There are few people more passionate and enthusiastic about the world of valuing and auctioneering than Richard Worrall.

It is people like him who keep the industry going. 

Richard is the president of NAVA (National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers), which is just one of the organisations under the umbrella of Propertymark, who also oversee the NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents) and ALA (Association of Rental Letting Agents).

NAVA is a professional self-regulating body for valuers and auctioneers across all different types of auctions.

Typically, when one thinks of an auction, they would picture antiques and unusual pieces that might appear to have little use outside of being collectors’ items.

But, as Richard explains on the Gavel and Gabble podcast, in fact, auctions are far more involved in your everyday life than you might know.

Did you have any fish for dinner this week?

Chances are it has been auctioned and traded through one of the UK’s fish auctions.

Or did you fancy steak instead?

It’s likely that steak went through a livestock auction.

Auctions date back to around 500 BC, although the first auctions were not particularly forward thinking, as they were predominantly used to find or auction off wives.

The Romans then got involved, which is where the word auction comes from, deriving from the Latin word augeo meaning I increase.

Nowadays, the world of auctions is diverse and varied from agricultural auctions, lifestyle, cars, distressed goods, fine instruments, fine art and the list goes on.

And ultimately, auctions now represent the greatest recycling business in the world.

If you were to go to somewhere like IKEA and buy a chair, not only will it be a far-cry from the quality of the kind of Victorian chair that might be found at auction, but when it inevitably goes wrong or breaks, it will end up at the tip.

Whereas at auction houses, like our one here at Windsor Auctions, we can offer beautiful pieces of furniture with wonderful craftsmanship that have been passed down generations and won’t go to waste.

Richard first found himself hooked on auctions around six or seven years old when he was taken along by his grandfather and his zeal for the industry remains to this day.

And if you’re not sold on auctions yet, in Richard’s words: “There’s nothing quite like it. The gavel falls and everybody knows.

“The client knows they’ve sold it, the purchaser knows they’ve bought it, happy days.

“In a very odd world that we seem to live in at times, auctions have been around since 500 BC for a reason and that’s because people like some certainty in their lives and we give them that on a daily basis.”

To listen further to Richard’s pearls of wisdom and to find out more about his important work at NAVA, check out episode 58 of the Gavel and Gabble podcast that can be found https://tr.ee/CdA797yXk3