I was fourteen when my Uncle Payton (whom everyone affectionately called 'the Professor'

because of his long career teaching photography at Kodak) first took me to the Saturday

morning farm auction in Dansville, New York. I'll never forget walking into that weathered

airplane hanger, the rapid-fire chant of the auctioneer echoing off the beams, and the electric

energy of bidders competing for everything from antique plows to prize harvesters. The smell

of the hot dogs cooking on the grill and the buyers making side deals in the corners. This was

long before online auctions so you had to be there to win, and boy was my uncle ready.vi Introduction

"Watch this, Jude," the Professor whispered, his eyes twinkling as he nodded toward a well-

maintained bright green wood chipper that had caught his attention. Within minutes, I

watched him transform from my quiet, reserved uncle into a strategic competitor, reading the

room, timing his bids, and ultimately winning a piece of equipment that would transform his

weekend cottage into his favorite 4th Of July BBQ pit. The very place I am writing this intro-

duction now.

That day changed everything for me, because for the first time in my life I understood what it was to be

a negotiator and how it felt to use hard earned income to actually buy something big.

I was mesmerized by the razzle-dazzle of it all; the skilled auctioneer who could read a crowd

and coax higher bids with just the right combination of charm and pressure, the dealers who

knew value when they saw it, the families discovering treasures they never knew they needed.

There was something magical about this world where expertise met opportunity, where a

retiring farmer's equipment could find its way to a young entrepreneur just starting out, where