Salary
Average Salary: $46,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $1,920,408
The pay range is pretty wide, starting at $24,700 and swelling to $82,800. Most auctioneers clock in at $46k. The highest average salaries are found in New York, where auctioneers make an average of $55k. Yearly salaries are lower in the Midwest, where salaries drop to under $40k.
Auctioneers get paid in lots of ways. Here are a few:
Commission: Lots of auctioneers (especially freelancers) work on commission, so their take depends on items going for big bucks. If you get 15% commission, an auction which closes with $40,000 will get you $6,000. However, it depends on what you're selling, so you might be at the mercy of whoever wants to buy that three-legged horse.
Salary: Alright, a steady paycheck! (As long as you don't get fired.)
Flat rate/hourly rate: You get a pre-arranged amount, regardless of the proceeds.
Buyer's Premium: When someone buys an item, they are charged an extra percentage on top of the winning bid, called the "Buyer's Premium." If an item is sold at $100, a 10% buyer's premium will raise the final price to $110. It works sort of like a tax, to cover the cost of advertising, setup fees, and other auctioneer expenses. This is hotly debated amongst the auction community—some view it as an unfair addition which scares off bidders, and others see it as a way to protect the seller from auction costs that would otherwise trickle down to them.