Buying at auction

[admranger]

There is a pretty nice set of things being sold at auction Sunday here in Vegas. I've never gone to one of these auctions before but they sell everything from table saws to autographs to cars and trucks.

Any strategies to use other than have a price in mind before you start bidding? Do I need to go during the preview time or can I just show up at the start and check things out while they auction off some other ****?

Unfortunately the vise I want is attached to a heavy, 4'x4' steel welding layup table. I suppose I could just detach the vise if I get a great deal and leave the table since it won't likely fit in my vehicle... There's also some older 8' florescent lights, a vintage looking drill press (maybe C-man?), several table saws including a nice Powermatic cabinet saw. I'll be happy if I can snag the vise and the lights.

 

[ckadams00]

Bid low. Don't buy autographs.
Good luck.

 

[davesnothere]

What kinda vise, what kinda vise???

 

[Danglerb]

Inspect carefully, have a FIRM price before bidding starts, leave if it *****, don't forget buyers premium and tax, and everything being totally as is where is.

 

[mitusa]

You MIGHT watch the item before the sale to see if anyone is VERY interested in the table......if you see such an individual, you could discuss their idea of what it would be worth to them. I doubt they (the auctioneers) will separate the vise and table....

Watch your emotions, sometimes it's hard to stay out of a bidding war.

 

[stratman977]

It always seems that there's at least one or two old guys at the auction that have a wad of money and nothing better to do that bids up stuff that you wouldn't pay a buck or two for. I think some of the guys bid them up on purpose so they run out of money so the later stuff goes for cheap.

If you do get a number and decide to leave make sure you let the office know. Someone used my neighbors number to bid on stuff after we left and the auctioneer called him the next day trying to get payment.

 

[kissmeimgerman]

Go to preview!

 

[Everett]

Wacth that them shows on tv, called storage wars, learn a few tricks there, next reserch the items on the net too see what there worth , next go too e bay and look at there price, as kind of referance price, i allways buy low as i can and being i had a pickup at the time made a deal with the auction house too haul away the scraps that didnt sell that went over good with them and they knew they cut a deal with them, becuse before the auction i tell em what i give for a item, sometimes this works and sometimes not

 

[rmsg0040]

Know what the item is worth.

Guys at those auctions sometimes say stuff to get a higher selling price. eg: appraised at

 

[Strouty]

Know what the item is worth.

Guys at those auctions sometimes say stuff to get a higher selling price. eg: appraised at

I was at an auction thursday and people were paying 5 times the value of some harbor freight stuff. I sold a used milwaukee 12 volt inspection camera. I am pretty sure that I paid $199 at home depot and it came with a free impact driver and an extra battery. It sold for $275 plus buyers premium and sales tax. It was easily two years old, I had not abused it, but the idiot who bought it, could have done research and just got the new version for $199 and that one records video and takes pictures, mine was a smaller screen with not capture capabilities. I was happy as hell, since I would have sold it for $75. Just pay attention to what you are buying, set the price before you bid and stick to it (I don't always do that if it is one of a kind).

 

[rmsg0040]

I was at an auction thursday and people were paying 5 times the value of some harbor freight stuff. I sold a used milwaukee 12 volt inspection camera. I am pretty sure that I paid $199 at home depot and it came with a free impact driver and an extra battery. It sold for $275 plus buyers premium and sales tax. It was easily two years old, I had not abused it, but the idiot who bought it, could have done research and just got the new version for $199 and that one records video and takes pictures, mine was a smaller screen with not capture capabilities. I was happy as hell, since I would have sold it for $75. Just pay attention to what you are buying, set the price before you bid and stick to it (I don't always do that if it is one of a kind).

I only ever been to an auction once, but when I was there I had my smartphone in hand and had google and ebay on tap to see what the items were worth.

 

[warmpancakes]

I only ever been to an auction once, but when I was there I had my smartphone in hand and had google and ebay on tap to see what the items were worth.

auction house i used to go to all the time put free wireless in until they noticed prices starting falling, took wireless away and prices went back up

 

[cowboy73]

I love auctions. I went to alot of them growing up. My dad is an auctioneer . I even used to work the ring for him. Auctions are funny things. The people walking around that are dressed shabbily are usually the ones with the big wads of cash. The old guys are pretty ruthless, too.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I have a buddy who goes to auctions all of the time and has come up with some good deals.

