(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

the auction crowd-observations

Yesterday's Tractor Forums
glennster

glennster

Well-known Member
while at an auction yesterday, i did some people watching, what a hoot. a herd of guys that follow the auction truck, get right in the way, have no intention of bidding on any thing. if you are bidding they crowd right around you so you have trouble seeing the auctioneer. then there are the "stand in front of the truck and block it so it cant move ahead group". then there are the "i have to start everything that has an engine on it bunch, also not buying, but run the battery down or flood the engine so it wont start group. and last there are the guys at the hay racks, re packing the stuff that were already sorted in lots. some people!!! and last , when you buy something, there are the "if i knowed it was going that cheap, I woulda bid on it" well ya dint, and i did, and its comin' home wit me!!!!! people are funny!!
 
LOL, yup, you got about 80% of the auction attenies in them groups, but you forgot the group that stands behind you after an auction and jibber jabber about how they "know" all that is wrong with what you just bought andare shaking their heads at what you just paid for it, when they all know they shoulda bought it or they just dont have that much money. You sure run into some odd charectors at auction, and I am probably an odd one as well.
 
We sold some of my Dad's equipment at a consignment auction in December. The weather turned bad and there was an ice storm. Only 20 people showed up but everything sold pretty good anyhow. Seems the serious bidders made it out and the groups Glennster described stayed in the coffee shop.
 
I bought a couple of buckets full of stuff because there was a foot long piece of railroad iron I wanted for a portable anvil. I was the only bidder, got it all for a buck. Sold the rest to another guy there for 5 bucks and the thought he got a bargain, I guess he wasn't paying attention!
 
After i've bought a tractor at auction i've had guys come up to me and say " Boy you really wanted that bad" or " I could have bought it before the sale for 1/2 what you paid".
 

and dont ferget the guy that spends 3 hrs. getting something running that he wants to buy and paying 4 times more because it runs!!!
 
I gotta plead guilty to both these charges. I have missed lots due to being in the can and had to pay handsomely for the experience. I have also been outbid due to something else in the lot that I was not interested in only to approach the buyer and buy what I needed. It is really easy to tell what someone wanted out of the lot and what they intend to take to the dumpster. Sometimes the buyer recoups quite a bit of the purchase price, sometimes not. Sometime I get it for the asking of taking the rest to the dumpster. Sometimes just for the asking. I don't mind paying more than what the item was bid for, if I want it and I missed the auction for whatever reason. It is worth it to me!

Aaron
 
And I am sad to say, the one you don't see takeing what he did not buy. Did not use to happen but now you got to take it to your truck right away. Consignment sale...things disapear befor the auction. Like a winch switch cable-no way will it last till the auction. A sad thing, but is just the way things are now.
Kenny
 
My buddy bought me a genuinee Case top link for 2 dollars that way once. It was in a pile of iron. Sold it on E-bay for 100 plus shipping.
Kenny
 
yup, i bought 2 6 wheeler attex atv"s yesterday, paid 1200 for the pair. guy comes up to me, says, you paid way to much for them. i says nope, i checked the internet, found junk ones with no motors sold for a grand. so i saved 800 bucks and mine run. he got mad at me!!! theres pics on the farmall board of a few tractors and the atv"s. they had snowmobiles there, they about gave them away, highest one was a polaris indy, beautiful sled, brought 800.00. only couple year old sled.
 

it used to be tractor keys at auction in my area. i guess wanna-be buyer would hear it run, than steal key so nobody else could. dumb.
 
OR how bout the one that just stands next to you at the auction and just wants to talk ,, about anything, but ends up making you miss what the auctioneer was selling or how much something went for,,

I had that happen with a neighbor, I see seldom,, yacked it up,, I missed a few deals,, now I just kinda say politely,, I need to see this sell, and move to the other side of the crowd,, I normally am in the back anyway,,
kinda waiting for the deal, or a cheap buy,,,

Or the guys that go thru the LOT you JUST BOUGHT,, looking at it,,, and touching everything,,, you know you end up with missing stuff,, its not public property anymore ,, its mine,, you missed the bid, get away from my stuff,,haha,,

takes all kinds, and it seems auctions bring them all out,, although I am itching for them to start in again,,
 
dont ferget the guy that finds what he wants hears it run then dissables it so when the auctioneer gets too it it wont start lucky we got a guy in charge that owns a machinery dealership and if he knows that it runs he guarentees you can drive it home or he will buy it back from you
 
I always like the guys that buy something and pay half again as much for it as you can buy it new. Saw that once not long ago where a guy got a Lincoln buzz box and payed around $300 for it and new they where selling for around $175 at that time. He was so proud of his buy till I told him he could buy them new cheaper then he got mad. LOL
Hobby farm
 
The absolute worst thing about some auctions is bidding against someone who doesn't exist.Well actually they do exist in the form of the auctioneer.

