About
Thirty five years of knowing what things are worth
Dorshorst Auctions is a full service auction house in downtown Deerfield, Wisconsin, run by Marv Dorshorst, Registered Wisconsin Auctioneer #344.
We sell online, from a climate controlled auction building on Main Street and from estates where the items already sit. Whether a sale runs from our building or from a farmhouse across the county, the bidding itself happens online, which puts a Wisconsin estate in front of collectors anywhere in the country.
Holding an auction is a practical way to downsize, settle an estate, and turn a lifetime of accumulation into a single clean transaction. Whether you are bidding or just looking, you will rarely leave without learning something about local history, and without a first hand look at what has been sitting in the barns, homes, and storage units around Dane County.
Experienced auction staff work alongside Marv to keep sales running properly. We use computerized bidder registration and cashiering, so settlement is fast, accurate, and documented.
What we sell
Estate, household, antique, and farm auctions. In practice that means model trains and railroadiana, coins and currency, tools both cordless and century old, pottery and stoneware, advertising and breweriana, Western wear, signed Wisconsin prints, and the furniture and household goods that come with a full estate.
Where to find us
The auction building is at 113 N Main St., Deerfield, WI 53531, in downtown Deerfield, roughly 15 minutes east of Madison. Previews are by appointment. Call (608) 628-1631 to arrange one.

- Auctioneer
- Marv Dorshorst
- License
- Registered Wisconsin Auctioneer #344
- Completed sales
- 70
- Lots listed
- 31,661
Why an auction
What an auction does that a private sale cannot
- Efficiency
- One process, one timeline. We handle registration, cataloging, marketing, and payment, so a houseful becomes a settled account in weeks rather than months of listings and no-shows.
- Reach
- Online bidding puts your items in front of collectors well beyond Dane County. A model train or a signed Wisconsin print finds the person who has been hunting for it.
- Competition
- Two interested bidders set a price that no fixed sticker ever would. The competitive format is what separates auction returns from a garage sale.
- No sorting required
- Do not throw anything away before we look. The items people assume are worthless are often the ones that draw the most attention.