With a 47-year sales resumé that’s included everything from Victoria Cross medals to celebrity memorabilia, Bud Haynes and Co. Auctioneers Ltd. has attracted plenty of attention to Red Deer. But Canada’s oldest firearms auction house will soon be conducting its sales in Edmonton.
Bud Haynes and Co. is merging with Ward’s Auctions in a deal that will see future sales conducted at Ward’s facilities in Edmonton. Company president Linda Baggaley confirmed that her business’s Sept. 10 auction will be its last in Red Deer.
“It’ll be Ward’s and Bud Haynes Firearms Auctions basically,” she said. “We’re just working out the final details.”
Baggaley, who owns Bud Haynes and Co. with her husband Jim, said they will retain their company and Ward’s Auctions president Brad Ward will keep his. In essence, she explained, the two auction marts will combine their sales operations.
“We’ll each have our own office.”
In the case of Bud Haynes and Co., that office will be in Red Deer, where the Baggaleys will continue to reside. They’ll also appraise firearms and antiques here, and accept consignment items for sale in Edmonton.
Although Bud Haynes and Co. and Ward’s Auctions have both sold a broad range of goods, the former has developed an international reputation as a firearms specialist.
“It’s such an unusual business, there’s been very few people in it,” said Baggaley. “It’s very specialized.”
Ward’s is best know for antique sales, an area in which Bud Haynes and Co. is also experienced.
The merger will allow both companies to move to the next level, said Baggaley. Ward’s has a larger, more modern sales area, and is set up for online bidding.
That means prospective buyers from around the world can participate in live sales.
“That’s going to be really neat,” said Baggaley.
She added that sales staff can also travel to the consigned goods and conduct an auction from there.
“We will have the ability to mobilize.”
Bud Haynes and Co. Auctioneers was founded in 1966 by Baggaley’s parents, Bud and Dot Haynes. Both continue to do some auctioneering, although Baggaley and Ward will do the bulk of the selling in Edmonton.
The connection between the Haynes and Ward families go back decades, with Bud and Dot teaching Ward’s mother at auctioneering school, and Baggaley doing the same with Ward.
“We’ve been working on this deal, actually for about a year and a half, almost two years,” said Baggaley.
The first firearms auction of the merged entity will take place Oct. 26 in Edmonton.
She and Jim didn’t want to announce the merger until they sold much of their business premises at 7429 49th Ave.
That bay has been acquired by DSW Manufacturing of Red Deer, which fabricates aluminum cabinets, trailer accessories and other products. Owner Dean Oster said he expects to relocate from DSW Manufacturing existing space by the end of November.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com