I've seen a couple auctioneers get caught doing it,most people don't catch it when it happens."Where did he go,I had it over there,let's back up" is a good indication.
 
I'll never forget a local auction one spring. Started out nice then a cold front came through. Started a cold drizzel. A neighbor came up to me and a few other guys and said "did ya ever see anything as dumb as a bunch of farmers standing out in the rain waiting to spend their money?" I said,ya,them of us standin' out here that ain't got any money.
 
I don't know, yeah you can buy those buzz boxes cheaper new sometimes but I'd be afraid they cheapened them up.
 
Around here there is stiff competition for the auctions to get the assignments. Because they want repeat business from the "selling" customers, they let the sellers bid on their own stuff. Many times it just you and the owner bidding against each other. Other times folks I know will have a list of item numbers and amounts they are to bid on their friends stuff - the ole "you bid on my stuff and I will bid on your stuff". Tom
 
That makes me laugh. I see the exact same thing. You simply can't do anything about them except deal with them.

I admit trying to start a 60 i was really interested in, only resulting in flooding it.

Then, there's always those people who make you mad- those belligerent, nasty farts who run you over in their golf carts and bark atcha.

Oh well, that's the life of an auction, gotta keep on movin'.
 
I'd be afraid of the one that went to the auction.... It was probably sent for a reason. The new one, though lighter will have a guarntee... something that the auction special doesn't.

Rod
 
Hey glennster.. Theres also the guy that comes up to ya talking about a piece of equipment that your eyeing, saying he's got one just like it and what a piece of crap it is blah blah blah.. AND THEN HE'S THE ONE BIDDING AGAINST YOU!!!
 
I have a couple of friends who are auctioneers. One of them frequently announces that a person is bidding on a particular item to buy it for the auctioneer. Seems honest to me.
 
Was at an auction in Canada one time, waiting in line to use the outdoor john, heard a guy cussing inside , came out ,said anyone want a day old cell phone there's one lying in the bottom of the hole.
 
Bought a John Deere AR at an auction one time wouldn't run.Was supposed to but nobody could get it to start. Went back next day hot battery,gas and a piece of wire and drove it on my trailer. Guy that bid against me said If I knew it would run I would have paid twice as much. Collected from him and helped him load it on his trailer.Didn't need it anyway and was able to tell wife I didn't bring anything home but myself.
 
I was at an estate auction last summer that had a JD 4020.There was some guy setting on the front tire all day long.If you got close to the tractor he would point out problems and tell you how expensive everything was to fix.He bid on the tractor till around $3500,it brought $7500 anyway.
 
What a wonderful thread. I agree with everything said, it is easy to come home from an auction frustrated with people. Anything I have my eye on at an auction, I will wait till there are a handful of people looking at it, walk up to it, give it a quick lookover and then look the other way and listen to the comments made about it.That way I let a bunch of other people inspect it for me. Save me a lot of "didnt see that" when I get it home.
 
That method often works MN Rick, but sometimes people embellish what is wrong with an item or outright lie about it, in order to scare other potential bidders off. I've seen this happen firsthand several times.
 
I get tired of the auctioneer that scolds the bidders for not bidding high enough. Items are worth more or he sold one last summer for a higher price. An auctioneer in Indiana that sells a lot of tractors does this a lot. An honest auction is the best means to determine an items value at that time and in that place.
 
I have friends that auction for a living. Some tricks --When the ringman yells yep yep yep with a open hand this means he is taking bids from the sky. When he closes his fist means he has the money. At a tool auction / truckload auction with a local auctioneer you use the lot number as such --Lot number of 100 has to bring either $200.00 or $50.00 depending on how they run it. Once they get that amount they have more in the truck if anyone else wants it for that money. Otherwise there is only one for sale. When a ringman stands close to the auctioneer he gets air bids till he taps his foot on the auctioneers foot, thus he has a actual bid.

Another is, ring man yells yep yep yep, then all the sudden he yells yea yea. That is when the actual bid was made.

A good friend that is a auctioneer also said he attended a car auction that they cried backwards. Starting the car at double the expected value, then cried downward till the first guy bid--then it was all over. Seemed stupid at first, but he actualy thought that it may have brought more money that way. Once you make up your mind on top dollar you best shout at that point. Maybe a good idea?

