Auction Advice/Tips

Auctions can be alot of fun. Don't be intimidated. Listen to the auctioneer for a good ten or fifteen minutes before you start bidding on stuff. It becomes easy to understand once you get your ear, but every auctioneer has his or her own style. You might want to practice bidding on a few items (that you need anyway), but put in a bid or two, and then let others keep going while you bow out, just to get a taste of making a bid. Say you see a clock, that might go for $30. If bidding gets going starting at $5 maybe jump in at $8 or $12, but then let it go to someone else, just to get a feel for it. Good luck.

You have gotten some great information so far, and I second all of it.

First, don't be intimidated. Auctions are fun, and offer great opportunity.

A few things I haven't seen so far....
1) Don't get auction fever, and start bidding on everything, and pay too much.
2) Don't let auctioneers be pushy with you. Just like everything else, there are good ones and bad ones. The bad ones will try to put high pressure on you, or be smart aleks when something doesn't bring much. (Do NOT put up with this!) Bad auctioneers sometimes take 'ghost bids', so make sure you stop bidding when you are at your spending limit.
3) If you are bidding and get confused, you can stop the auctioneer and get clear. Veteran sale go-ers know how to do this with hand movements....but make sure you know what you are bidding on.
4) Wait till they get down to the lowest point before you start bidding. You might be shocked by the auctioneer asking for the highest price first. In a sense, they are often telling you what they think it should bring. They are also looking for high stakes bidders....sometimes these folks are just plain dumb, but sometimes it works in the buyers favor.
5) For some, auctions are huge impulse sales waiting to happen. Don't be one of them.
6) Don't let opportunity pass you by. If you KNOW you can easily make great money reselling certain items, buy them if they go cheap.

Like Iddee said, it is hard to cram experience from hundreds of auctions into a short space.
Clove

Thank you SO much to everyone, I am loving all of the advice given here & am keeping a list! I'm still a bit nervous (because A- Even though I've worked in sales, I can be a total pushover sometimes and am afraid this will show & B - I'm a very impulsive shopper at times, though trying VERY hard to correct this), but am going to jump in & attend an auction this Saturday. I'm only bringing a bit of cash & no cc's so that I can't get carried away my first time - AND, I've convinced my still exceptionally sharp 70-year-old grandfather to go with me to "keep me in line" my first time! He's very knowledgeable about tools & such and is an expert bargain shopper, so will help me with pricing things. Since I'm generally pretty adept at finding items at thrift stores, estate sales & even flea markets, knowing their "true value" & re-selling them on eBay or elsewhere (or keeping them & enjoying my bargain!), I think it will be a lot of fun & an entirely new challenge!

This bears repeating. I've seen people shocked to find out they bought a whole lot of items instead just one, i.e., the amount of money they bid times however many items were in the lot. I remember one distraught women who thought she was buying a silver half-dollar for her son. She didn't think $1.25 was a lot of money to spend on a half-dollar, but didn't realize there were several rolls of silver half-dollars she was buying.

There is a lot of good info given in the previous posts, so I can only give you a couple of pointers that I've used. I'm at auction every Tue. evening and at a lot of farm auctions on Saturdays..

1. Some auctions have a buyers fee/ premium, normally about 10% which is added to your bill when you settle up. EX. you buy a item for $10 and the auction has a 10% buyers fee, this item will now cost you $11.. keep that in mind when you choose your max bid.
2.If the item is something you need, then try to know what the retail or a close estimate price is and don't bid above the 75% of retail. Any thing above 75% of retail, then you might just as well buy new with the warrenties etc.
3. If you don't need the item, but would like to have it, then make your max bid about 50% of retail.

These basic rules are not written in stone, but just a starting point.. you can adjust the percentages as you see fit. I've used them for years now and have gotten some real good deal at auction.

The best advice is to go and enjoy yourself...

Don't take a Deaf Person

I was at an Auction my SIL came to visit.She was signing the Auctioneer thought she was bidding

big rockpile

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If I need a Shelter
If I need a Friend
I go to the Rock!

LOL, I'm bringing my deaf wife to a cow auction today. Better bring some duct tape.

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Flaming Xtian
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi


Libertarindependent

I always stand far enough back that I can see the other bidders.If I can't see who Im bidding against I quit. I just hate to be bid up by ghosts and shills.

LOOK FOR SALE BILLS there is usually someplace in a community where everyone posts sale bills maybe several .And some sales will show up there that dont show up anyother way.

Is that anything like going to a duck auction and bringing cow tape?

Lots of good advice already.

I'll just mention:

1. Listen to the auctioneer BEFORE your item comes up. Sometimes it takes a while to understand exactly what they are saying price wise!!

2. Have a price in mind before you start bidding and once the price is reached drop out.

3. If there is something that is a "must have" (and this goes for bidding on anything actually), never, NEVER pause in your bidding once you are started. Pausing only makes the opposing bidder think you are about done. If you have a determined look on your face that YOU will outbid anyone and don't pause or falter when bidding, many people will drop out.

For #3, I've seen many people pause and think about if they wanted to bid the current asking price. The opposing bidder assumes the person is about done bidding, and continues bidding sometimes raising the price up quite a bit more because they thought the pauser / thinker is about done.

Don't kick yourself after an auction, because you didn't bid on such and such an item or did but it went too cheap in your opinion. Just because the closing bid for the tool was $20.00 doesn't mean you would have got it for $21.00 - the person who got it might have bid it up to $50.00 - you will never know so don't regret what you didn't do!

Have fun!

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Michael W. Smith in North-West Pennsylvania

"Everything happens for a reason."

What a great thread! I have avoided auctions because I didn't want to take my lumps learning the very things that have been posted here. I need a lot of equipment and auction prices are easier than retail, done right.