Go to the previews. If there is nothing you are interested in, you can leave early.

Think out of the box. Same buddy went to a concrete business Chapter 11 sale. I had no interesting in dump trucks or backhoes, etc., but he need some office furniture. That was the last thing on the list. Nice office chairs $10. File cabinets $5. Desks $20-$30.

When the auction is an estate sale, My buddy has sometimes "sweetens" a "lot" be adding things from other lots. He has also said that he sold part of a lot before he left the parking lot for almost what he paid for the whole lot !

 

[warmpancakes]

When the auction is an estate sale, My buddy has sometimes "sweetens" a "lot" be adding things from other lots. He has also said that he sold part of a lot before he left the parking lot for almost what he paid for the whole lot !

get caught doing that and you will be asked to leave and banned from auctions, i hate people who do that, I write down lot numbers to bid on and when you buddy does stuff like that it screws people

 

[WNYflyer]

Man this place is a wealth of information. A lot of good ideas here.

Just starting to get into going to auctions. Mainly on-site at farms and estates. I can't believe the prices people pay for stuff. For example a partially used up box of electrical tape who knows how old for like $20. I just don't understand sometimes.

The one thing I noticed is guys not scoping out all the parts that are required or go with a particular tool or piece of equipment. At the few farm/estate auctions I have been to I have seen this a few times were some parts end up in different lots and the guys don't get everything that goes with the item. Then later some of these needed parts come up in another lot and usually seems some pretty cool very knowledgeable patrons will interupt the auctioneer and tell him to track down the dude who bought the tool/equipment that some of that lot may go with.

Anyone know the protocol for dealing with required parts etc that end up in different lots? I figure tell the auctioneer or his helpers during preview but so much stuff piled up all over that it seems very diffcult to accomplish during the preview given the quantity of stuff

 

[warmpancakes]

some auctioners care some dont alot depends on size of sale, I went to a HUGE auction in flint I bought 1/2 of a saw another guy bought the other 1/2 I sold him my parts cheap because i had zero use for them, plus i only wanted the snap on stuff at the bottom of the box

 

[WNYflyer]

some auctioners care some dont alot depends on size of sale, I went to a HUGE auction in flint I bought 1/2 of a saw another guy bought the other 1/2 I sold him my parts cheap because i had zero use for them, plus i only wanted the snap on stuff at the bottom of the box

warmpancakes,

Yep saw quite a bit of bartering and trading going on at the few really big auctions I went to. But it still seemed some guys didn't even realize they don't have everything and plus I figure guys may leave after they get what they want what with some of the auctions lasting like 6 hours or so. Guess it always come down to buyer beware !

 

[warmpancakes]

yep and thats why I mentioned to the guy above about moving pieces from one lot to another, One auction company I buy from alot is great if they get alot of tools they call me to come help sort the lots, I get first view of the good stuff plus heavy duty zip ties prevent moving stuff around

 

[spongerich]

You should definitely ask the auctioneer ahead of time if they'll separate the vise and table.. some of them are more than happy to auction things the way that the crowd wants to see them because it often results in better sales. There's been a number of times where I just wanted one or two items from a pallet lot. If the auctioneer wouldn't split it up, I wouldn't have bothered bidding on the whole lot, so I got the 1 item and the rest of the pallet probably still sold for about what it would have without the thing I picked.

Most importantly, don't get caught up in the bidding. It's easy to settle on a price in your mind and then just bid "a few dollars more" until you've spent $50 more than you planned.

 

[mrbreezeet1]

I have a buddy who goes to auctions all of the time and has come up with some good deals.
When the auction is an estate sale, My buddy has sometimes "sweetens" a "lot" be adding things from other lots.

He shouldn't be doing that.

