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Kittelty’s Auction commenced operations on the 1st January 1987. The principal Auctioneer, Geoff Kittelty was first licensed on the 7th of March 1961 as an Auctioneer at Geelong wool sales. Geoff has since sold at Melbourne, Portland, Albury and Hobart wool centres. Some of the things Auctioned by Geoff in that time include Wool, Real Estate, Hides, Tobacco and Antiques.
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During the mid 1970’s Geoff opened a Second Hand Furniture and Antiques Shop in Portland Victoria and commenced monthly Auctions which continued into the early 1980’s.
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On the 1st of January 1987, Geoff with his wife Jan purchased an existing business known as Howard’s Auctions (formally Mid Western Auctions) and since that time Kittelty’s Auction Rooms has held regular Antiques & Collectables Auctions and General Household Auctions.
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On the 14th Of August 1990 Dean Kittelty, Geoff's son commenced working within the business and soon after gained his Auctioneers Licence. The Auctioneering duties are divided up between the two.
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On the 1st of January 1997 Kittelty’s Auction Rooms changed its method of charging commission. A buyers premium was introduced and thus the vendors commission was reduced. Commission rates are 10% Commission to the Vendor and 10% Buyers Premium to the Buyer.
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Whilst most goods sold at Kittelty’s Auction Rooms are sourced from the wider Ballaarat area about 80% of these goods are sold to buyers from outside the Ballaarat district. Kittelty’s Auction Rooms maintains a mailing list of collectors and dealers from all over Australia
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During 1997 - 1998 - 1999 Dean still maintained a full time role within the business and managed to complete a degree course at Ballaarat University gaining a Bachelor of Computing. In December 1999 Dean left the family business and worked in Geelong and Melbourne within the financial and stockbroking industry writing software applications for financial planners and stockbrokers.
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Dean Kittelty still worked at all Antique Auctions sharing the Auctioneering role with Geoff.
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In June 2000 the building at 56 Main Road Ballaarat was sold and after a well earned holiday Kittelty's Auction Rooms moved to a larger premises at 109 Main Road Ballaarat where Antiques & Collectables Auctions as well as General Household Furniture Auctions are held regularly.
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On the 1st of July 2000 The GST was introduced and a new software package written by Dean was installed and revolutionised the calculation of commissions and the GST. This software package has since been sold to several Auction Rooms throughout Victoria. Buyers Premium became 11%, Commission became 11% and the handling fee became 55 cents. All charges and fees are GST inclusive.
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On the 1st of July 2002 Kittelty's Auction Rooms was passed from father to son. The ownership of the business went from Geoff and Jan to Dean and Lisa. The beauty of this hand over was that the only thing to change was the quality of the coffee served at morning tea. Life is too short for instant coffee.
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The same high standards set by Geoff are still enforced by Dean (albeit maybe with a firm hand from father). There were but a few rules enforced with the changeover. Paperwork comes before sleep. Payment of vendors is on time and comes before ANYTHING.
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2004 saw many changes the most important was on the 19th of June with the arrival of Archie Geoffrey Shalders Kittelty. Archie made his auction debut guarding the cash box in the office at a general household auction on the 30th of June. Archie's auctioneering apprenticeship has already begun and we are looking forward to his arrival to the rostrum some time mid 2020.
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2005 will see the first change in commissions and charges since July 2000. The handling fee will be raised from 55 cents to $1.10. Kittelty's Auction Rooms remains one of the most competitive auction rooms in Victoria with most metropolitan businesses charging in excess of 15%
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In January 2006 Kittelty's Auction Rooms moved to the new location at the Sunnyside Mill in Humffray St Sth Ballaarat. The move was as a result of the Main Road building undergoing redevelopment. The Sunnyside Mill is an enormous building with over 800 square metres of open plan space surrounded by brick walls which give a wonderful perspective for the antiques. The luxury of car parking space for nearly 500 cars is an obvious bonus.
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Geoff's legacy is still evident in every part of the business and the current success of the business is based on 10% on Dean 's hard work and 90% on the business rules and code of ethics that Geoff (sometimes with an iron fist) enforced over many years.
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2008 saw Julia Kittelty join the family firm as one of half a dozen floor workers during antique auctions. Julia made the display of jewellery her own over the coming auctions.
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2010 has seen us move to yet another location at 5-7 Victoria Street Sebastopol. We have in excess of 1200 square metres of space and look forward to filling it. Our Humffray St Sth location whilst having a good land lord and it being a fantastic and historic building had many problems none the least of which was a leaky roof and having Rivers as neighbours!!!
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Our new location has delivered many changes including only our second increase in costs in more than twenty years of operating. Our handling fee has increased from $1.10 to $2.20; This was a decision not easily taken but cushioned by the fact that we still offer a discount in excess of 20% in commissions and buyer's premiums to our nearest city cousins. We are still maintaining ZERO % credit card fees which places us in a remarkably small group within our industry.
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2010 saw the next member of the Kittelty clan join the business in Lily Kittelty starting on floor. In no time at all both Julia and Lily had been stepped into the role of penciler for the auctioneer which is a role of great responsibility which both have revelled. To have Julia or Lily next to me working whilst auctioneering has been the most enjoyable experience of my twenty plus years in the job.
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As of the 22nd of August 2011 the commission rate and buyer's premium increase for the first time in the history of the business. Vendor's Commission and Buyer's Premium were rasied to 13.2% The unheralded increased cost of wages left us with no choice other than to pass on a portion of these costs. We are somewhat content in the knowledge however that we are still more than 20% under the rates offered by our city cousins.
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