Sickle Bar Price $$

[flusher]

Flusher,

I assume when you speak of farm equipment auctions you are refering to Ebay equipment auctions.

Farm equipment auctions are one of the best place to find equipment. I have been buying and selling farm equipment at auction for years.

All you need to do is look at the advertisement for the auction and if you see something you like call the auctioneer and arrange a time to look at the equipment. But first do a check on a place like here or other online pricing guides to see what similar eqiipment sell for at auction or at a dealer in your local area. Once you determine you can afford the equipment go see it and look it over. Always avoid recently painted equipment at auction. Paint can cover up many dollars of problems. Also come up with a price under retail so you can do Isome repair if necessary. I would say never spend more than 90% of retail and many times less all according to the avalibility of the equipment you are looking at in your area. Then set a limit and go bid. If you win the bid you get the equipment at a price you want to pay if not just keep looking. At auction prices are normally many dollars less than retail.

So what wrong with an equipment auction?

Don Worrell
Auctioneer

I try to be as diligent as you are when eyeballing stuff at the local farm equipment auctions. It's the other guys who are bidding against you without doing their homework and running up the price beyond what's reasonable. That's my beef.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Over the last 40+ years, I've bought all sorts of equipment at auctions. Most was bought to re-sell, some bought to use. Auctions CAN be a great source for bargains. They can be a great place to get taken to the cleaners too. I'm especially leary of items at consignment sales. Not a hard and fast rule, but a good generalization, they're where folks get shed of their junk. Stuff that is tough to sell outright, or not interesting to dealers as trade-in material seems to end up at consignment sales more often than not. Estate sales USUALLY see better stuff, but not ALWAYS. The best advice I can give is, KNOW WHAT YOU"RE LOOKING AT. Nothing like experience. Years of buying and selling has given me a little insight into what worn out junk looks like, and what lightly used/gently used equipment looks like. I TRY not to invest full value into even GOOD equipment, and VERY little in stuff that'll need a lot of repairs/parts.

All things equal, I LOVE auctions! Going to a good one saturday!

 

[AKfish]

All things equal, I LOVE auctions! Going to a good one saturday!

Lucky you!!! I sure miss goin' to auctions - not much of that action up here! Have a hot dog for me..

AKfish

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Lucky you!!! I sure miss goin' to auctions - not much of that action up here! Have a hot dog for me..

AKfish

It's a 4H fundraiser auction. (10% of every item sold, plus 1/2 auctioneers fee goes to 4H)

4H'ers and local FFA chapters get together and do the consessions. BBQ, burgers, pork chop sammich's, and all sorts of cakes and pies. Anyone who goes to this sale aughtta go home with a truck load of plunder and a full belly. I plan on doing both!

 

[DonWorrell]

I try to be as diligent as you are when eyeballing stuff at the local farm equipment auctions. It's the other guys who are bidding against you without doing their homework and running up the price beyond what's reasonable. That's my beef.

I never said folks don't go overboard on things at auctions. If they didn't I wouldn't sell things as much as I do at auction. But if you do your homework you will almost never get burned. Sure you might not have the winning bid on something you need or want. But often you will get something you want for a few, sometimes many, dollars less than you were willing to go up to in the bid. If you start an item, in the auction, never start if for more than 50% of what you want to pay and never make big bids if something starts for $100.00 and the auctioneer ask for a $50.00 or $25.00 increase cut him back to $10.00. Example. The item is started at $100.00 the auctioneer gets another bidder to bid $150.00 then he come to you and asks for you to bid $200.00 you tell him $160.00.

Most auctioneers would kill me for telling you that but that is how I work.

But if you see an item selling you want and the bid is going at $5.00 or $10.00 rises, jump the bid, Example, you are bidding on sometyhing you thinks is worth $300.00 and the bidding is going along by $10.00 bids and it is $180.00 jump the bid $200.00 this will sometime scare off the other bidder you have told him I want it and won't quit until I get it. I have seen people get good buys doing this.

Don

 

[RickB]

Flusher,

So what wrong with an equipment auction?

Don Worrell
Auctioneer

Auctions are a great way to waste a day trying to buy something for less than retail. Typically, uninformed buyers bid equipment up to a price above used retail price. Sometimes used equipment goes for new price or more; especially lesser-quality 3PT stuff. Last auction I went to, a large farm auction in NJ, The auctioneer announced before the sale that the owners would be bidding along with the rest of us, as some of the partners were leaving the business. Remaining partners could bid up a storm as they could bid over value as they were paying only a fraction. In my part of the world right now the place to buy used equipment is off a dealer's lot, not at auction.

The short answer is auctions are great if you are the auctioneer getting a cut from one or both sides of the action. But you have that part figured out, I see.

You are correct in advising to look in advance and set a max price. That way if you end up bidding against the house, you won't exceed a pre-set reasonable value.

 

[DonWorrell]

Auctions are a great way to waste a day trying to buy something for less than retail. Typically, uninformed buyers bid equipment up to a price above used retail price. Sometimes used equipment goes for new price or more; especially lesser-quality 3PT stuff. Last auction I went to, a large farm auction in NJ, The auctioneer announced before the sale that the owners would be bidding along with the rest of us, as some of the partners were leaving the business. Remaining partners could bid up a storm as they could bid over value as they were paying only a fraction. In my part of the world right now the place to buy used equipment is off a dealer's lot, not at auction.

The short answer is auctions are great if you are the auctioneer getting a cut from one or both sides of the action. But you have that part figured out, I see.

You are correct in advising to look in advance and set a max price. That way if you end up bidding against the house, you won't exceed a pre-set reasonable value.

New Jersey does not have any auction laws. But in states where they do have laws it is a different subject.

If I were at the NJ auction and they said the other owners were bidding I would of left in a heart beat. There are different types of auctions. An absolute auction, at least in Tennessee, mean it will sell to the high bidder no matter what it is. At auction mean it is being sold with a reserve but the owner still can not bid on the item. Auctions are still the best way to buy and sell but you need to know your auctions and auctioneers.

There is a big difference between them. Folks like the auctioneer in NJ make my life hard. I just complete a six (6) hour course in auction ethics. Why did I attend this course? The state ot Tennessee said if I wanted to keep my auctioneers license I need continuing education. This course was available and I thought I need to know more about ethics in auctions.

And yes I do get a comission on what I sell. But I don't sell my own equipment unless I advertise it as my equipment. This isn't ethical.


Don