The live auction, a process that dates back two millennia, still survives. With hundreds of billions of dollars generated a year by auctions in the United States, that's a lot of buying and selling.

Spenser Karns (center) of Blue Knob won the 2023 Rookie Auctioneer Championship gavel during the Pennsylvania State Farm Show. Karns also placed sixth in the overall contest. Karns is pictured with ...