I find it funny when a auctioneer gets stuck with a air bid and has to stop the auction and explain how good the machine is a few times then all of the sudden he cries for alot less money than he had. But on a realistic note, a auctioneer isn't going to sell a ten thousand dollar tractor for $500.00 either.

I never go to a auction when the auctioneer has a used tractor lot, he will take home the bargins, so why should I invest any time.
 
I hear you. Two years ago somebody stole the ramps off my trailer during the auction. Good thing I didnt buy a tractor.
 
Starting at a high price and coming down to the first bid is called a Dutch Auction, isn't it?

The auctioneer gets paid by the seller so it's his job to get the highest price he honestly can, not necessarily what the item is worth. Despite all the criticism here I believe most auctioneers play by the rules. Those who cheat won't see me again.
 
Here 'ya go, I think I found an example...
clinton2Xart280.jpg
 
I was at a machinery sale over the summer and they had a bunch of cat toys there that I was bidding on. Got a bunch more than I could hold so I put what I had in the empty corner of the building they were in, looked back 10 minutes later to see if everything was there and another bidder was putting my toys in the bottom of his boxes! After the old "I didn't know, thought these were mine blah blah blah" BS I finally got everything straightened out and wound up missing bidding on a 400$ toy that went for $35. You know, honest people are hard to find these days.
 
I was at a big consignment sale one time. bought a tractor and found a buddy of mine there who could haul it home for me, had his trailor there. I paid and left. He was going to watch one tractor sell then leave and be headed my way. On my way home a cold front rolled in and it started pour'n. Bob called me a few hours later, said "I may not get your tractor home till tomarrow or Monday, they have alot more stuff here. I just bought two tractors, a disk mower, lime buggy, plow, and a grader blade and ain't spent 3 grand yet!"

A bad day will bring good deals as long as it ain't too late in the spring.

Dave
 
I bought my last welder a Lincoln 250 Idealarc AC/DC and 100' ft of perfect lead .from a heating an air place that closed for 200.00 No regrets on that one.
Makes up for most of my other auction buys
 
I was at a big box store surplus sale one time. They had about 30, 15 gallon atv spot sprayers. Only about half of them had the pump, and half of them had a hose and wand. I got one that was complete and they marked my number on it. By the time I got wiggled in the mob to find it, it was gone. Found it in the back of some realy old farts truck, with my number on it. My number was like 147 and his was 23, same "I didn't know".

Dave
 
I saw a ringman taking bids from a barn one time, kept pointing behind him and take'n bids. The thing was the only thing behind him was an old tobacco barn with no one in it!!!!

Dave
 
I've personally seen darn near all of these observations...it's what keeps us coming back to auctions though, the suspense, the excitement, the drama... :D
 
That happens alot here with log chains, handyman jacks, and cattle feeders or hay rings. The best one I ever saw was two old men who did not like each other run up a pile of 6' t-post to $5 each!!!!!! At least the other guy did not get them I guess.

Dave
 
That happens alot here with log chains, handyman jacks, and cattle feeders or hay rings. The best one I ever saw was two old men who did not like each other run up a pile of 6' t-post to $5 each!!!!!! At least the other guy did not get them I guess.

Dave
 
My brother got a 76 frod high boy truck at a sale one time. We got there early and started it up. Sounded good. Another guy lifted the hood on it before it sold, and when they sold it, it would not hardly start and ran rough. Brother got it for $800. After the sale I put the back two plug wires on, it has run great ever since.

Dave
 
I just want to know who goes the same auction's that I go to. 9 items sell for almost nothing but when the 10th (the one I want) everybody wants it. Been to a lot of auctions never got that good deal. I always have my top price & walk away because if they bid $1. more its theirs.
Led
 
Evry one has to make up for some Auction losses. Like my 3 air tools for $20= none work, Chop saw for $20 = stops spinning when it hits the wood, Saws all for $25= Runs but stops when pressure applied, PTO hydralic pump $65= No pumping going on here.
Oh crud I should never have added that up $130 could have purchased a good sawsall for that.
Wont even count the leaky hydralic rams I have purchased. oh well on to the next sale. Its time for the diamond couse I sure have the ruff.
 
For that reason, I always take three of my kids with me to auctions. They carry stuff (mine) to the truck in relays while I can concentrate on the auction. Anything bigger than they can carry but small enough for a man to carry, they just sit on until I get a chance to load it.

For this service they are handsomely paid the sum of $5 each, whether I buy anything or not. Though if it is an auction with lots of small junk that is going for "give me a bid on that whole row" I come home with boxes and boxes of stuff. Those kind of auctions make my kids cry.

Christopher
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Yesterday's Tractor Forums
Buy Tractor Parts Here Buy Tractor Manuals Here

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2025 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top