What's your local auction scene like?

Where is everyone from and what's your local auction scene like?

I started buying units in Houston and then moved to Temple, TX, a medium size town of about 66K people, to be closer to family. We usually have about 20-25 auctions every month. Average attendance is about 15-20 people. Most people who attend are regulars.

In Raleigh/Durham there are 40-50 auctions a month. Attendance ranges from 10 people on the light side to 70 people for auctions advertised on AuctionZip. In Florida (before the shows) I lived north of Tampa about an hour. 15-20 auctions a month in my traveling radius. Average crowd of 10-15 people. When I lived in NJ (eons ago) I went to auctions with my grandfather who owned a "used goods" (thrift (sorry grandpa)) shop.. He hated calling it a thrift store.. There were 15-20 auctions a month. Many of which were sealed bids.. I can't remember a time where there was more than 8-10 people.

In my area I have to deal with Raleigh regulars and Durham regulars. Very few people cross the city line. The whales do, and me. Durham regulars pay more than Raleigh. Raleigh regulars are more friendly. Durham regulars are older. In either city the regulars make up a very small percentage of the crowd. Most are either new or drop in and out of the game.

California, Central Coast / Northern California areas. Usually 25-45 in attendance, about 10 regular buyers. We all know each other and when the door rolls up you know pretty much who will bid on it based on contents. Several can be counted on to bid up to a few thousand without hesitation if the unit looks good.

The best unit I ever bought there was only three other people showed up.  We were the only bidders, but the owner of the place wanted full back fees...  We gave it to him.