I sure wish I had seen this thread before the auction took place. The Long Beach location is only about 45 minutes from me and I would have been all over it!
I walked into a customers shop a couple days ago and saw a bunch of Snap-On boxes and tools setting around and asked about them. These guys frequently attend auctions and do a lot of reselling. So they told me about the Wyotech auction and told me they had spent $30K+ on tools.
They showed me some of the items they purchased, and we put a deal together on some wrench and socket sets I've been wanting to get. Nothing I saw had any Wyotech markings at all. Some of the plastic cases were a little greasy, but they had cleaned up some of them for resale and they looked almost new.
The sets I bought hadn't been touched yet. They were in plastic bags and looked great, but some had a few grease smudges and oil on them. Others had a light dusty haze on them like they hadn't been used in a long time, if ever. I brought them home and and an easy wipe down made them look like new. I also bought a FLF80 ratchet that was absolutely brand new- I can tell that it's never seen a socket. I know they gave me the good guy price, but I'm sure they're still making money. I paid roughly 40% of the new Snap-on price, and I'm very happy. We're all looking for the "You ****!" deals, but I felt like I still got a great deal on some pristine tools and the guys still made some quick cash. I'm sure it's going to take months to move everything they had. They threw in some brand new Wyotech fender covers and a couple other odds and ends- I'm sure they're things that won't be easy to sell or gain much profit.
I didn't realize that Everest was also under the same ownership. My girlfriend was out of work about 3 years ago and was considering signing up at Everest for medical career training. I didn't think anything of it when she told me she was going for a "consultation" and tour of the campus. I guess it turned into a high pressure sales pitch, and I'm really glad she called me before signing up. They already had her "approved" for some government grants and a loan program. We argued a bit on the phone, but I was able to convince her to come home and think it over. I guess they put the pressure on, telling her she needed to get enrolled right away, as classes were starting the following week.
Once she got home, we talked it over. They didn't provide any real job placement numbers or make any commitments to helping place students. I became immediately aware that the whole operation was little more than a scam to get as much money from both the students and the government as possible. I was able to convince her that there was no sense paying so much money for an education in order to get a $15 per hour job. i can't remember the specifics, but I think she would have been on the hook for over $25K. Operations like this are doing nothing but lining their own pockets, raising the cost of education, and putting young people under a lot of debt.
