Johndeere, I see where you're coming from man. No sarcasm here, and I do feel your pain. But...speaking from a friendly, supportive perspective...here is the deal. The world of auctions (ALL styles of auctions) is tough. You'll want to wear a cup, like the rest of us do. And you're right...it doesn't seem fair.
We already heard enough about how eBay functions...whether we all like it or not. No need to repeat what has been said above. So now let's take a look at other styles of auctions.
If you go to a live auction, you had better have your wits about you, and pay attention.
For example:
Other buyers will be sorting through box lots, and may just sneak that special treasure out of the box you saw it in, and then slip it among old rags or newspapers in another box. Then you overpay for that one special box, only to find that the item you paid for is now missing, and you bought nothing but junk. And you don't even know where your item went, cause other bidders got LOTS of "worthless junk boxes" for minimum bids. So you don't know which person did it, or where your item is now. This activitiy is clearly a case of both fraud and theft, yet it is common practice at auctions. People who are otherwise totally honest church-going folks, seem to think they are doing nothing wrong when they do this at auctions.
Or, the same thing happens because someone simply stole the item. But you're still stuck with a box of overpriced junk which you didn't even want, and you've now wasted your day off, standing around to overpay for trash.
Or, spend most of your day watching and waiting for an item you really want, while the auctioneer keeps bypassing it to sell loads of china or glass one agonizingly-slow piece at a time. Then you finally take a break to go the the bathroom, and some guy (who has noticed you scrutinizing that one item very carefully) quickly picks it up, hands it to the auctioneer with a starting bid, and you come back to find the item sold already. So now you have waited 5 hours for an item which is suddenly gone, even though it was nowhere near the upcoming items by the auctioneer. That other guy knew you were interested and he saw you walk away for a minute. He deliberately took that moment to hand the item to the auctioneer. And he got it without any competition from you. Moreover, if he is a real regular customer of that auctioneer, the auctioneer understands what he is probably doing when he hands the item over. The auctioneer wants to get maximum money, but he also wants to keep his regular customers happy. This happens ALL the time.
Or, you are bidding on something and someone "way behind you somewhere" keeps bumping the bid up, just to your maximum. Later, some guy confides in you that there really was no other bidder...the auctioneer was "bouncing bids off the wall." You go confront the auctioneer, and he points to one of his assistants who suddenly swears that HE was the other bidder, and wanted that item real badly...although he cannot recall what item it was. VERY common issue at live auctions...even the prestigious art or muscle car auctions. Very illegal, and very common.
OR, you win an item which was described as being in perfect condition, but because there are so many items being auctioned right now that you really want, that you have to keep careful watch on the auctioneer, and don't find out until later that your special item is not so special...either damaged, missing parts, or a reproduction instead of original, etc, etc, etc.
OR, you are about to be the winning bidder at a terrific price, on an item you've been waiting for all day. You can tell that other bidders in attendance are not really interested in your treasure, and you are starting to feel great, knowing you are going to get a bargain. Suddenly, an auction clerk leans over and whispers something to the auctioneer, and he announces that they have a telephone bid which just came in (or a live online bid which you cannot see or verify), or a family member of the estate who gave them a written bid the other day, etc, etc. It's always for some number WAY higher than your bid.
I could go on and on and on and on, but you probably know about these things anyway. We all learn them the hard way over many years of attending auctions. But my point is that auctions are competitions, and the ONLY people happy at the end are the people who got fabulous prices on items they won.
So, how can you protect yourself? There is only one way, really. Make up your mind early, and set your absolute maximum price. Bid that absolute maximum price in whatever fashion you prefer. And STOP there...PERIOD. Then, be happy if you win it, and/or equally happy if you do not.
In the end, that's all you can do.
Best of luck with auctions, from a fellow Garage Journal user and long-time auction bidder myself.
