Went to first ranch auction - surprised

[dwitt]

I am guilty of going to auctions for over 40 years. Used to be able to leave your purchases in a pile and they would be there when you got ready to go. Trust no body now- take your purchase to the truck or it will disappear. Have called the sheriff on a confused person who took my property. In Ohio auctioneer takes your name for guns. The law never sees this. Quite a loophole if you ask me.

Here in Utah the private sale of guns works like this. I can sell you a gun of mine and take as little or as much info from you as I want and am required to show no one.

 

[coralhead]

I got ticked off when I saw the auctioneers employees bidding and brought it up to the auctioneer. His response was they had a number of absentee bids with a limit. His employees were acting as agents for the absentee bidders. Still didn't sit well with me. I took the time to sit through the auction for something but they didn't have to.

That happened to me when I bought my MF 135 diesel. The bids quickly went to $2300 between an auctioneer and an employee. I made my first and only bid at $2350. 10 seconds later I was the new owner. A little surprised that $50 more would by it. I probably could have got it cheaper but was told they had a sealed bid at that amount.

 

[DieselBound]

Until I bought my Kioti (still waiting on delivery) I'd NEVER bought any vehicle NEW (except a riding mower!).

One really needs to anticipate a need and then watch. If you go to an auction chances are you already are at that NEED point; that is, you're needing whatever it is NOW. You're going to be paying "I need it NOW" prices.

I seem to be really good at discovering a value of something just as a bunch of others are! :laughing:

I just picked up a used Landpride RCR1860 for $650 (well, I paid the guy $700 because he delivered it): bought to replace a lighter duty and well used cutter. Any comparable cutter around here would be closer to $1k. Heck, I will likely be able to sell my old cutter for $600! While I was quick to pull the trigger, I'd been looking for most of this year- it wasn't an immediate need in which case I could wait it out for what I figured was a good deal (to/for me).

If time is important then one pays NOW.

Last auction I attended was when I was a kid. Dad bought a horse. The horse had been tranquilized! (while attempting to load the horse snapped a wire core lead- whoa!)

 

[varmint]

The posts pretty much express my personal experiences at auctions, as well. What makes me keep going from time to time is the fact that sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, stuff goes for pennies on the dollar. Like boxes of solid, decent tools for $5, or similar crazy deals. The seller looses, but the buyer wins.

 

[Fallon]

Several of the auctions I've been to permit employees to bid & are very open about it. I don't see a problem with it, they are open about it from the start & I haven't seen stuff show back up at the next auction (which is very shady business).

Sometimes you can snag a good deal. Being hardy & going during poor weather helps there.

As somebody said, wanting something NOW really jacks prices up. I'm usually on a bargain hunt, so can bide my time better.

 

[ultrarunner]

We had a friend that was always picking things up... most he had no intention of buying... simply too good to pass up.

Later he would sell or use it for trading...

 

[4570Man]

I go to auctions all the time. Sometimes stuff goes dirt cheap, and sometimes stuff goes above retail. I've also seen employees bidding. They usually only bid on a couple of things, and don't just and drive the price up.

 

[RPW]

Same here. I go to auctions on a semi regular basis and have seen UTV/side by sides go for almost retail price. But I was able to get mine for a very good price because there were many to be sold and the one I was interested in was towards the end and the other bidders were out of money.

 

[roadhunter]

Go to auctions that are out in the middle of nowhere. Rarely going to find a bargain if there are hundreds of thousands of people within a few hours drive of the auction. Guns always being good money at auctions but for other stuff there are deals if you are willing to travel a bit. Also look for bad weather on auction day. That is another opportunity where demand is limited by weather (people stay home) but supply stays the same.

I always laugh when I see old antique farm implements that would have good value elsewhere, sell for scrap metal prices around here. I dug a few still intact wooden spoke wheels out of a pile the other day when I was at a friends hose rummaging through his pile leftover from when scrap prices dropped. What is valuable in one area, may not be valuable elsewhere.

 

[4570Man]

My Grandpa bought bought 5 Miller industrial 375 amp welders for the grand sum of $250 at an auction. He said they sold 50 or more welders that day. The first few brought good money. By the time they got to the end everybody already had a welder, so he scored on the last 5. He got home and sold 1 for $300. He traded 1. He still has 2. And he lost one. I'm still not sure how he lost a 500 pound machine.