Melancthon’s Kidd Family Auctions celebrates 10 years of bidding, buying and selling

March 20, 2025 · 0 Comments

Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Going once, going twice – sold!

Kidd Family Auctions, located at 438280 4th Line in Melancthon, is celebrating 10 years of business.

“I find it hard to believe, on one hand, that this much time has elapsed. On the other hand, it feels like a while because of the things we’ve covered and the places we’ve been. It’s incredible to reach 10 years,” said Dennis Kidd, founder and owner of Kidd Family Auctions.

Coming from a family of local generational farmers, Kidd’s earliest experiences in auctioning come from his childhood.

“When I was a kid, my dad would take me along with him to the old farm auctions and I just found it fascinating. Watching and listening to the auctioneer without any clue about the business,” he recalled.

Kidd graduated from the Southwestern Ontario School of Auctioneering in 1995 and later received his CPPA designation from the Canadian Personal Property Appraisers Group (CPPAG), to offer appraisal services. In February of 2017, he was appointed as a director of the Auctioneers Association of Ontario.

For many years, Kidd worked as a contract auctioneer for other companies, until early 2015 when he formed Kidd Family Auctions with a team consisting of three generations of Kidds.

In the early days, of the business they leaned into the entertainment aspect of auctioneering, hosting in-person events for crowds of shoppers, treasure hunters, and collectors to attend. Eventually, they introduced a hybrid model with a live broadcast of the auction and after 2020 they made the switch to mostly online auctioneering.

The online switch meant that Kidd Family Auctions could open their auctions up to sell items not just nation-wide, but globally, including locations like the Czech Republic, New Zealand, France, England, Iceland, Sweden and the U.S.

“It’s pretty cool when you get to ship out of country and you think ‘how did they find us’,” said Kidd. “That specifically underlines the value of online versus live auctions for us.”

Since opening a decade ago, Kidd Family Auctions has grown from a generationally run business to a team of seven full-time employees and four part-time staff members.

The local auction company has also grown their collection of items and created specialized auctioning events around categories like Inuit Art, coins and currency, farming equipment, antique automotive and transportation pieces, and firearms.

“I could have never imagined it,” he said. “We’ve tried to evolve and raise the bar as we go.”

Some of the biggest dollar-value items Kidd Family Auctions has sold over the years include a farm for around $2 million, large farming equipment ranging between $100,000 and $150,000, a piece of artwork for $26,000, and a firearm for $18,000.

Recently, they also sold a misprinted $5 Canadian bill for $2,200.

“The thing that’s exciting with this business, is you never know what people have in their houses,” said Kidd.

As they celebrate their 10th anniversary, Kidd Family Auctions is looking ahead to the future and continues to host auctions. At the same time, they’re also reflecting on those who helped them reach the milestone.

“There are people who were with us from the beginning, who supported us and if they didn’t believe in us and trust us to work with them, we could not possibly be here. We often think about and wish we had an adequate way to recognize them,” said Kidd.

To find more information on upcoming auctions hosted by Kidd Family Auctions visit, www.kiddfamilyauctions.com.