Auctions | High-tech high life on the block

William H. Bunch Auctions and Appraisals in Chadds Ford will offer a portrait of today's good life in all its high-tech, brand-name luxury. The sale, which begins at noon on Tuesday, will feature the complete contents of a five-bedroom, 6,000-square-foot home in Kennett Square.

A catalog session, beginning at 5 p.m. and carried live on eBay, will offer 180 of the top lots, many of which would have been incomprehensible to our grandparents. Most of the items should sell for three-figure prices, according to online presale estimates.

The house contained three rear-projection flat-screen TVs, two of them 2003 Toshiba 65H83 64-inch theater-wide models expected to bring $400 to $600 each. The third TV, a Toshiba 65H83 50-inch model with a Panasonic SAHT70 DVD home-theater sound system, is expected to sell for $600 to $800.

The extensive array of sports and fitness equipment the house contained will be offered on eBay, too. The gear includes a roughly 4-by-7-foot Sportcraft air-hockey game with a presale estimate of $100 to $200; a Sportcraft Bank Shot basketball game ($200 to $400); a Precor Polar 3312 treadmill ($300 to $500); a Schwinn Airdyne Windrigger rowing machine ($200 to $400); a Soloflex weight bench ($50 to $100); a Parabody 425 universal gym ($400 to $800); and a 7 1/2-by-9-foot Sundance Spa Maxuus hot tub with radio/CD and built-in speakers that is expected to sell for $2,000 to $3,000.

For your dining pleasure, there's a stainless-steel Nexgrill Pro series gas grill with side burner ($200 to $400) and a Samsung side-by-side refrigerator with ice maker and water dispenser ($400 to $600). And for the kids, there's a child's electric chopper expected to go for $50 to $100 and a Rainbow Playsystems swing set, slide and playhouse with a presale estimate of $1,000 to $2,000.

To be sure, the house did have a couple of amenities our grandparents would have appreciated. A 4-by-7-foot Brunswick slate-top pool table with cue rack, eight cues, bridge, balls, triangle rack, and chalk is expected to sell for $800 to $1,200. And a black lacquer 68-inch case-length Kohler & Campbell grand piano with matching bench is expected to bring $4,000 to $6,000.

The sale will start in the Bunch warehouse with box lots, followed by about 100 lots of jewelry. The Kennett Square furnishings not being offered in the 5 p.m. eBay session will be sold starting at 2 p.m. in a session that also is cataloged. (View photos at www.williambunchauctions.com.)

Preview is 2 to 6 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. to sale time Tuesday at the gallery, 1 Hillman Dr., just south of the junction of Routes 1 and 202. For more information, call 610-558-1800.

Beer memorabilia and dolls. Less state-of-the-art delights will be offered tomorrow by Dotta Auction Co. at a sale beginning at 10 a.m. at the Nazareth Auction Center, about 10 miles north of Bethlehem on Route 512, that features a vast quantity of beer/advertising memorabilia and an even vaster quantity of antique and collectible dolls.

Richard Dotta is calling it a "discovery" auction - for himself as well as for bidders - because he has not yet unpacked all the goods. "We've only scratched the surface," he said early this week.

The more than 400 pieces of beer/advertising memorabilia, including trays, taps, neon signs and mirrors, come from two local tavern owners who began collecting the items decades ago. Most will probably sell for two-figure prices.

So far, the most unusual item is a Coors guitar.

The dolls come from the estate of a New Jersey collector, Dotta said. "We're going to bring out as much as we can," he added, estimating that the sale will dispose of about 25 percent of the collection.

That's 4,000 dolls.

Preview is 2 to 7 p.m. today and 8:30 a.m. to sale time tomorrow at the auction center, 330 W. Moorestown Rd. (Route 512). Information: 610-759-7389 or www.dottaauction.com.