 

[crewchief888]

the few auctions around here i've gone to, i never stayed to do any bidding.

checked out what was there, and didnt see anything that interested me.

one auction i did buy a few things, one o my elderly aunts was getting rid of stuff in the garage/barn that my uncle had been colllecting for 70 years.

i bought a few of his tools, couple paintguns, and an old flyrod he used for many years.

hated to see box of misc (junk) tools and the paintguns go for just a couple $$. so i bid them up to $10 or so.

 

[Danglerb]

********* auction guys, its not about the items or price, its a game them vs the rest. Bidding stuff up to screw a competitor, or just use up all his money early. I've also seen auctions where the locals decide to lock you out, and take turns out bidding you on any lot that isn't junk and they know it, and dropping those on you.

 

[admranger]

You should definitely ask the auctioneer ahead of time if they'll separate the vise and table..

I did that and he said no.

I went and previewed the table and vise. It was a MONSTER Wilton w/5" jaws and a huge throat (with pipe jaws). The welding table it was attached to was 49" square and made up of two, 1/2" plates welded together. Big and heavy...

However, I was there at 830am and the auctioneer staff said that the table and vise wouldn't be auctioned off until around 230pm or later (they had nearly 700 lots to go through). I took off and got back to work on my garage cabinet project and never looked back. I'm sure it went cheap, but I just didn't have that kind of time on my hands and wasn't going to drive another 50 miles round trip to find out someone else wanted it worse than I did.

When I have more time on my hands, I'll try watching for good auctions and perhaps go and bid using the tips presented here.

Thanks!

 

[Wastedwagesracing]

I did that and he said no.

I went and previewed the table and vise. It was a MONSTER Wilton w/5" jaws and a huge throat (with pipe jaws). The welding table it was attached to was 49" square and made up of two, 1/2" plates welded together. Big and heavy...

However, I was there at 830am and the auctioneer staff said that the table and vise wouldn't be auctioned off until around 230pm or later (they had nearly 700 lots to go through). I took off and got back to work on my garage cabinet project and never looked back. I'm sure it went cheap, but I just didn't have that kind of time on my hands and wasn't going to drive another 50 miles round trip to find out someone else wanted it worse than I did.

When I have more time on my hands, I'll try watching for good auctions and perhaps go and bid using the tips presented here.

Thanks!

Sometimes you can leave a bid with the auctioneer.

 

[zuk123]

There was a time when I bought at auctions and resold to pay my rent between gigs.

The best advice I can give:

Go to a couple, and just watch. Stay engaged but don't bid. Get to the point where it sort of bores you. This helps in 2 ways. It cuts the chance you'll get caught up and pay more than retail (happens all the time.) And you might spot the dealers/pros. When they drop out, it's time to stop bidding!

Set a price and stick to it. Write it down! Recognize that it isn't selling for just $5 more than you'd spend, it will keep going up until it goes for more than the OTHER guy is willing to spend. At that point it will probably be WAY more than you wanted to spend.

If you want something for yourself, you will likely be able to spend a little more than a dealer or reseller. If you are facing another personal buyer, prices can go up fast.

Don't leave your hand up. Make them call every bid. I've seen bids escalate rapidly when more than one person has their hand up, and the auctioneer takes the opportunity to raise the bid one time for each hand, even if the bidders were all only interested in it at ONE raise. If you are the last one with your hand up, you bought it, even if the bid raised 5 times and you just wanted to raise once.

Almost everything you buy needs some kind of attention. Either all the pieces aren't there, it's out of alignment, or just broken. That's why it's a bargain! (and conversely, why you should never pay close to retail or ebay.)

That all said, auctions can be a great way to buy stuff for yourself or for resale. I am back doing it again, and it is very rewarding. Even my wife got behind the idea when I suggested she not think of it as buying a lot of stuff that I need to resell, but as getting an 80% discount on tools and machines for my shop. The resale is gravy at that point.

Good luck!

zuk

 

[SeattleKent]

I've been to several auctions recently. The prices were good but not great. A Miller MIG welder went for $650. On Craigslist it probably would go for $700 or $750. My take in the end - if they are selling something you really need you can get a good price. If you are just looking for bargain - probably not worth your time.