Dean V. Kruse (born 1941) is an American former auctioneer. He is also the former owner and CEO of

Kruse International Kruse International was an auction firm founded by Russell Kruse in Auburn, Indiana, in 1952. The company began as a local auction company selling real estate, farms and personal property run by Kruse and his sons Dean, Dennis and Daniel. The compa ...

. Kruse started working in the local auction business founded by his father, Russell W. Kruse, and soon became the company's president. Known to many as the "Dean of Auctioneers," Kruse was once a well-respected member of the collector car hobby. A 1957 graduate of the Reppert School of Auctioneering in

Decatur, Indiana Decatur is a city in Root Township, Adams County, Indiana, Root and Washington Township, Adams County, Indiana, Washington townships, Adams County, Indiana, Adams County, Indiana, United States. It is the county seat (and the largest community ...

, Kruse cried his 5,000th auction in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

in 1987, and is reportedly one of the youngest men to even attain that goal. Kruse is a former

Indiana State Senator The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...

. He was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

at the age of 25, in an election that maintained party control over that body, and served from 1966 to 1970. He is a past president of the Indiana Auctioneer's Association, and was elected as a member of their hall of fame, along with his father Russell and brother

Dennis Kruse Dennis K. Kruse (born October 7, 1946) is an American businessman and politician. Kruse was a founder of the auction business Kruse International before entered politics as a Republican. He was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives fr ...

. Dean was responsible for negotiating the purchase of his auction company in 1999 by online auctioneer

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

which paid $275 million for Kruse International and

Billpoint Billpoint was the name of a person-to-person money transfer service founded in 1998, and purchased in 1999 by online auctioneer eBay. History Billpoint was founded in 1998 by S. Young Lee, Hope Chen, Will Chen, Jason May, Ian Flint and Jay She ...

. The company was purchased back from eBay by Dean Kruse in 2002. Kruse used part of the money he received from eBay to start two museums in Auburn; the World War II Victory Museum and the Kruse Automotive Horse Power and Carriage Museum. On May 25, 2010, the Indiana Auctioneer Commission suspended Kruse's auctioneer's license for two years and permanently revoked the license of his company, Kruse, Inc., after receiving complaints that he had been failing to pay those who sold items through his auctions."Indiana Auctioneer Commission Revokes Kruse Inc.'s License" ''WANE.com'', May 25, 2010

References

External links

Kruse InternationalWorld War II Victory MuseumKruse Automotive Horse Power and Carriage Museum
Indiana state senators Living people 1941 births People from Auburn, Indiana American auctioneers 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1940s-stub