The auctioneer doesn't always make out

BarnyardEngineering · Oct 7, 2021

I just got back from retrieving my latest "prize" from an auction. Bought an old firewood trailer for $1. The picture was of a wooden box with a bunch of junk in it and buried in weeds. You'd think they would pull it out so you could get a good view of it.

I had intended to just leave it there for the scrap guy, but after I pulled the junk out I found that it had a brand new tongue jack on it worth at least $30, an 8' piece of brand new 6" c-channel steel that would have cost me $50 at the steel yard, a 10' piece of light angle steel, and a few decent pieces of lumber.

Both tires were up. I think it'll haul a load of wood or two with a little work. So I winched it up on the trailer and hauled it home.

It cost the auctioneer more to sell it than what it brought.

jal-SD · Oct 7, 2021

Sounds like a good find. I've done good
on a couple of deals like that.

NY 986 · Oct 7, 2021

I made out the week prior to the sale I posted about a couple of days ago. 2 hydraulic cylinders including a Cross 4 X 8 plus a
10 gallon air tank for 21 dollars total. If I had to buy that cylinder at TSC it would run 200 dollars. Even if I have to put an
O ring kit in I am still far ahead versus if I had to buy new. I figure replacement cost for my items would have been around 450
dollars total. Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you.

Fawteen · Oct 7, 2021

I don't do auctions, but I watch Craigslist pretty closely.

Need a welding table for my new shop. Spotted one just under 4 feet square with a 1/4 top and a older Craftsman 5 vise mounted on it - $100.

I looked into building one and a 4 x 4 x 1/4 piece of hot rolled plate would have been a tad over $300 with sales tax. Add legs and bracing, it wouldn't be far off to double that. For that kind of savings, I'll spend a day and $70 on gas and go get it!

Top was flat but had welding boogers on it and the vise needs new jaw inserts, but I'm as happy as can be! Even has adjustable feet to level it!

Fawteen · Oct 7, 2021

Charlie M · Oct 7, 2021

Seems like auctioneers don't like to look to close. I bought a 16' trailer a year ago that was advertised as no ramps included. Turned out to be a trailer where the ramps are stored under the trailer and they
were there.

Tim in New York · Oct 7, 2021

Had my eye on a small box with a manual chain saw sharpener in it at one of those huge estate sales. I was looking at other stuff when it came up, so hurriedly bought it for $25. Turned out to be the wrong box. But it had 4 or 5 new 16 chains at the bottom. Didn't have to buy a chain for years after that.

Tim

T in NE · Oct 7, 2021

I've noticed some auctiontime reps can't even be bothered to open a truck hood so one can see what kind of engine is in it.

37 chief · Oct 7, 2021

Sounds like you got a Bargen. I arrived late at an auction years ago. Up for bid was a Lincoln idealarc welder. I didn't get a chance to look at it. It
was very rough from what I could see. the next bid was 35.00, I stuck up my hand. I bought it for 35.00. After looking it over, even if it didn't work I
had at least 40 ft of heavy welding cable. I would get my money back just for the copper. As it turned out it was 220v single phase, and worked. I have
been using it for years. They loaded it in my pickup. leaving the place at the first corner it tipped over in my pickup bed. It was fairly big, and
top heavy. Got it back up and tied it better. Stan

SDE · Oct 8, 2021

I bought a truck box tool box. It had sat on the ground, in one place, for so long that it was covered with dirt and leaves and pine needles. When I cleaned that crap off, I found a set of metric wrenches laying on the top, still in their pouch.

johnofnewhaven · Oct 8, 2021

I thought the seller sent the photos into Auctiontime theirselves.

Geo-TH,In · Oct 8, 2021

Always nice to have scrap metal.

ss55 · Oct 8, 2021

The seller is the one who should have cleaned things off to properly represent his items.

caterpillar guy · Oct 11, 2021

Most of my auction experience was just the opposite sold for more than I could go buy new for. hydraulic cylinder and hoes with tips new was 120.00 sold at auction for 120.00 used. I quit going for a lot of things. I don't hardly go now either. Been to more sales in the last year than the rest of my life almost.

BarnyardEngineering · Oct 11, 2021

(quoted from post at 07:05:11 10/08/21) The seller is the one who should have cleaned things off to properly represent his items.

The seller is dead, so the auctioneer was the seller.

It was in the auctioneer's best interest to represent everything in the best possible light. In this case 30 seconds with the skidsteer would have turned a $1 trailer into a $10 trailer.

tractorguy2 · Oct 11, 2021

My grandpa had a good friend and neighbor named Gerald. Gerald
never married and had no living relatives in this area. When
Gerald died suddenly the auctioneer got the job of lining up his
equipment for the auction.

Dad and I went the day before to preview the auction. The
auctioneer was there cleaning out the shop. In the corner were
three crankshafts. All standing on end with the journals coated
in grease. One even had a machine shop tag on it. The auctioneer
said they were scrap now because no one knew what they fit. Dad
is a diesel tech and told the auctioneer what tractor each crank
fit. Auctioneer still tossed them in the scrap pile along with
several NOS Minneapolis parts Gerald had collected over the
years.

Didn't even put the hoods back on the tractors. Sold the
tractors then told the buyer to dig through the pile and find
the hood that fits!

The auctioneer doesn't always make out

BarnyardEngineering

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jal-SD

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NY 986

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Fawteen

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Fawteen

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Charlie M

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Tim in New York

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T in NE

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37 chief

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SDE

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johnofnewhaven

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Geo-TH,In

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ss55

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BarnyardEngineering

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