Live auction behavior..

lendaddy · 08-14-2008, 05:57 PM

It's an interesting dynamic. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people pay over retail for a used item.

I'm sure tabs has stories.

Aurel · Aurel's Garage

Hehe, yup. I have my not running boat on e-bay right now. I started it at $499, it is over $1k now, and still two days to go before the final fight

.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330260910864

Edit: That is probably not the kind of live auction Len was talking about, a bit off topic I know...

Aurel

Shaun @ Tru6 · 08-14-2008, 06:06 PM

hmmmm, perhaps eBay would be a good idea.

FS: 75 US Carrera Targa

lendaddy · 08-14-2008, 06:11 PM

Shaun, it's much more common in live auctions than ebay. Find a consignment auction nearby and throw your stuff in there.

Shaun @ Tru6 · 08-14-2008, 06:14 PM

will do, thanks!

Aurel · Aurel's Garage

The beauty of auctions, in my opinion, is that you cannot really underprice something: the price is set by the buyer. I could have put my boat for sale for $500 on craigslist, and still have someone nickel and dime it down. In auction, it is the opposite, and the price automatically goes up to what the market says it should be. Works for me...

Aurel

Mo_Gearhead · 04:13 AM

QUOTE: "I can't tell you how many times I've seen people pay over retail for a used item."
______________

Indeed. Happens occasionally.

People get caught up in the bidding process (IE: I'm not gonna let THAT SOB outbid ME!)....

...or they just haven't done their homework (know somethings actual value).

Latest example: Common 'stick welder' (used) ...some '20something' kid paid about $100 more than a new one can be purchased for???

Amusing.

Jims5543 · 08-15-2008, 05:28 AM

When I was in my late 20's I went to a Land Auction, the developer went bankrupt the they were selling off the lots on this Golf Community. It was on Merritt Island and the only Golf Community on Merritt Island.

Before the bankruptcy, the lots originally went for 60K a pop then were reduced to 40K.

I was expecting to pay in the 10-15K range at this auction and so did many of the guys around me.

They were putting blocks of 3 lots up to bid, the winner then got to choose from the 3.

Opening block of lots were probably the best 3 in the subdivision and the bidding shot all the way up to 37K in moments mostly due to some quick banter by the auctioneer. My mouth fell open, and a few of us looked at each other is disbelief and disdain.

My boss was with me and he saw I was rattled and calmed me down, he encouraged me to sit back relax and watch.

By the time the lot I had my eye on (I had 5 that I liked) came up tot he block, all the wad blowers were done and leaving. I got my lot for 12K.

I sold it 9 months later for 26K, I should have bought more than 1.

legion · 08-15-2008, 06:46 AM

My mom lives on Merritt Island. I should poke around and find your old lot, Jim.

Of course, you can't sell ANYTHING on that island right now. My mom wisely rents.

m21sniper · 08-15-2008, 07:22 AM

I buy at a local car auction regularly, it's the same there. The alpha male bidders get their fangs bared and bid themselves into oblivion.

Brian 162 · 08-15-2008, 06:40 PM

All you have to do is watch that Barrett-Jackson train wreck. After these guys have overpaid 3 times the value for a numbers matching clone they look at the camera with a WTF did I just do.

TerryH · TerryH's Garage

yeah, I see it all the time too. People assume if it's bought on eBay, it's automatically a bargain. A quick compare on Amazon.com will almost always beat the eBay sellers store "buy it now" prices and most of the live auctions.

Can also compare to google and yahoo shopping searches.

If it's a used item, then I compare craigslist nationwide for pricing.

Jims5543 · 08-15-2008, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by legion

My mom lives on Merritt Island. I should poke around and find your old lot, Jim.

Of course, you can't sell ANYTHING on that island right now. My mom wisely rents.

I do not know if this will work. There is a house on the lot now.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Second house down from the intersection on the east side of the road.

I sold it over 10 years ago, 3-4 years ago I could have sold it for 150K, who knew? Well, I sort of did, if you want to live on a golf course on Merritt Island this is the only one, at least is was 10 years ago.

tabs · 08-16-2008, 12:37 AM

Art, gun and antique dealers buy at auction. One can move a piece from one auction to anonther and make bank.

Over pay, yep I have done that on speciality items where one might not see another one for years. Mostly no, I know where to draw the line.

Recently Little John's in OC, CA (one of the big antique gun auctioneers in the USA) had a Hensoldt Wetzlar Spotting Scope circa 1960, it sold with a stand for $750. On E-bay that afternoon the exact same scope sold for $157.00. A week later one with a tripod mount sold for $137.00 on the bay.

The most amazing thing I have seen at auciton was a S&W Registered 357 Mag that had an auction estimate of $1800 to $2200 go for $17,000. What the fk did I miss in this story was my thought. The auctioneer didn't measure the barrel correctly and it was a special order gun with an unusal barrel length. I thought oh my, somebody knows something here....so about a year later I bought one NIB for about $3000, about 6 months later several were sold for around $12000. Today one can count on around $8000 without a problem. Then again I have seen guys put out 750K without a problem for a gun.

75'930cab · 08-16-2008, 03:32 PM

I went to auction a few months back of a bankrupt transmission shop. I watched two guys bid up 2-1/2 gallons of window washer fluid up to $18.00 and don't forget the buyer's premium they tack on when it comes to pay!

Seahawk · 08-17-2008, 03:35 AM

One of my favorite shows is, 'Cash in the Attic' on BBCA. It's on early Saturday and Sunday mornings...watching it now

Every once in a while, biiding war breaks out and fairly ordinary items sell for 3 or 4 times the estimate

johnco · 08-17-2008, 07:51 AM

I used to go to used oilfield equipment auctions with my father now and then. he had grown up dirt poor with nothing and worked hard all his life until he had enough to buy anything he wanted. which was obvious when he went to an auction. the poor man would get so excited, so wound up at times, he would start bidding against himself. I've seen him drive the price up 2 or 3 times more before he would realize he was the only one still bidding. several times I'd ask him what was he bidding on and he didn't know, but still bid anyway. I've still got piles of things stored we never had use for even one much less a truckload. and I'm not talking about little small items either. hydraulic winches almost too big to put in my truck, truck load of industrial gauges, a trailer load of 60 lb spools of welding wire, 1200 lbs of welding rods we couldn't use, two truck loads of odd size pvc fittings. he would buy things we didn't need and sometimes didn't even know what they were used for anyway. pedestal crane off of a drilling rig, 18 wheeler load of diesel engines, hydraulic rams any where from 2 ft to 6 ft, etc. etc.. you name it, he's bought it at an auction.. anything from broken handtools, to 50 ton cranes to a WWII era tugboat he just had to have. went to an auction looking for a nice houseboat.. came home owning a 28 ft sailboat. after that sank during the hurricane he went to another auction looking for a houseboat. by then his alzheimers was taking away more and more of his memory and 2 days later when a 28ft bayliner was delivered, he had no idea why someone would park their boat in his front yard. Auctions can be a good place to make good deals, but you have to know what you're looking for, how much it's worth and how much you're willing to pay for it.. before you start bidding..