Auction Newbie

[Sleddawg]

I have never taken part in an auction before but see a couple thing in and around calgary that I wouldnt mind getting my hands on.

Any advice for online auctions, do's, do not's, things to watch for?

I would assume with online bidding it is quite regular to have lurkers hanging around driving the prices up even when no reserve price listed.

[Trochu]

Everyone will have a different opinion, but.....
-Know what the fees and taxes are, and bid with the final price in mind, not what your actual bid is;
-Know what the item costs new, and don't bid beyond what you're comfortable paying, maybe 80% of new;
-Get set up in the system well before you want to bid, some sites take a vit to authorize;
-Bid on the item early, at least once, to make sure you know how the bid system works; and,
-You can figure out your bid strategy yourself, but some systems are faster than others. Depending on the system, you may not get it if you wait till the bitter end.

Good luck.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Trochu

Everyone will have a different opinion, but.....
-Know what the fees and taxes are, and bid with the final price in mind, not what your actual bid is;
-Know what the item costs new, and don't bid beyond what you're comfortable paying, maybe 80% of new;
-Get set up in the system well before you want to bid, some sites take a vit to authorize;
-Bid on the item early, at least once, to make sure you know how the bid system works; and,
-You can figure out your bid strategy yourself, but some systems are faster than others. Depending on the system, you may not get it if you wait till the bitter end.

Good luck.

Also some auctions let you place a bid with a max. Then it automatically bumps up to your bid until no one else is bidding against you.

Depending upon the auction… sometimes they start low to get lots of bidders going. Jumping in with a higher bid can scare some people out.

Be careful to listen and not bid up yourself. Sometimes they have helpers in the crowd to tell you if someone has bid higher.

Find a cheaper item you like before the main item you want to practice on.

Know your audience. A senators jersey at an auction in Lacombe would likely have few bids on it compared to an Oilers jersey in Edmonton. Some real deals can be had. And not knowing it’s true used value may have you paying far more than the same item is worth on Kijiji or FB marketplace.

[CaberTosser]

I think some people at auctions don’t even realize that they’ll be paying more than they bid once the auctions fees and taxes get tacked on. The last auction I was at was ridiculous for that. I went to the receivership auction of a former employer as they had some specific tools I had in mind. They had tons of 18V Milwaukee cordless tools, it was absurd that some items like cordless vacuums were bid at higher than retail, and that was before auction fees. I did get one thing, a Ridgid tri-stand at about half-price, pretty much the same they go for on Kijiji, but I would know this one wasn’t stolen. The other items I wanted were hours away from cue, so I left the auction as the other buyers were too eager to pay too much. Hell, I could have bought new @ retail & re-sold to them at a profit.

Always be prepared to walk away from an item, set your price limit on each item and stick to it. Research the prices for those items both new and on the used market

[Au revoir, Gopher]

Rule #1 of any auction: As is, where is.

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

Some real deals can be had. And not knowing it’s true used value may have you paying far more than the same item is worth on Kijiji or FB marketplace.

This. I'm often amazed what people will pay for stuff at auction. You can get a bargain at auction, but it certainly isn't a given.

One dirty trick they are using for some online auctions is 'extended bidding'. If there is a bid in the last minute or so of the "timed" auction, they will extend bidding for another 5 minutes (and if they get another bid, they will extend it again). Another way to drive the price up.

ARG

[IL Bar]

Figure out how much you are willing to pay for it before auction fees and taxes included then set a proxy bid and then walk away. Let the proxy look after your bidding. If you get it you get it. If not you oh well maybe next time.

[Trochu]

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

I think some people at auctions don’t even realize that they’ll be paying more than they bid once the auctions fees and taxes get tacked on.

I just shake my head. I thought, when everything went on-line, that prices would drop, as you have the item on one screen and pull up the item new on another, and bid accordingly. Spoke to an auctioneer, "Oh no, we're doing better than ever".

