|
All types of folks go to auctions. The kind I don't like(as a buyer)are the ones who have more money than God. The kind I do like(as an auctioneer)are the ones who have more money than God. I prefer farm auctions over consignment sales, because consignment sales are usually a good place to dump things that have problems. At consignment sales, you have professional buyers who work the circuit and know the market. They usually have an inside track with the auctioneer who knows what that buyer wants and will work the bids that way. Do your homework before you go to an auction. Go to lots of auctions and don't bid. Watch the crowd and the auction team. See how they shuffle the items into the sale. If you are in the market for certain items, whether it be furniture or collectibles or machinery, read up on recent auction results and learn all you can about the items. Sometimes they'll have inspections a day before or several hours before. Some auction websites have the auction inventory listed a week or so ahead. At the auction look at all the things you are interested in, set a maximum price you would be willing to spend. Watch the others who look, and listen to their comments. Keep your mouth shut. If you even point out flaws and imperfections, that's a signal that you're interested. Station yourself near the item, but don't hover. It's sometimes a good idea to bid first early in th auction, even if you end up buying something you don't want. The auctioneer will remember the first bidder and will watch you more closely. Make eye contact with the auctioneer or ring man, and don't bid too quickly or too high. He's gonna start high or around the value and hope to go up. If he starts at $100 and gets no response, he'll roll it back in brackets until he gets an opening bid. Then he'll raise the call in brackets. For instance, if he gets an opening bid of $20 and goes to $30, he's running a $10 bracket. If you jump in with a 50¢ bid, he'll likely ignore you at first, looking for a $40 or $45 bid. If he doesn't get it, he'll come back and take your 50#&162 bid, but it makes him work harder. Then he'll ask for the $40 or $45 bid and keep going up in brackets. When the bids stop coming he'll cry it 3 times and drop the hammer. AS far as bidding, you hear stories about folks who were scratching their ear and ended up buying something they didn't want. Seldom happens. A head nod, or wave of the bidding card, a raised finger a wink can all be bidding signals, but you have to have eye contact with the one taking the bids. If you get confused, stop and ask the acutioneer or ringman what the bid is. Watch and know who you are bidding against. Keep your eyes and ears open. They don't have to tell you who the other bidders are, and a lot of time the auctioneer will have a proxy bid for a certain buyer, or a telephone bidder. The age of cell phones has really changed auctioneering. A field buyer can communicate instantly with his money man, who may have a consumer on the other line in some other state. Like Dell says, you can save a lot of money by being the second-highest bidder. Don't be afraid to stop bidding if it goes beyond your pocketbook.
|
