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Has online bidding ruined farm auctions?

C

Crookedcreekjerseys

Member
Has online bidding ruined finding good deals at farm auctions or made to them better. Im 25 and havent gotten to experience many auctions that didnt have online bidding. I always get disappointed being outbid by an online bidder 3 states away.
 
Yes it has farm auctions were a social event as much as buying I never bought much but I did have a good time. Randy
 
The best auctions and deals stopped before the Internet but it certainly hasn't helped. Can't really falt someone from trying to get as much as they can for their goods either.
 
Keep in mind that auctions are sponsored by either a seller or a consignment auctioneer, never by the buyers. Online bidding usually helps the sellers get better prices for their items and better commissions for the auctioneers.
 
I like the on line auctions,don't have to drive 100 miles,stand around for 5 hrs to get out bid can do it now from my computer.Especially important now with fuel prices so high if I make the trip now its to pick up something I bought for sure.Plus no standing in the rain or 100 degree weather and things generally sell better on line which is the reason for the auction in the first place.Want a social event go to a tractor show.
 
I have nothing against a seller getting the maximum profit for his stuff. I do not care for this term, ,, buyers premium,, however. Why do auctioneers have to disguise wanting more money with ambiguous terms? Why dont they all just get together and fix the price at 20per cent, or whatever it is, and dispense with the buyers penalty? We are stuck with it no matter what you call it, it just seems disingenuous. Farmers have no such leverage at the elevator. Either take the check or take your grain home.
 
Ive had recent experiences both ways. Tried to buy stuff at auction that I ended up buying from a dealer/jockey because I could do better. Also have bought at auctions where everybody else mustve been asleep at the keyboard.

Last fall I bought two backhoe buckets and a hydraulic hammer for $250. Paid 10 for the hammer. Got it home and it works fine other than a bit of a hydraulic leak. Could probably get $2500 for it if I wanted to sell.I can buy quite a bit of oil for that money.
 
As the number of farmers dwindles to fewer numbers, so do the number of farm auctions. No where near the number of farm auctions in my area. Back in the 80s, there was so many farm auctions within driving distance, sometimes you'd have to pick which one you wanted to go to, because there might be 2 on the same Saturday.

Now days, there might only be a hand full of those kind of such auctions, all year long, within the same area.

That said, a straight up farm sale open to online bidding, hasn't really taken hold in my area. Other types of sales it has (consignment sales, bull sales, livestock auctions, and so on). But farm sales, where they walk around the farm yard selling stuff, they don't. Live bidding only. And you still better be willing to walk around keeping up with the auction ring if your wanting to bid. But even selling like so, the auctioneer is likely to bid something in, if a buyer put in a bid before hand.

I don't think online bidding affects bargain deals as much as you'd think. Online bidders are not likely to bid on cheap low end stuff. Something that will end up selling cheap, and becoming a bargain. Also, to many live bidders there to watch so nothing gets stolen (of value and sold to cheap). Bargains are usually stuff that is likely not going to sell good anyways, no body wants, and nobody shows up to buy it. That sort of thing. Not really what an online bidder is interested in.

If an online bidder is interested in it, than someone in the live audience is gonna be interested in it to.
 
A few things has happened since online only. You have 1000's of bidders instead of 100's. people are selling junk and you can't see it till you pick it up unless the auction company is honest.
I have now bought on 4 different auction sites and been ripped off by all 4 of them. Then to top it off they ad 10% buyers fee in small print.

the other thing that is happening is now the Gov. has all the people staying away from each other and have won one more step to control the people. Like it or not they don't want you socializing and they already dictate what you can print online forums and such. This is working perfect for the comunist rule of the day.

My brother became an auctioneer 1 year before you know what hit. he has no more in person auctions except if animals are involved.
He says the prices have gone over the roof on sales, he charges no buyer fee, and has more people wanting him as auctioneer because of his honesty. He won't sell junk and if it is he makes sure that is what it is in the description.

He told me there was so less hassle with online and more money for him why go back to live. charges sellers the normal commission, no canteen, no stolen property as there is always a day or2 for people to look and then when they pick up there is no crowd for people to hide in while steeling.

I find prices close to new on a lot of little things so quit buying about a year ago.
 
I dont bother with online auctions. If in person auctions come back , I will go if there is something of interest to me . I liked live auction. There is no need for a auctioneer with a online auction, where you just click the computer to bid what you wish to pay.
 
