THOUSAND OAKS : Collectors Hunt Bargains at Auction

Bob Redmond doesn’t sail. But he does collect art, and Sunday he couldn’t pass up a hand-signed Leroy Neiman serigraph called “America’s Cup” that went for $550 at the Somerset Auction in Thousand Oaks.

“We’re building a home on the White River in Arkansas, so we’ll pick out a nice place in the new home for it,” said the insurance agent from Agoura, who is planning an early retirement. “You can’t go wrong with a Neiman. The prices keep going up and up, so now’s a good time to buy it.”

Hundreds of buyers crowded the Goebel Community Senior Center to compete for hand-carved Victorian sofas, rare Peking glassware and more than 400 other ornate antiques that went to the highest bidders egged on by fast-talking auctioneers Mark Alman and Robert Ingraham.

The furniture, curios and art auctioned off Sunday were on consignment from Mondays, a San Jose-based decorating company. Some of the finer antiques had minimum bid requirements, but many of the pieces went to art dealers and collectors for a quarter or a third of their retail value.

Marion Reid of Newbury Park left with a handmade porcelain “Lady With Necklace” carving signed by artist Guiseppi Armani. She outbid several others and snatched it up for $130.

“If you were going to buy it in a store, it would probably go for $250,” she said. “If you don’t spend too much, (auctions) are cheap entertainment.”

Her better judgment got hold of her later, however, as she was outbid on a hand-carved Victorian-style Cheval mirror.

“You see some people overpay and you see other people get real bargains,” said Shelley Jensen, a television producer who lives in Westlake Village. “It all depends on who you’re bidding against. But a lot of times you buy stuff you don’t need.”

Jensen didn’t see anything he liked Sunday and kept his wallet in his pocket.

But Jackie Flesher, a film production assistant from Moorpark, spent $75 on a signed Furstenberg fine bone china tea service from Germany.

“It was a spur-of-the-moment thing,” she said. “But I got a really good deal. It’s worth three times what I paid.”

Susan Kelly of Thousand Oaks said she spent her grocery money on antiques.

“Wait until my husband finds out,” said Kelly, who bought two copper kettles for $275. “He doesn’t know I’m here. I’m supposed to be at the market.”