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

[HawkinsHollow]

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.

What are your experiences with auctions?

 

[dodge man]

There are deals to be had but as a rule I hate them. They take forever but if you have the patience. They have a car auction 2 or 3 times a year, mostly classic cars but some newer stuff thrown in. There was a 15 year old convertible we were going to bid on but it went past what we were going to bid quickly. It seems the on line bidding is going to stay and I’m ok with that.

 

[oldnslo]

I am not a fan of the on-line bidding vs being there in person but like dodge man it appears to be the way things are now.

 

[ultrarunner]

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...

 

[CliffordK]

I do the auctions a bit. Perhaps too much. A unique environment. Some of the auctions are getting filled with new off brand china import stuff.

I watched a TopCat mulcher go up for sale. I decided to look up the online reviews which seemed somewhat mixed. It probably would have done what I wanted, but I would have needed to also come up with a high flow skid steer. Nonetheless, the prices seemed to be much less than others reported for the mulcher, and much much much less than anything made in the USA.

A couple of months ago I picked up a lifetime supply of chains, including a few pretty heavy duty (but short) ones.

As far as credit card fees, that is easy enough to deal with. I can either do cash, or cashier's check. Or, even wiring money. The $30 wiring fee may be cheaper than the credit card fees. One local auctioneer takes preapproved personal checks. The auction house fee is annoying, but part of the process.

Anyway, keep in mind, every time you use your credit card, from the coffee shop to the gas station, somebody gets hit with a 3% fee. The banks get rich for simply moving your money.

Most of the auctioneers that I've talked to have been very pleasant to work with. They are quick to compensate one for any lost items.

 

[LouNY]

I have almost completely stopped going to auctions since they have started this ridiculous bidders percentage fee garbage. I view a few online ones occasionally once in a while I'll bid but not often and only low enough that I'll still be happy with all the tacked on garbage. I much prefer live auctions were I can put my hands on the item. We have an annual winter auction close by, I haven't gone since they added the bidders premium.

 

[2manyrocks]

I think the on line auctions end up costing more because they attract more arm chair bidders. You also have to go inspect what you are bidding on before the auction close because there's nothing like a in person inspection to spot problems.

 

[ponytug]

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...

That's unfortunate. The one time it happened to me, they offered me the remaining lot for free. (I declined, as the missing bits were the reason that I had bid on it, so they refunded the bid.)

Win some, lose some. I see lots of bidders paying well over new for some items, and multiple lots of the same item in a parallel auction where two bidders lose sight of the "clones" and someone ends up paying 3-4 times what the other lots went for. Not everyone is a rational consumer...but I have seen the same behavior in person and on line.

All the best,

Peter

 

[CliffordK]

Win some, lose some. I see lots of bidders paying well over new for some items, and multiple lots of the same item in a parallel auction where two bidders lose sight of the "clones" and someone ends up paying 3-4 times what the other lots went for. Not everyone is a rational consumer...but I have seen the same behavior in person and on line.

I have seen some variation, and have wondered if I missed something to make one item 20% more valuable that another similar one.

Sometimes the first couple of items to hit the auction block will be 20% higher than the following items, but that isn't always a bad thing because bidders often go bonkers on the last one after passing up several earlier similar items. So perhaps there is some rationale to get one's bid in earlier and get the item.

I do try to keep in mind low retail prices for common items like ratchet straps. However, it is hard to attach a retail price to some items, so it is a game of what is it worth to you?

There are some people who will buy at auction then flip on Craigslist.

 

[ultrarunner]

For years there was a local Real Estate Agent and Auctioneer that specialized in liquidating small single family home/estate.

They were honest and did a good job.

Basically, the executor would hand over the keys after removing items wanted and the team would empty, prep and sell the property and contents. The removed items were sold, donated, recycled or otherwise disposed.

One of my friends mentioned the team yesterday... he and his brother were kind of lost loosing their father and said it was just too painful because every item was a memory...

 

[bdhsfz6]

It may be different elsewhere, but I gave up on the local auctions around here. As posted above, too many fees and shill bidders to get any real deals.

 

[Jstpssng]

Are they anything like Ebay or Gunbroker? Those are the only sites I've used but the prices got ridiculous. I quit bidding on a Stihl Kombi power head a few years ago when somebody went over the maximum I wanted to pay... it ended up selling for more than the price of new.

 

[deserteagle71]

Are they anything like Ebay or Gunbroker? Those are the only sites I've used but the prices got ridiculous. I quit bidding on a Stihl Kombi power head a few years ago when somebody went over the maximum I wanted to pay... it ended up selling for more than the price of new.

My observation also. Went to a few auctions where people were nuts with their bidding, paying more for beat up worn equipment than they would have cost them if they'd just gone down to the dealership and bought new.

