Unique experience... Auction

For over 15 years now my wife and I have maintained two homes. One in town and one on the farm. At 72 years of age we finally made the decision and sold the home in town. 12 acres and large shop. We have traveled all over the world and done a lot of collecting over the years. After selling the house decided we just did not need a lot of things. Spent about two weeks getting it all out in the shop and ready. Hired one of the best auctioneers I knew and they ran two rings 9 to 1 and sold over 800 items . One ring furniture , house decorations ,kitchen stuff ect, then the other my shop things like metal working equipment, welders, tools and outside stuff ,yard tractor and mowers. Some things I thought would hit a home run brought next to nothing the very next thing would go sky high. My message to all of you is hang on to anything because they will buy that jack that does not work or chainsaw that does not run. Was a very interesting day. Stood an talked with a guy said "Yea this got in trouble they are selling out" Another one was just sure I had passed away two years ago.
One hot day but fun seeing folks prowl thru junk I had brought from the farm.

most outrageous or highest price thing was a case knife that Hank Williams jr. gave me about 36 years ago brought over $200.00 Lowest price things was when I had my heart attach I bought 4 pieces of exercise equipment like tread mill, ect. like 3 thousand dollars worth of stuff. And if you know me it was not wore out LOL . Think the 4 pieces brought about 12 bucks..

gonna show this post to my wife , Maybe the broken stuff I have saved is worth it after all. Bill

Went to a going out of business auction at a nursury as they had trees and two flat bed trailers. The trees had the retail price still hanging from their limbs. The bidding got going and people were buying trees for more than the retail price. The trailers which were pretty well beat up each went for more than a brand new one. Just plain crazy. I bought a new one and saved a bunch of money. Go figure!

I went to a retirement auction a few years ago. The old man having the sale was watching the auctioneer sell stuff piled on a hay wagon. They sold 6 old milk bottles and a carrying case for close to 300 bucks. The old man Said "dam fools" loud enough for people in the crowd to hear. The auctioneer walked over to him and told him he better keep quiet. The old man said he was going to the basement to look for more bottles.

We had an auction years ago to settle up my Grand Father's estate. Mainly the EXTRA stuff that was duplicated in equipment he and I had. An example was combines. I had a fairly new JD 7720 and he had an older JD 6600. Of course I was keeping the Newer machine. Word in the coffee shop was we where selling out as we could not make it. I was POed!!! Had two "good" friends that tried to rent some of my ground telling the old people I was selling out.

I told the boys when I die load everything up they do not want and take it to an auction house if it is furniture an such and any equipment to a consignment sale. Then just walk away and forget it!!! ZERO fuss and ZERO drama!!!! If they think it will not sell take it to the scrap yard. Anything but have an auction at the farm. Too many know-it-alls looking through everywhere they should not be. We had people walking in Grand Ma's house at the sale trying to get things out of the house. We had to lock the doors even with family members in the house. Just too many CROOKs these days to have them on the place.

Auctioneers usually have a good feel for what will sell and what to trash.

I've been going to auctions for over 50 years and you never know what will bring what.Auctions tend to take on a 'life' of their own as far as prices and what is wanted by the buyers.
I've seen some sky high prices and have also bought some fantastic bargains that's what keeps people going to them.One or two bidders can change the whole pricing at auctions.

I have been going to auctions over 50 years and was a used farm machinery dealer for years attending literally HUNDREDS of auctions buying and selling. One thing I recall is anytime a welder or battery charger was up they often brought MORE then you could buy a new one for lol

John T

I bought a hand gun at an auction recently, still in the original box with all the papers and looked like it had never been fired. Paid about retail price for it. But...no sales tax (it was an estate auction), no background check (not that I couldn't pass such), no record that I even have it. Worth paying what I could have gotten a new one for and have since seen them on sale for less than normal retail. There was a 9mm, same brand and frame style that brought about $60 more than retail. Guess that was more popular that day than the .380 version.

There are always those at auctions that get what I call "auction fever." They will bid way over what an item is worth just to "win" it. They have apparently not realized that not only does the high bid "win," but also does not make an item more valuable. I have indeed found some incredible bargains at auctions. I have also seen many items sell for much more than they are worth. One of my favorites is the $1 to $3 box lots. One time I was looking at a box lot like that and saw something that I wanted in it. So, I won the bid for $3. When I got it home and looked it over, I found 3 rolls of pennies, 4 GFCI outlets (new in the boxes), a sterling silver plated hand mirror, and about $10 worth of drywall screws. If I had the room to store the stuff, I would buy up every one of those, and sort them out and make some nice profits.

(quoted from post at 12:27:06 07/20/15) I have been going to auctions over 50 years and was a used farm machinery dealer for years attending literally HUNDREDS of auctions buying and selling. One thing I recall is anytime a welder or battery charger was up they often brought MORE then you could buy a new one for lol John T

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So true, John. Haven't been going as long as you but see the same thing. I wished I had more cash at a consignment sale last year, a gentleman farmer type was selling off some equipment, the farm was sold and this was the last of what he wasn't moving south to a retirement place in Florida. He had a nearly new 35 - 40 hp. Branson with a FEL that sold for less than he still owed on it. The auctioneer, whom he had bought it off of, ask if the final price was OK, the old guy said, "I can't take it home, sell it". He also had a similarly near new commercial grade zero turn mower that only got a bid of something like $1,800, I looked at some later that used retail was on the order of $4,000 and more. Again he said to let it go. I did get a brand new 3 pt. finish mower for $600, retail on them is on the order of $2,000. Never thought I'd find one that cheap even used, new especially not.

