Hit the local auction this week, not as impressive as I thought

[sandman2234]

I bid once in pallets of autoparts...

The catch was Saturday only pickup and auction was Friday.

Arrived Saturday at 8 am gate opening and found the pallet I had bought had been pilfered...

Raised a fuss but didn't get anywhere...

I would not have paid for the pallet, unless it was a steal of a deal even with the missing stuff.
I got banned from a radio station auction once for refusing to pay for a winning bid, but when they alter what I am buying, I alter my attitude...and my wallet!
David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

Last in person auction I went to was memorable. I went with my Dad, over to Brinkley Auctions over in Idabel, OK. I needed a boxblade and they had about a dozen. I bid on the first one, quit bidding when I got to my max. Went to 2nd, 3rd, 4th and was bidding on the 5th when a guy walked up and asked me what I was doing. I told him that I was trying to buy a boxblade, and he asked how many of them I wanted. Just one was my answer. Number 6 started out at $250, and I was the only bidder. Everyone thought I was just there bidding up the price, when in reality I just wanted one boxblade and had a max for it that was less than what most of those businesses had in mind for what they would pay for them. (hey, what can I say, I'm cheap!). They should have let me have one of the earlier ones, it would have saved them a bunch of money!
Know your competition! Know your max bid.
David from jax

 

[Tomtint]

last one i went to was in November, Went looking for a asphalt roller. They had 6 or 7 go through, all different sizes, I was looking at a 3ton vibratory unit which they had 2 of. Both Cats and both in the 5K hour range and clearly used and abused. They went up to 5800 plus the 10% plus sales tax etc. Neither one would start at the time and IMO..That number was nuts. Similar with the others that went through.

 

[BackRoad]

One more story! I bid on a mystery pallet...3 or 4 boxes of old parts and misc old hand tools. There were a couple of wrenches I wanted in them. Won it for $8, they chalked my number on the boxes.

Went later to pick it up after I paid. It was gone. Driving out, pure luck, I happened to see the boxes with my bid # in the back of another pickup.

Jumped out, put 'em in my truck, took a photo of the thieving clown' s tag and left. I've seen his truck since at other local auctions...I'll eventually find out who he is...!

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Both of those minis at the auction ended up coming in right at the FB Marketplace minimum I have seen for these machines. About $4300 after taxes and fees for the non-cab and $4700 for the cabbed one. They were both pretty rusty from sitting outside and the cabbed mini was missing it's front window. So definitely not an amazing deal by any means.
The box blade I was looking at ended at $700 after taxes and fee, that was DEFINITELY not a good deal for a 5' weather worn box blade.

 

[geteh]

By hit I mean, looked at the catalog online and bid online. I was not as impressed by the deals as I was hoping. I won on 2 things; a small water pump that is powered by a weed eater sized engine and 3 rolls of that thick cardboard floor protectant. The pump, not a banging deal but decent if it works without tons of work. I made the mistake of not recognizing that it was at their other yard and hour and 20 mins up the road, which makes it even less of a deal. The floor protectant was a pretty good deal, 3 rolls for $55 BEFORE all their BS fees, so still about 60% off retail. All in all the experience was a bit underwhelming. They nickel and dime you to death with all of their fees (13% for commission, 3% for credit cards, $X for transfer fees) and setting up pickup times, etc. I am sure my story would have been a lot different if I got a smokin' deal on exactly what I was looking for.

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I've had similar experiences—some decent deals, but the fees and logistics can take the shine off. It's only worth it if you get exactly what you need at a great price. Otherwise, the hassle often outweighs the savings.