Talk about a small crowd !

This has only happened a couple of times in 7 years of auction buying.

Today I attended an abandoned house auction and there were only 5 of us there. Actually, there was a married couple, me and two guys who were together, so I think that might count as 3 bidders.

First, the house. Walked into this home from the 1940s and was almost overwhelmed with the cat piss smell.
Walked right through the living dining area and out the back door. Nothing in the rooms I walked through worth buying or selling....mostly empty with some trash left over from the abandonment. When I came back through the bedrooms were empty too.

Went into the cellar through the old, angled basement door and down some steps. This house was built about 6 feet off the ground with a barely walkable space underneath for about 10 feet in by 10 feet wide, then it tapered up to about a 4 foot crawl space. Saw a couple of old things here, but nothing special.

Out to the back yard shed, a bldg about 12 by 20 about 18" deep in trash. Did see an old fake fireplace front with 5 pieces of nice porcelain flowers on top. Looked at bottom and they were made in Italy, but I couldn't make out the mfg name. Also saw an old cash register, smaller, greenish/wrinkled paint job. This space too smelled of cat piss.

Around the side of the house piles and piles of old wood. Basically, I wasn't interested, but thought I would see how it went.

******

Auctioneer told us we could take what we wanted and leave the rest behind...no kidding; no one would have bought it otherwise. Anyway, he started it at $50 and the two guys didn't say boo but the couple did. I went up with them in $5 increments until we were both tired of the $5 jumps and one of us said $100, then $125 and so on. Auctioneer couldn't believe it...he would have gone in 5s all day.  So, we went up to $300 and I stopped and couple took it for $325.

If the 5 porcelains sell for $50 apiece and the cash register for $100 or so they'll be even and then whatever else they find. I would have liked it (and lived with the odor) for $150 to $200, but after that it was pushing it.

So, another bust, but I got some good work done around the house today ! 

Feel free to add stories of SMALLEST CROWD I EVER SAW !

The first auction I ever attended, it was myself and a lady. 2 units up were up for auction. The first had a microfiber sofa & loveseat, glass top table and an entertainment center. The manager opened the bid at $25 because she had a phone bidder (or so she said). I bid $30, the other lady wasn't interested in the unit so I got it cheap. The next unit door was opened she looked in and then turned around and walked off. I looked inside and there was a $150 tent, several fishing poles and a $100 socket set. Once again the manager said she had a phone bidder at $25. I bid $30 and won the unit. For as long as I have been in the storage auction business, this is the only time I have seen a situation like this occur. Wouldn't it be nice if it were like this every day.

So far the smallest crowd I have seen was a Saturday auction in a city about 25 miles south of where I live. five people but four bidding as couples, so three bidders for three units. I thought man, there is no body here, I got these units! 1st unit 10 x 10 with a couple of 70's beach cruisers, kerosine blast heater, ingersoll air compressor, a handful of misc. boxes and bags; went for $425. 2nd unit 10 x 10 only boxes on back half of the floor stack only one to two boxes high, nasty, dirty, water stained; went for $85. 3rd unit, oh third unit paid off, thanks for coming. Needless to say, I did not win either of the two units, but I learned not to underestimate a light crowd.

I've been to an auction where it was just me and 2 ladies. It was a silent bid. I won one unit out of the two but turned out to be mostly junk garage sale $1. Man I was hoping for a good unit to come up cause I knew both the ladies didn't have much money to spend cause they are regulars and their niche were the 5-50$ lockers. Oh well maybe next time!

I too was shocked last year to show up at an auction and find only2 other people there. Just one of those days...this was before the shows came out too. Nowadays I'm happy if only 20-30 people show up, heh.

Here's the link to the only other abandoned house auction I've attended.
Threre were about 10 at that sale as it was done by one of the major auctioneers in my area. There was even a phone bidder using a real person at the auction to pass on their bid...probably the contents owner.

http://storageauctionforums.com/index.php?topic=561.0