The majority of auction I've been to lately, the prices are usually astronomical. There are some good deals, but there are alot more of the opposite. Was looking at a Milwaukee Fuel 18V driver and hammer drill kit with two batteries at Regal recently. With fees, sold for just under $410.00.

Can buy this, Link, brand new, with warranty, you know it works, for $379.00.

[daveyn]

on line auctions are great fun if you aren't emotionally invested. The only advice I would give after lots of experience is....if it is at all possible you really should take advantage of any viewing opportunities to actually look at the item you are interested in. I have been disappointed way to many times when the pictures of a used item really did not do justice to the condition of the item. Unless its a Costco Returns auction or something like that where the merchandise is pretty much new, you really need to have a look. Police bicycle and recovery auctions are pretty bad and its really rare that the product you thought was in really good shape doesn't need some major TLC to make it serviceable.
Auctions are the definition of Buyer Beware and you can't return anything for a refund. Thats not ever going to happen. But there are deals to be had.

[Sooner]

I signed on to Club Bid to get in on some old Honda parts and plastics last year(my bro inlaw had an opps riding a friends quad). It was fun and easy. Sit and watch the bids pre closing date, in the last hour placed mine. Most dropped off but me and another guy played the game as the timer clicked to zero. I won out because I upped my bid by 10 bucks with seconds to go lol.


I got extra front and rear plastics and new racks for cheap. We used what we needed and by the time I flip the extras, may even come out even.


I get Club Bid notices now. Some cool stuff comes along.

[calgarychef]

I buy a lot of stuff at auction, going to pick up something today that I got a couple days ago.

All of what you’ve read here is bang on, no sense in my reiterating it.

I usually use the proxy bid if they have that available set it a at my highest amount and never look at it again until I’m emailed that I won.

Beware of auction fever! I once bought a jaguar car in the midst of the fever…
That wasn’t a good day. That’s why the proxy bidding is so good.

If it’s an item I want for myself I’ll bid up to about 50% of new price.
If I’m reselling it 25% makes me happy, less makes me very happy!

[Sleddawg]

Originally Posted by calgarychef

I buy a lot of stuff at auction, going to pick up something today that I got a couple days ago.

All of what you’ve read here is bang on, no sense in my reiterating it.

I usually use the proxy bid if they have that available set it a at my highest amount and never look at it again until I’m emailed that I won.

Beware of auction fever! I once bought a jaguar car in the midst of the fever…
That wasn’t a good day. That’s why the proxy bidding is so good.

If it’s an item I want for myself I’ll bid up to about 50% of new price.
If I’m reselling it 25% makes me happy, less makes me very happy!

That is hilarious!!

Thanks everyone for your input. I am looking forward to dabbling....hopefully I can keep it at that!!

[amosfella]

Online auctions are really the 'you win some you lose some' in a package. Sometimes things look great, and when you actually test the item, it's not so good. On the other hand, some things you win big. If you're careful, the winning will be greater than the loosing.

[barbless]

Seeing as how this auction thread has been started thought I would ask about selling something at an auction. Like a car. A 1991 Grand Prix 114,000km approx.

[KegRiver]

Always always be prepared to walk away.

The moment you feel you have to have it, walk away.

The moment you think, just one more bid, walk away.

Know the value, set a limit and walk if it presses that limit.

Learn to play the game, and to many it is a game.

Online, practice so you will know how to bid, and how long a bid takes to register, then bid only in the last two seconds, or whatever time it takes for a bid to go through, plus one second to spare.

Bidding early only drives the price up.

Automatic bidding is good for the auction company, bad for the buyer.

Yeah I buy from online auctions a lot, and from farm actions, industrial auctions, charity auctions. And I walk away empty handed most days.
But I also get some killer bargains.

Bought my first rifle at a farm auction for $27.00. And a 30. 30. at that.

