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I’ve written about the Ritchies Discovery Sale before but never really provided a guide for how to make the most of what is surely one of Toronto’s best value auctions.

Discovery Sales typically happen once or twice a month and there’s a bumper crop of summer sales beginning Tuesday (July 14, 27 & 28 and August 11 and 25). They’re fun, casual affairs attended mainly by dealers because they’re held mid-week during office hours (10 am ’till around 2 pm). There’s no online teaser — the only way to find out what’s up for grabs is to attend the preview the day before (this Monday 2 – 7 pm); I typically go directly from the office just to see what’s on offer.

The first order of business is to pick up the list of lots, which contains a very brief description of the goods but no estimates. Now, you can tour the floor to see if anything strikes your fancy; be sure to examine the glass shelves and cabinets for the smalls and have a good look at the art on the walls. In the centre of the room will be a table laden with “tray lots” of mixed wares and china, and beneath that the “box lots” of assorted odds and ends.

If something piques your interest, the next thing to do is figure out what time it’s likely to come under the hammer. The Discovery Sale moves quickly, typically about 100 lots per hour, so if the auction starts at 10 and you’ve got your eye on lot No. 257, you’ll need to be at Ritchies at around 12:30 pm, although I’d never cut it that close — it’s heartbreaking to arrive just minutes after the thing you wanted was sold for a song. I learned that lesson the hard way. Also, in order to bid you must register for the sale, so factor a couple of extra minutes into your plan.

There’s really no telling what you’ll find at a Discovery Sale; the furnishings tend toward the traditional but I’ve seen decent mid-century pieces, too. What is a sure thing is that bargains will be had. Bidding usually starts at $5 or $10 — remember those blanc de chine figures I scored last month for a tenner?

At the May sale I picked up a box lot of lamps just because one of them was an amazing match to the base of our dining table, below left. I paid $45 for the lot containing 6 lamps, a couple of shades and a small candle holder: tack on the obligatory 20 per cent buyer’s premium and the provincial and federal sales taxes and my total was $61. I was sure I could sell a few of them on Craigslist to recoup my investment and still come out with a couple of lamps.

Then at the June 23 Discovery Sale I scored a lot of 10 lampshades for just $5, many of which I was certain had come off the lamps I’d bought the previous month because they were so well matched. If you see some lamps on Craigslist next week with a seller in Bloor West, you’ll know where they came from.