[johnco]

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..