Auction prices

[goodoleboy]

Went to an auction found a 1981 compact utility tractor Ford model 1210 16 hp 3 cyl diesel, 4wd AND NO ATTACHMENTS and had a broken hour meter that read 26 hours. The Turf Tires had about 25% left and a crack in the gas tank was discovered. The machine had some wear and looked on a scale of 1-10 a 5-6.
I found the recipt in the guys garage before the auction and it showed he paid $4100 for new in 1981.
Guess what it sold for? $4250!
I was shocked it did not even include the belly mower which was included on the purchase price of the mower in 1981.

Well the old fella that bought it has it for sale in the local classified ads for $5000. I wonder if he will get that for it?

Seems kinda high to me i was expecting it to go for $2500 or so but i never been to an auction so i am a novice.

Your thoughts and experiences at auctions please...

 

[RichZ]

I go to lots of farm auctions, and I have bought about half my farm equipment at them, including one of my tractors. Auction prices can be quite variable, from great bargins to much more than retail. It all depends on how knowledgable the bidders are, and how badly they want something. Some people think that anything at an auction is cheap, so they'll spend wildly. Or you can get two guys who want something really bad, and they will pay anything for it, so that piece will go high. But if you go to farm auctions, and you know prices, and you're willing to put some time into the auctions you can get great buys. In my case, my wife and I are starting up a farm on a very limited budget, so at first, when we were first starting out, we'd spend as much time as neccessary, and we'd go to just about any farm auction within about 2 hours drive. Now that we have most of the equipment we need, and we have lots of livestock to take care of, we don't put so much time into auctions, but from experience we know some that you can ALWAYS find bargins at, and we still go to those.

 

[SPIKER]

Yep:
some days it is just plain filled with stupid and or uneducated buyers:

this weekend, auction I was at yesterday was a NEW 29 hrs JD 790 with FEL & Cab: auction sold was 10,800. pretty good deal, not even any scratches in the FEL

yet the OLD 3~5yrs old KK 5 ' brush hog about 1/2 used went for 525!.00 could have went to TSC bought same one for that price!!! same for 2 btm plow. 325.00 used and in fair cond... that was 3pt. he pull behinds were 120 each. go figure. some people WANT soemthings and well others are just not smart enough to know better than to get caught up in a bidding war.

Mark m /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Inspector507]

Yeah I've seen some wierd prices on things. I usually go to an auction every Saturday. Haven't been the past few weeks tho, other comittments. At one, which was a closing dealer who used to sell Farm Pro (Homier) along with name brand, they sold a tiller for $200 more than retail, a box blade for $80 more that retail, and a rough cut mower for $250 more than retail.........A $39 Harbor Freight winch go for $65
Go figure

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

I used to go to auctions for a living. I only average two or three a week now. I agree with you that there can be some interesting prices found at each and every one.

I've probably been on each side of those as both a buyer and a seller, too. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[DK45C_Dave]

More often than you would think the high prices are a gift from the sellers good friends and neighbors to help add a boost to the sellers retirement. The buyers are not ignorant or stupid, just generous.

 

[California]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Your thoughts and experiences at auctions please... )</font>

For government surplus auctions, I decided the deck is stacked so the buyer almost never gets a bargain. See this post.

 

[SPIKER]

I seem to get some pretty good deals at LOCAL CITY auctions, usually on ex-police cars ect. many times though the JUNK cars go for more than the running ones! lol.

last year I got 93 Crown Vic with 35K (yes 35K not 135,000 miles) grand total $652.62 interior is all plane jane with rubber floor mats ect, paint was the killer I call it my "PIMPMOBILE" It was the county drug / undercover car, painted purple and pink pin stripped! lol hey it runs like stink though! 4.6 ltr with all the police goodies!

I went to A LOT of GSA auctions when I was active duty military, when in CA the prices for stuff was dirt cheap, and I could have made tons of $ buying and taking it to a scrap yard. in KS it was just the opposite... geography is killer in the auction world, places where people have $ things that are pretty good usually goes pretty cheap, in areas where cost of living is high and wages are low then things usually go higher...

definately need a GOOD note book for prices for items you want/need. b Get there early and look things over then make a judgement call on items you want how much is it worth, how much can you buy it for NEW (if possable) ect. Check E-Bay for similar items, if possable for prices and such. then factor in the unknowns for the purchace and make you call as to what you would be willing to pay, then STICK TO IT< and don't get caught up in the bidding...>

Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[8NTX]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I used to go to auctions for a living. I only average two or three a week now. I agree with you that there can be some interesting prices found at each and every one.

I've probably been on each side of those as both a buyer and a seller, too. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

)</font>

Gary, I'm thinking of doing that when I go into semi-retirement in a couple of years. I've done some of it in the past. In fact, I loved going to auctions so much that I even got my auctioneer's license. Still have it. But the last REALLY good auction I attended, with fantastic prices, etc., was an auction that I actually called bids at, when I was in auctioneer's school back in 1995. It was the closure of a state school for the mentally retarded. It seems that Texas is not a great state for bargains anymore. So there are good ones up your way?