[grasssin]

Just got back from my "great auction day"..... Drove 325 roundtrip miles to buy nothing..........


Got up at 445 am so excited about getting a nice mower at a nice price, busted butt to get to auction by 730, review equipment in order of needing it:
1)Exmark hp 44" w 20kohler, 18hrs
2)Ex Z 60", 27Kawi, 94 hours
3) Ex Z 60",23 Kohler, 55 hours
4) Ferris 27Kawi, 60", 41 hours
5) Scag Cougar, 25 hp, 48", 97 hours

Well the bidding starts, a Toro Z 18 kohler, 44" with only 10hours, and busted hydro pump was sold for $4100.

next came the exmark z 23kohler, it went for $6200!!
the funny thing is the next 60" exmark with a 27 kawi engine and the same housr went for only $5200!?!?!

Old men buying them to drink beer while they mow their pastures,

They could not get the Scag price above $3500 which I am still kicking myself for, for not bidding on it.

And finally the Exmark HP went for just under $5000 to a couple just coming in to take in the sights,,,


Pissed? Yes, idiots who only bid on something because of the anouncer's antics, idiots who have no idea what they are actually buying got the euipment ahead of everyone else.

To tell you the truth I went up there thinking that I could pay for a machine half of what it cost new, but after seeing the trend of bids I realized I would rather get a brand new machine with the warranty ready to go. One of the machines a Exmark HP 48" looked like it had been dropped off a cliff, from the look of the deck. It was also missing the screw caps to the gas tanks and instead had electrical tape over it. I left before that one was auctioned off....

The lcos were all standing around hoping that the bidding would be under $3000 but you could see after the first couple of rounds that we were screwed.....


Just a little tired and frustrated


probably did not make any sense because I am delirious right now but I feel better after venting, now onto the shower and bed!

 

[Albemarle Lawn]

Why feed the b i t c h?

You'd be worse off if you overpaid for a lemon.

I hate auctions for that reason.

Auctions are great for SELLERS and AUCTIONEERS!

I believe in supporting a local dealer who will then be around next year when you need advice, repairs, etc. People who live in your community who are your neighbors and pay taxes in your community.

When you buy freight-damaged or repossessed or theft recovery junk at an auction and overpay you are lining the pockets of insurance companies and big-time auction companies, and setting yourself up for potentially higher costs when you account for your travel time, no warranty, etc.

KB

 

[Bigfoot]

The bad thing about auctions is you not only have to bid against the folks that know what the item is worth, you also have to bid against the folks that don't have a clue what it is worth. Some people get "auction fever" and will not stop bidding till they have the winning bid on the item.

 

[JB1]

There was a auction around here today, I was interested in a straw blower ,but I was not going to be able to attend. So I knew someone who would be there and told them what to bid at, I did not get it but I didn't have to stand around all day waiting.

 

[metro-hp_48]

Man, I had been wondering through the day how the auction would go, and which mower you were going to end up with.
Hate it for you, but your so much better off, knowing it's better to get new and with a warranty, then to not be wise enough and get a as/is lemon.

Auction fever....... absolutely right (except I have really only been to auto auctions, and only dealers there, so............deff. no real fever..... and bad if your selling)

 

[olderthandirt]

"Old men buying them to drink beer while they mow their pastures" Ha, some ol men are smart enough not to get up at 4:45am & drive 325 miles round trip to go to an auction becoase they know they can usually buy new FOR AUCTION PRICE lol

Mac

 

[brucec32]

Your experience isn't that different from the silliness on Ebay online auctions. I saw a new Echo blower go for $270. Thing is, there were at least two other identical ones offered on ebay with "buy it now" prices of $239!

If you are patient you can find bargains there when the person selling it is inexperienced or semi-literate and misspells the name of it or puts it in the wrong category. I bought a nice mower for $500 because the clown put it under "Ebay Motors".

 

[grasssin]

trust me oldhand

I learned my lesson today, never doing that again. Talking to my dealer on Monday about Exmark HP prices.

 

[RidgeCon]

but isn't all this the reason we go to auctions, because some old man might stay home and noone else wants something so just maybe we can get it for a steal....never happened to me though....

 

[metro-hp_48]

Never happened to me either, but there is a towing place across the street from me, and they had an auction one raining day, and no one showed up. Sold two Corvettes for 600.00 each. 1 only need rims and tires. Was opened to the public, but I had never even been over there. (a friend that buys there, told me about it a few days later)

 

[RidgeCon]

There you just stated the exact reason we go, let us know the next time it is raining there and you see cars in the lot....

 

[metro-hp_48]

I about fell out. I do love me some Vettes....and how (yet to ever own one)

I'd say that (from what I hear) atleast 90% are there because they have been stolen, though...........why the one needed rims and tires, no doubt.

They way I looked at it, to not be sick, was that the 1 man that showed up, would have out bidded me anyway. Guess it was his lucky day!

 

[RidgeCon]

If you can get another vette for that price, I would give you ohhh say $1000.00 for it......haha

 

[metro-hp_48]

Actually, as a funny side note, the man drove the Vette back the next week, to the next auction. (was nice. two-tone dark red on black)

 

[RidgeCon]

The only $600 cars I have ever seen at auctions would take take another $600 to get them home ( in duct tape to hold them together)

 

[metro-hp_48]

LOL! true I have the same luck (saw 1 I would have bought at a KY auction.......black, 454, 4 spd. new paint, and tires 3,500.00)

 

[cantoo]

I spend lots of time and money at auction sales.
grassin, one of your mistakes may have been leaving when you did. Sometime the best deals are at the end of the sale. Of course you may not be buying something that you want but you may be getting a deal. I buy stuff that other people want, sell it to them and take the money to buy what I want new. I do buy lots of back up equipment and that's fine because it is just back up equuipment. Over the next few weeks there are good auctions coming up near me.
metro-hp_48 I always hear about the too good to be true deals. It will be a very very very rare auction when something gets sold for that much less than what it's worth. There will always be guys like me at the sale to make sure a "fair" price is paid. If it went that cheap then it wasn't worth much more. The only time you can actually get a deal like that is sight unseen storage type auctions. I go to one where they open the storage locker door everyone files past the door then they close the door and auction the contents off. You have no idea what is in the room other than what you can see. Yeah, I paid too much for the crap I got. Truly a case of one man junk is sometimes another man's junk too.

 

[cantoo]

metro check out this website at least 25% of this stuff will end up going Stateside. Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky etc.
http://www.bryansfarm.com/101/bryansfarm/auction/index.htm

I go to car auctions most Thursday nights. I buy a few trucks and resell them. They have trailers and other equipment too.

 

[leadarrows]

We have had some good luck at auctions over the years. In 1982 we took $16,000.00 with us and did not expect it to be enough to get the 1976 4230 John Deer that we end up did getting for $13,000.00. It's been a great tractor that we still use.
Last year we got a 1975 JD 4400 Combine that runs like new for $1500.00 so you just never know till you try. But we have gone to many more auctions and come home empty handed than we have getting what we went for. If you want to go the auction route you just have to be patent and be willing to put in the time it takes to get the deals. I love auctions. I see my neighbors and it's like a social event till the bidding starts. LOL We get good deals on wagons,tools and other odds and ends that we need. You just can't expect to go to one auction and get what you want. I would say the average is more like five for that one good deal.

 

[Tharrell]

What made you think you were going to get a good deal? Because it was an auction? Look at some of the stuff on ebay, there's no bargains there. What do we tell price shopping customers? You get what you pay for. Resign yourself that you're going to have to pay for what you need and you'll have to sweat to pay for it.