(quoted from post at 16:07:46 04/16/22) Has online bidding ruined finding good deals at farm auctions or made to them better. Im 25 and havent gotten to experience many auctions that didnt have online bidding. I always get disappointed being outbid by an online bidder 3 states away.
Click to expand...

If your at the auction in person and lose out to an online bidder, that only happens if your not paying attention or you do not want to pay the asking bid.
 
I understand it as a seller you want most possible bidders for your big dollar stuff. It has changed auctions tho, sure.

I dont care for online only, Im not going to buy anything big without seeing it so online only us a waste of space to me.

Think the little junk doesnt sell well, not as many people coming to live auction.

Paul
 
I personally do not like online auctions. First of all, it used to be a social event for me & Miss Candy. Id always buy a hotdog and a homemade what even from the ladies at the food counter. Visit with friends, meet new people, etc. Now like everything else, you are at home alone on a computer bidding again someone you cant see and dont know. Second, there are no more deals to be had because the world is bidding against you instead of just your neighbors. So to answer your question, IMHO, online bidding has ruined farm auctions. There are few deals anymore.
 
I can tell you with certainty that there were very few bargins at auctions in the past. I have bought and sold lots of 2 cyl. tractors and parts in the past.
Only ever bought 1 tractor at an auction. I could always find a better deal elsewhere with a private sale.
 
The buyers fees are to pay the online hosting sites. Some auctions use 3 different online companies running the fees up to 15% for online. Then there is the 3% credit card fee....

Other side of the coin, I look the day before, and now bid from the comfort of my home.

And yes, about anytime I bid on something that I have not looked at, I get junk. Everyone takes ever piece of junk and blown head gasket, cracked block, no clutch, and you name it. Only 20% of the equipment is usable anymore.
 
Redforlife pretty much summed it up. A lot depends on your area. If smaller or part-time farms held on longer, or are still in business, then you'll see more local auctions.

I don't like the online format as it is hard to know the condition of what you're bidding on (unless it is new old stock). Then there's whole transportation/shipping issue. I figure I have to be there to bring it home, so might as well be there to bid. Some stuff is not economical to ship long distances, so there the local auction still has an advantage.

Locally we have a consignment auction twice a year with multiple auctioneers. That is a good way to get experience. I got most of my hay equipment that way. Farm auctions come up about once a month.
 
I'm 51 and loved going to farm auctions to look the tractors over and watch the selling price. best way to spend a Saturday afternoon. My biggest problem with online auctions is the lack of local advertising. Two farmers here that live roughly nine miles north of me had online auctions. I didn't know anything about them till they were done and over. This is a village of 120 population. There was no sale bill posted at the bank, gas station, newspaper or advertised on local radio station. The only way you would know they were having a sale is if you were searching the online auctions for a piece of equipment one of them happened to have listed.

I like and have a small collection of antique tractors. Bought all on local auctions. I'd like to have a Ford 600/800 and a Farmall super H or M but I'm not actively hunting for one and not going to drive 100 miles to get one. I wait for them to be on local auctions. That's how I ended up with a 9n Ford. Was not planning on buying one. Went to a local farm retirement sale with seven tractors from the 40's through 60's. I raised my hand once and got it for $1000. This was back in 1999 when Ford N series tractors were more sought after. If this would have been an online auction. I would not have been sitting at the computer all afternoon waiting. More than likely would not have even known the tractor was for sale.

When a farmer has an online retirement auction. What happens to all the small stuff that would be on the racks? Does it get tossed? That use to be a very good place to find parts. Often NOS. My grandpa had 16 brand new plow shares for his Case plow on his auction. As I recall they sold for $15 each. He also had all kinds of new parts for his Gleaner F. belts, bearings, water pumps, fuel pumps and more. I once bought a very nice exhaust manifold for my SC Case on a retirement sale. The manifold was in a pile of scrap metal. The auctioneer let bidders pick out anything they wanted. I paid $5. That won't happen on an online auction. Pick parts out of a scrap pile.

I think the online auctions have completely ruined toy auctions.
 
Is the small stuff going to local consignment auctions instead of online auctions? I've gotten rid of some small stuff at weekly summer consignment auctions. The down sides were the auctioneers fee was 30 percent and I had to remove what didn't sell, but I still got reasonable prices and it was a whole lot easier than taking pictures of everything and writing ads for Craig's List and Facebook Market Place. Plus it all sold at one time, I didn't have to spend 1/4 or 1/2 hour at a time with individual buyers over several weeks to get everything sold.