There's a guy that comes to the flea market every week that buys up all the box lots at auctions . He sets it all out in the boxes and people dig through it and he gives you a price on the items you have found. After a few hours of people digging and him sorting the more valuable stuff to another set of tables and everything on the long row is a quarter and the last hour or so all that stuff is free. He has a big crowd all day and don't have to take much home. It is amazing what you can find in the bottom of some of the boxes.

then your place would look like mine lol ... true there are a lot of guudies in a 5 dollar junk box ,, I usually pay whatever the one item I want is worth ,,. and all the rest is free ,,. , but cant find time to go thru it all,,.. when we sold off household at my parents farm , one sunday all 8 of us met up, and took what we wanted with EVERYONES approval , and it was reasonably balanced in the end ,. I have one sister that claims everyone else got more than she did ,,there is one in every bunch , kinda like the horned cow at the feed bunk , and rite now we are trying to buy her shsre of the farm ,, that aint going well either... after our free for all , we called in the auctioneer ,,. took 2 monthes to get ready.. brothers and sisters secretly allowed half price ,for all odd stuffs, except the house .as per instructed in the will . ,,.I run the lard press to 250 bux before I got it , 200 for the jdeere one row horse drawn cultivator that was in pcs . there was a box of some 25 trophies my mother earned log sawing , that none of us could agree to split up 2 monthes earlier ,,I bought them for 30 bux , and handed them out to all the grandchildren and still had the 1925 carpentry techniques book and serveral others such as swcd terrace and rotation farming in the box.. still a lot of stuff got past me ,,.. one of the things I lost track of was the c-47 solid cast aluminum plane everyone got for working at Curtis wright Louisville during world war 2 ..my mother 18 yrs old and was a riveter , and then a parts supplier . (the 1st summer the planes were built outside . while the factory was being built) the plane disappeared 2 monthes earlier .. after we could not agree ., then I noticed in a pile of goodies about to be knokt off for 10 bux, got it all for 11 , makes me wonder if my horned sis had sumthin to do with hiding it ... I bought granpas and grandmas 1903 bedroom suit for 500,. in the end I spent 1240 dollars ,2480 bid.. my brother bought the 1964 brik house and 2 acres for 85k , , in the end receipts were some 125 k including the house,.the family bought nearly 15000 of odd and ends . ,, the auctioneer forgave his fee for that 15 k,, he goes back along ways with us boys and Dad and Mom . before the auction , I asked the basketball coach / church deacon , to privately give and lead family in prayer in the bedroom where Mom had passed way ...that was a very nice start to a decent day , that was not perfect but was about as fair as we could ask for..

Yes, at my parents estate auction we had stuff sell for good money that I wouldn't have given a plug nickel for, and stuff that should have brought good money came very close to given away. You never know.

(quoted from post at 08:14:06 07/20/15)
....I did get a brand new 3 pt. finish mower for $600, retail on them is on the order of $2,000. Never thought I'd find one that cheap even used, new especially not.

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Same here. Been looking for a finish mower for a while. Just got one at auction for $400, lots of rusty scratches but no major rot, and just needed joints greased and I changed the gearbox oil. Retail $1600 brand new. Runs great.

I also have seen "auction fever" lots of times. I set a price on any item I'm interested in, usually between 10%-50% of new, depending upon condition and how bad I want it.

I was interested in a sprayer at the last auction but gave up at 50% and was surprised that it went for almost 90% of new. For a little bit more you could buy one with a warranty and no busted spray heads. :lol:

At a large farm sale years ago I bought a barrel full of rakes, hoes, shovels, whips etc for $20
There was a lot to sell and the auctioneer was not messing around with selling things piece by piece.
All we wanted was one pitch fork.
One guy came along and offered us $5 for a rake, then someone else wanted a shovel, hoe, whip...
By the time we left there was over a dozen items still in the barrel and I had close to $100 more in my pocket than I came with.

What few auctions I go to always seen this one guy bellied right up against the hay wagon. Always had a lot of stuff at his feet when wagon was empty. He had a sale a while back and a lot of the stuff was still in the boxes he bought at the sales.

I have been helping Mom sort through Dad's shed lately- even I don't recognize alot of the tools, must be from those $3 boxes he loved to bid on. I always hate bidding against the invisible guy in the back if the crowd! When we had an estate rummage-type sale, the hot movers were old packing crates, I couldn't empty the barn out fast enough. Had two offers on the house, even when told it was not for sale!

Our house was sold two weeks ago and yes it was the same way had several ask when is the house selling and actually go over and look even though we had large signs saying sale is at shop nothing at the house for sale. Now that I have had a couple of days to think of it I am more convinced that it was a day of my life that I will remember for ever. Some experience.