How are tools at auctions generally sold?

[JB740i]

http://dudleys.pho.to/albums/march_20_estate_auction/photo13201.htm

The local auction house seems to have some good stuff once in a while. They put up lots of the pictures a couple days in advance but they either start too early (when I'm at work) or the one time I made it to one they hadn't put any tools up with I left at 8.

However they will let you make an absentee bid on their website. Tried it once on something non tool related and didn't hear anything back so I guess I didn't win.

In the above photo, would it be normal to list all of that as one lot?

http://dudleys.pho.to/albums/march_20_estate_auction/photo13202.htm

Or better yet this one? Don't want to put in an absantee bid for 50 bucks or something and it just be the cord reel and grinder in that lot...

Know what I mean? They don't really specify on their website.

 

[swgray]

Around here, the beer boxes would be sold as separate lots.

The grinders and saws might be sold individually, or for "one money" and take your choice for as many as you want. Under bidders get whats left over at the same price. Anything left after that gets thrown together and bid on again.

The other items would probably be sold separately, with the gloves put with something else to get the bidding going a bit higher.

A lot really depends on the auctioneer and the people attending.

The reel mower a few pictures back sells new for maybe $100 now. With the price of gas it would be interesting to see what it goes for.

 

[mulepackin]

Most of my auction experience has been with farm and ranch auctions. It would really depend on what else was selling, how the bidding is going, etc. Really up to the whim of the auctioneer. They will often put many items together as a lot, for example a "lot" of welding consumables and misc. small items. Then the welder separately. If things aren't moving, and they have to move on to the larger equipment and so forth, they may auction off the welder and throw the small stuff in with it, they may or may not make that clear from the start.

 

[edgewater]

Looking at those pictures, every box with a white sticker is one lot.

 

[Danglerb]

During an auction the auctioneer is god, and lots can be grouped together or broken up to keep the pace of the auction going. If you want some item offered a certain way, ask in advance, and many times you will be accommodated as long as it keeps the pace up.

You need to talk to the auctioneer to find out how they deal with a proxy bid. Even better talk to people who know what he does during an auction. Ideally you give him your max bid and he treats it exactly like a live bid up to your max. Others may start the bidding with your max bid, nobody else bids, you get it. Even if the bidding is started below your max bid, and nobody else bids, the hammer may fall at your max bid price.

What I used to REALLY hate is to take say 20 items, winning bid get choice of item number, then auctioneer offers choice of the remaining items at the same final bid as the original winner. When people stop being willing to pay the winning bid price, the remaining lots can be, passed, sold only as a group, rebid either as choice of one, or individually.

 

[Rickster]

Everyone here has it right on based on the few auctions I've been to. I quit going to the auctions unless theres really some compelling hardware for me to be there. A whole lot of standing around and waiting for your item to come up and you better be ready when it does. But the worst part is you're bidding against guys like yourself who know the value of the tools. I'd much rather stumble into an estate sale or garage sale where the guy has the Craftsman stuff at full retail price because its "Craftsman" and the Snapon/MAC/Matco/SK names mean the same as KMart to them.