Bid on a 270 Ross, walked when it reached $100.00. Fellow who got it paid $450.00. I asked him why, he said, "Hey man it's a 270. He had no idea that a 270 Ross is equivalent to a 30.30 and the brass can not be bought. And there is no other brass like it.

Know what you are bidding on and what it is worth. I never bid over 75% of street value on low wear low maintenance items and never over 25% on high wear high maintenance items.

First question you MUST ask yourself, is how much will it cost to rebuild.

A price of pipe never needs rebuilding, a rifle may. Always deduct rebuild value off street price.

BIL bought a Remington 552 Speedmaster that had been buba'ed to work as a pump.
He thought he was buying a 572 Feildmaster.

First time he fired it the forearm broke so he brought it to me.

Parts to repair it cost $120.00, street value is $100.00.

Know what you are bidding on.

[calgarychef]

Originally Posted by Sleddawg

That is hilarious!!

Thanks everyone for your input. I am looking forward to dabbling....hopefully I can keep it at that!!

Har har… makes me laugh to think of it. But the fever is real, be careful because it’s a binding contract.

[calgarychef]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

Always always be prepared to walk away.

The moment you feel you have to have it, walk away.

The moment you think, just one more bid, walk away.

Know the value, set a limit and walk if it presses that limit.

Learn to play the game, and to many it is a game.

Online, practice so you will know how to bid, and how long a bid takes to register, then bid only in the last two seconds, or whatever time it takes for a bid to go through, plus one second to spare.

Bidding early only drives the price up.

Automatic bidding is good for the auction company, bad for the buyer.

Yeah I buy from online auctions a lot, and from farm actions, industrial auctions, charity auctions. And I walk away empty handed most days.
But I also get some killer bargains.

Bought my first rifle at a farm auction for $27.00. And a 30. 30. at that.

Bid on a 270 Ross, walked when it reached $100.00. Fellow who got it paid $450.00. I asked him why, he said, "Hey man it's a 270. He had no idea that a 270 Ross is equivalent to a 30.30 and the brass can not be bought. And there is no other brass like it.

Know what you are bidding on and what it is worth. I never bid over 75% of street value on low wear low maintenance items and never over 25% on high wear high maintenance items.

First question you MUST ask yourself, is how much will it cost to rebuild.

A price of pipe never needs rebuilding, a rifle may. Always deduct rebuild value off street price.

BIL bought a Remington 552 Speedmaster that had been buba'ed to work as a pump.
He thought he was buying a 572 Feildmaster.

First time he fired it the forearm broke so he brought it to me.

Parts to repair it cost $120.00, street value is $100.00.

Know what you are bidding on.

Good advise.

Especially not buidding too early online as it drives the price up.

Waiting until the last couple of seconds has cost me a lot of items because someone else was a bit faster or the bidding software wasn’t what I was used to. I actually lost out on a 15000.00 dollar item that went for $800 so really understand what last minute bidding can do to you. I usually set my highest price and use the proxy. Also know that some proxy bidding programs are better than others.

Also know if a site DOESNT use a proxy. I did that on one site and bid my maximum on a trailer but it wasn’t proxy so I got that trailer at my maximum bid but paid a few hundred too much. Pizzed me off to spend more because I’m a cheap old bugger but I did want that trailer and was willing to pay that price so it wasn’t too bad.

[MyAlberta]

Some considerations;
A good deal is one participant away from being overpriced
Your participation will drive the price higher
Some participants are there to purchase specific items
Expect to reach your max set price (include the fees)
Items not personally inspected are of unknown state
Auctions are often a clearing house for junk

A good deal isn’t necessarily in the acquisition, but rather the utilization.

Play safe

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by MyAlberta

Auctions are often a clearing house for junk

I generally prefer bankruptcy or closeout auctions for that reason.

[sewerrat]

Originally Posted by MyAlberta

Auctions are often a clearing house for junk

Specially at farm machinery auctions.

[6.5 shooter]

Whatever price you pay for the item the final price will be at least 35% higher with taxes, shipping, buyers fees, etc.