FM, any tips for determining who the ghosts and shills are? I am assuming they are somehow associated with the autioneer or the seller, but how can a person spot them?

If you have never been to an auction before it might be a good idea to attend an auction and leave your check book at home. You could get the feel of auctions and get used to the auctioneer's "chant" without getting nervous about buying anything.

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I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.

I would avoid anything with an engine or expensive parts unless you know something about them. I have witnessed people getting burned not knowing what they were bidding on was really a piece of junk.

I go to several auctions a month, they really are fun.

And don't be afraid to ask. If it is a small auction a lot of times they will stop and help you understand. I took my mom to an auction and they loved her. She threw her hands up in disgust when she was trying to buy something and shouted "I can't even understand what you are saying! How much are you making me spend?" Everybody laughed and the auctioneer slowed down for that item. Since then she has learned the lingo but when she has a question she stops them! They actually told her after the auction that they liked when people asked questions so new people could figure out answers to their questions that they were afraid to ask. Now mind you this was an auction with only 40 or so folks.

If it is a larger auction pick out someone that looks friendly and start talking to them. Tell them you are new to this auction thing and you need help. Remember that everyone there had a first time at an auction. Heck, talking to people is 90% of the fun.

You might end up buying something from someone you started talking to. We have bought hay and a llama that wasn't even for sale.

It might go something like this:

"What are you here looking for?"

"Ah, nothing much, what ever they want to give away. What are you looking for?"

"A llama or other farm animal, but it doesn't look like they have any here."

"Really? I have one that I was thinking of selling."



One other tip: Take a chair and a cooler with some drinks, maybe even a snack. I have gone to auctions that lasted from 8 am - 7 pm.

If you see something you want, pay attention to other people that are also looking at it. Deals after the auction also happen.

The incubator I was looking at sold with another for more than I was willing to pay for one. The lady that bought them only wanted one and I bought the "extra" one from her. We were both happy.

Another item I wanted was in a pile of stuff that didn't interest me. I won the bid and afterwards wished I had payed closer attention to the girl that was eyeing the rodent play equipment that is now sitting unused in my garage.

Some auctions have house men, their job is to push the bid up on bidders that want the item. BEWARE!!

In addition to the great advice given here, I have some more, about bidding technique.

If you are interested in something, be where the auctioneer or his assistant can see you. Hold your card up when you bid, and lower it and shake your head when you stop. Make sure you have eye contact with whoever is taking the bids, so you don't think that your timid gesture is being received when it is actually the guy behind you.

Be ready to show your number to someone when you win an item. Auctioneers make money by selling things quickly and they appreciate not having to wait even a few seconds to move on to the next item.

When you are setting that upper limit above which you will not go, make it an odd amount. Don't set the limit at $10, for example, that is what everyone else does. Set your limit at one bid unit above the even amount. $11 or $12 will often get the item, because the rest of the bidders have said they will drop out at 10.

You can also disrupt the flow of bidding once you have gotten the rhythm of the auction. If the bids are going up in 5 dollar amounts, sometimes jumping a bid verbally by a $10 amount will signal to the others you are serious about this and they will drop out.

You can also offer a lower amount than is being asked. Some auctioneers will attempt to start every bid higher than he really expect something to go for. So it he says "Who will give me $20?" and you think it is worth maybe $15 to you, offer $2 or $5.

In most auctions, you can also change bidding the increments. If the auctioneer is asking for a $10 raise, you may get away with adding $5 to the last bid. But sometimes, if you are way off the final price at that point, the auction will just revert to the regular amount.

My husband is an Auctioneer, and some of the post on here about seeing who it is that you are bidding against does not always hold true. We have a large following of faithful "regulars" that have signal bidding styles that Jeff is very familiar with. Example, at a large farm auction recently we had a man that became very angry when he did not win the bid on a tractor, he spouted off that we had run the bid up on him and then "sold" it back to the "house, when in fact the man that DID buy the tractor gives a wink to bid, another man that follows us keeps his hands up on his suspenders and just gives a "thumbs up" bid. So you see, you may not ALWAYS see who it is that you are bidding against.

Good luck in your adventures at the auctions!

Drb

Good point. A good auctioner can catch a raised eyebrow if that is how you bid.

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Flaming Xtian
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi


Libertarindependent

[QUOTE=sunflower-n-ks]If you see something you want, pay attention to other people that are also looking at it. Deals after the auction also happen.


Very true. As a wheeler dealer and a flea marketer (on the side), I have often made $150 buying and selling while the auction is still going!!!! In my experience, most folks won't want to sell....dont ask me why....but it never hurts to ask!

Clove

As for 'house men', 'shill bids' and 'ghost bidding'....in one way it shouldn't matter. You should set your limits on what you want to spend. As long as you don't go over that amount....you still bought what you wanted for the price you wanted to pay.

I don't think that 'ghost bidding' happens as much as you think. The auctioneer still has to make sure that the item sells, and they don't want to get stuck with it.

Sometimes you are bidding against a standing bid that was left with the auctioneer. This happens alot!!!!!!! Other times, the auctioneer might be bidding for himself.

You will learn new stuff everytime you go to an auction....I think it takes years to be a seasoned veteran. I have literally been to hundreds and hundreds of auctions, and I still don't consider myself a pro, by any means.

IMHO, I think most auctioneers...especially the country estate sales, are pretty fair. The good and honest, at least in this area, get the most estate sales, and are the most successful. You can still get slicked, though, if you dont watch it.

FWIW, I still go to any sale that a particular auctioneer has. He is known for being a little slick, and he is a BAD auctioneer. I get my best deals from his sales, because he doesn't ever draw a crowd....

Have fun at the auction!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clove