many people decide their limit is $1,000 or $5,000, so if you 're prepared to go one step beyond that, you'll prevail.

• For lifestyle lots that involve travel, look at the restrictions ahead of time. Make sure you're comfortable with the blackout dates or other limitations placed on the package. Some people pay a lot of money for a trip, then discover that they can t take the trip anytime they want to, says Reynolds.

• Review the catalog beforehand and put a price on every item, then bid until it reaches that point. "It's so much more fun to bid than not," says Reynolds. You may not win anything, but you'll have the thrill of trying.