 

[two_bit_score]

Auctions are a better way to sell something than buy something unless there is an item you particularly want in the auction. If you are in business and attend the auction frequently that is bifferent.

Salvage car auctions are limited to licensed dealers, salvage dealers, recyclers and wholesale dealers. The same guys are there on site or online every week.

 

[BackRoad]

My BIL is an auction hound...and I have gone to a lot of them with him.

There are still some local auctions that are NOT internet bidder enabled. I mostly stopped attending auctions with internet bidders, which seems to drive prices higher which is good for the seller, not so much for on-site bidders.

Most of my recent implement purchases have been from Fakebook's Marketplace.

I just picked up a solid deal on an 8' Harley Pro Rake in very good condition...but only after passing over a lot of wrecks online.

Auctions are worth "watching" to gain informed knowledge on the going price for used equipment, which helps to establish your highest price before negotiating a Marketplace purchase.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Well I tried another auction. Still left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. This is a local auction, their yard is right across the street from my work. So I can easily go over and check out the wares. But all of the bidding is done online now. There were 2 chinese minis and a box blade (for a friend) I was interested in this time. By the time it is said and done all three of these items will be at FB marketplace prices (or higher). I am convinced it i next to impossible to get a good deal at an auction unless it is some off the wall item that very few people would want. I saw in another post where someone accused auction houses of people bidding in favor of the auction house or at least their own item to bump the price, I am convinced that goes on. Anyways, rant over.

@BackRoad is right though prices on this auction follow pretty closely what you would see on Marketplace for a similar product. So that could help to inform a decision about a purchase on marketplace.

 

[ning]

I did well a couple times - got a practically new 5' rotary cutter (Land Pride) for $800 - I'd been watching "locally" (within an hour's drive) for years and only seen seriously beat up mowers. The cutter I got at the auction was missing a piece in the top linkage, which was about $30 to find online. Add ~15% to that $800 for taxes and auction fees, if I recall I'm in it about $1100 total.

Also got a 2 meter tiller (a bit over 2m outside measurements), cat I/II. Super heavy duty, completely unused though the paint says it was outside a long time. The tines were untouched. Immediately lost a tine first time I used it, but found it in the dirt; proceeded to pull every tine off and loctite them all. It's a monster and my 30hp PTO requires that I go really really slow in virgin ground, but I'm not tilling acreage with this. The slip clutch lasted three seasons and I had to scramble to find a bushing and the friction plates. That tiller was $1000 before fees; considering equivalent new prices I think I stole it.

Also bought a pallet of redwood 2x4's and made a bunch of large raised-bed planter boxes with them.

I did buy a couple air compressors that were absolutely garbage; pure loss. Considering the bargains I got before, though, I'm ok with that, caveat emptor.

For a while I was hoping to find a dump trailer or flatbed there but they're obviously getting top dollar for those; rather than go near full price at auction I'd rather get a top name with at least a pretense of a warranty and spec it out how I want it.

Auction place is inconvenient for me - about 1h10m away from home, so unless it looks absolutely amazing I'm unlikely to bother previewing which means I have to get it even cheaper... lately I can't be bothered to drive an hour for much of anything.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Our state has a surplus site for pretty much anything the state and capital city uses. When I am in the market for a vehicle I start there. Bought my last one there a 2017 f150 120k miles and $15k a little over a year ago. Had to put a water pump on it and now at about 140k we stay on the road again. They maintain them pretty well. You have about 10 days to inspect before the closing bid.

I still keep a loose eye out for the stuff on their site.

I liked it a lot better before they opened up online bidding. I got better deals... I have bought over the last 30 years:

A school bus
3 Jeep Cherokees
1 Ford truck
1 ford taurus station wagon
Misc things, desks, tools and such.

The mention of auctions makes me think of my dad. I went with dad to a farm auction some 40 yrs ago. He (like me) was hard of hearing. I watched him as he was getting hot n heavy bidding on a disc, that he thought was for a M tractor beside it. I told him what he was bidding on, it was down to him and one more guy. He shut up instantly, the other guy won the battle.

The ole school bus I bought i converted into a schoolie (even before there was a name for it). Nothing too fancy removed the seats, put in some bunk beds and a couple of couches. Took my scout troops all over creation in it. Horrible gas mileage but would go anywhere. Ended up donating it to them after I stepped down as scout master after 3-4 yrs.

 

[JasperFrank]

Last "auction" I went to had reserves that nearly matched retail new.... Pretty much everyone was as confused as I was, and walked off before bidding opened. What I really didn't like was that you had to be assigned a number before even getting on the lot. And this was a three page form.

 

[2manyrocks]

I was talking with another buyer at a auction in another nearby town, and he described the auction as "the place were all the broken stuff goes to get sold."

I looked at chinese mini-exs and skid steers in nearby auctions, but didn't bid because of so many posts on FB that said, "I just bought this _____at auction, and how do I fix _____________."