Holding an auction can be very traumatic and stressful for some sellers, especially a retirement or estate auction. Some sellers do not appreciate having a lot of strangers snooping around their farmstead and home, poking their noses into every building and having a high old time during their auction. An online auction with appointments for inspections can cut down on a lot of the uninvited Lookie Loos without loosing the serious bidders.
 
Everything ebbs and flows. It depends on what you are looking for and how old it is. If there is a modern day comparable to what is at auction, my rule is 50 percent. If the auction item hits 50 percent the price of new, then you will be money ahead to buy new and have that peace of mind.
 

cvphoto123298.png



Enough said!
 
George that is the basic reason for auctions is to get the sellers the best price for their possessions.Auctions are not held for so people in a 40 mile radius can get together to have a social event or so the locals can basically steal everything at bargain prices.Most of the replies in this thread have convinced me if I do have a going out of farming auction it'll definitely be on line.
 
With on line auctions you don't have to sit and watch the items,just put in your maximum bid and the bidding program bids for you,and if you get an item you'll get an email letting you know.And if you do want to sit and bid the starting time for your item to sell is listed.
 
If they say there is a buyer premium I'm not biding. On line biding is good for seller bad for buyer. The seller get more money and nobody steals. The buyer does not get what he thinks he's getting. I bought four small items for 10 dollars. I got 4 large items and it cost me 150 dollars in shipping. I put some items in a larger sale and auctioneer screwed me over. My smaller items should have been in the first day of sale for smaller items. The auctioneer put them in second day of sale of sale for large items therefor few buyers for small items. If your at a auction and they are just raising their hand for the next bid be careful. A kid in the back with a yo,yo can raise the bid on you several times
 
(quoted from post at 07:38:44 04/17/22)
<img src=https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto123298.png>


Enough said!
Click to expand...
would like to see what the guy who bought the cream separator ended up with .. LOL
 
True.

An auction company 25 miles from me has a weekly consignment auction. They post no buyer's premium on most small items.

I've bought some items from them, and I usually just post my maximum bid right at the start and see what happens. I really haven't seen too many bargains. Most big ticket items, trucks, newer tractors, etc. go for at least what you'd expect to pay on a dealer's lot. Pickup trucks are going out of sight lately.

On this auction, when there's a bid within the last minute, it automatically adds 20 seconds back to the time. That way everyone gets a chance to bid and no one can throw out an outrageous bid with a few seconds left.
 
I'm old fashioned and love a live farm auction with no online bidders..I love the drive to and from the auction and seeing and visiting with old friends..I dont do any online bidding at farm auctions.
 
Yes. I think if someone wants to bid they should be there in person. That being said, Ive bid on an item online. It went for more than I was willing to pay. The next month it was at auction again. I went there in person and looked at it it was junk. People bidding on line dont get a good idea of what kind of condition the item is in, but thats there fault not the sellers or auctioneers.
 
Back in the 1980s there was a lot of farmers going broke and the auctions in a locally depressed economy really drove down the prices.
 
Not going to be going to auctions much any more, not many that would have what the Amish I worked with. Either live or on line. Back when YT had their auction I bought a few items on that, but that and I don't remember but possibly E Bay, None of that now. Several years ago a friend of mine passed and was a big Oliver collector. They did not have on line but live auction with one of the auctioneer on a cell phone taking bids juse as if they were on the grounds, They would at start of selling an item that we have a person on the phonethat cannot be here today giving bids just as if he was here. Only time I have seen or heard of that.
 
Let's not beat around the bush here. Most of this is sour grapes because you can't get stuff for CHE-EEE-EAP anymore.

Seems like an awfully entitled attitude to take for a group so opposed to entitlement.
 

Seems like it. Any that I've watched stuff seems to sell high and then a buyer's premium applies to make it even worse.
Live auctions I've gone to in the past fifty years I've got some real good deals on a few things that were not even listed in the sale. (Junk in some people's opinion). Seems like most of today's auctions they just list the high dollar stuff and the rest must go for scrap iron.
I have to admit it is a lot more comfortable watching the sale from the comfort of home rather than freezing/burning up in whatever variable weather the sale day might be on.
 
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