Auctions

[MF1455v]

Alan, here is the link to Bob Mitchell Auctions Harvey talked about. Also just south of Howe TX on US75 is Southwest Auction Co. . There auction is the 2nd Wednesday of every month and is mostly farm equip. I've never been but have herd some good feed back about the place.

 

[aardvark]

The only things to be carefull with at auctions, is as one person above mentioned, many people will bid things up higher than you can just go buy it for new or used. It seems that people think it must be a good price because it's an auction. Or perhaps this is an urban thing, given that I really don't live in the country, I sort of live at the edge of a large city (West Palm Beach, FL).

Also, many times you go to an auction the owner of the item you are bidding on will be there shill bidding thier own item up in price. A year ago I was at an equipment auction and I was bidding on a 60" Scag walk behind. There was another guy who outbid me at $350, as I only bid $300. The Scag needed a bunch of hydraulic work and was pretty crummy looking in general. Later the winning bidder came to me and asked if I wanted t buy it for the $350 because he didn't think he wanted it. I said no thanks, so he then offered it to me for the $300 I bid, which I thought was really odd, but I had bought some other stuff and decided I no longer was interested in the Scag. Later when I was leaving my friend said he had overheard the winning bidder speaking another guy about running the Scag in the next auction, and the the other guy had made a comment that he had to know when to stop bidding on his own items otherwise he would never sell it. To me, this seems like fraud, but apparently it's legal, who knows?

 

[Richard]

Another concern for auctions are shills.

During the auction (farm stuff, so was a "moving" auction where the crowd moved from area to area) I kept noticing some of the workers yelling and pointing when they had a bidder.

Later in the auction, my location to them had moved and I had a different vantage point. I realized they were pointing to NOBODY. They were just faking it and trying to drive the bid up. I decided at that moment that there was NOTHING I was going to bid on because I didn't trust them at all after seeing that.

Never been back there and have no plans to either. Of course, this is NOT to say/imply that all are untrustworthy... just that you need a plan, stick with the plan and don't let the excitement of the moment (because it's perhaps fabricated) get the better of you.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

I am going to my first auction ever on Saturday /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. I hope to pick up a lawn tractor snow plow. I know I do not want to spend more then $25. Other the cost for the item do you have to pay anything to the people who are running the auction? Do you have to register before, does it cost anything to register? I assume you check out what you are interested in and then stand around for that item to come up? Any other advise other then what is above??

 

[aardvark]

Normally there is a buyers fee added to the final auction price. Most of the local auctions use a 10% buyer fee. You normally have to register before the auction, and it's often free, but it depends on who is running the auction more than anything else. You are correct in the process of standing around. If it's sunny take a hat, as most of the time there's no shade at all.

Good luck.

 

[PineRidge]

If you don't want to buy an item that you are watching being auctioned don't scratch your head and don't ask me how I know that.

 

[ScottAR]

If your getting somthing heavy requiring machine loading, sometimes there's a loading fee. Most private auctions are free load, Our local FFA has one every year and they have a $5 load fee. Since it goes to the kids, no one seems to mind.

A side note, Watch out for the ringmen!! If your not in the bid circle, it's a show, if your bidding, they will try to get inside your head... "Come on, he's about done" "One more and you got it"
"You got em" on and on.... NEVER underestimate a good ringman...

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Most auctions want you to register. And if it's for large items they want a letter of guarantee from your bank if you're paying by check.

Some of them demand a deposit up front of a couple of hundred dollars that's fully refundable if you don't bid on anything.

This keeps people from bidding on something and then skipping before it's time to pony up.

One of my bargains involved playing the game and changing the rules. I'd watched item after item at this blacksmith auction go for more than I was willing to pay. It worked like this. They'd start off asking four hundred dollars, a reasonable price.

No one would bite so they'd come down to three, then two, and then finally start it off at fifty dollars to bid. Time after time the fever would hit and it'd go for six or seven hundred dollars, not a bargain.

So when we moved over to a punch press that I wanted he asked who'd give him two hundred. I looked him in the eye and showed three fingers up. I got it for three hundred straight up. No one else ventured in. I figured it was like boiling frogs.

Allegedly if you toss a frog into boiling water it'll jump out. But if you place it in cool water and then slowly heat the water you'll be able to eventually boil it because it'll never realize when it's too hot.

As much as I like fried frog legs I've never personally tried this. But it makes sense. Some people I've met who are awful froggy come across like they need to be boiled alive.

At this same auction I watched a Black and Decker chop saw go for more than what I paid for the punch press. And the chop saw was obviously inoperable. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

So buyer be aware. And know the value of what you're bidding on and whatever you do, don't allow you're desire to win make you a loser.

 

[Indydirtfarmer]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Normally there is a buyers fee added to the final auction price. Most of the local auctions use a 10% buyer fee. You normally have to register before the auction, and it's often free, but it depends on who is running the auction more than anything else. You are correct in the process of standing around. If it's sunny take a hat, as most of the time there's no shade at all.)</font>

The "buyers premium" is a recent addition to auction life... It's become a standard operating proceedure of late, but I don't have to like it..... It's just a scam to make you THINK you're buying something cheaper than you really are... In "THE OLD DAYS", auctioneers just charged a commisssion on their sale total, and the bidder bought at the price he bid in. That was good enough for years. Now we have to "do the math" while bidding on something. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I TRY to walk through everything at an auction before hand, and set a price in my mind on what I'll pay for anything I'm interested in. Figure in "buyers premium", tax and the cost of hauling.... I also NEVER go to an auction with the INTENT on taking a particular item home with me. That is the fastest way I know of to end up paying too much. If it sells cheap, fine, but don't "get personal" with anything. If I've learned one thing (at auctions), it's wait long enough, and the same item will appear at another auction, on another date. I don't HAVE to have anything right now..... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

And I never make an opening bid. Let someone else start the ball rolling. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

If there's a "feeding frenzy" of bidders, let them settle it amongst themselves before getting into the fray. See who the "serious bidders" are, then, and only then, do I start to bid. And that's only IF the item is still under my target price. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Auctions become a game to some people. They'll bid against someone else merely out of competitive spirit, rather than buying at a bargain price. Let 'em go when that starts..... /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I started going to auctions with my father when I was a young boy. They are still essentially the same "game" that they've always been. There are bargains to be had, and there are GIANT RIP-OFFS to be had too. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Good luck.

 

[Bird]

Yep, auctions can be lots of fun. For about 5 years, part of my responsibilites included the police auto pound in Dallas, and we had an auction of unclaimed vehicles every Monday morning (unless it was a holiday and then the auction was on Tuesday). I sold an average of 135 vehicles a week at those auctions; mostly wrecks, of course, that sold to salvage yards. And in 5 years, I can only recall two vehicles that sold for less than I would have paid for them myself. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif One was a recovered stolen, and undamaged, Kubota diesel riding mower with less than 10 hours on the meter. At that time, retail was $4,000 and it sold to one of our regulars for $1,800. The other was a bobtail (moving van type) International truck, in good running condition, that sold for $1,100.