Auction Scene #2....February, 2014

Going to be busy on Feb 1, 2014 so am getting a jump start on this thread.

I have to say the auction scene isn't as exciting or as rewarding as it was in the past, but it's still interesting to hear the good and the bad stories even if most of them come from only a handful of forum members.

So....get going FEBRUARY.

Went to auction today with four lockers left for sale by auction time.  First one had a chair and an end table and some garbage....went for $5.  Second one had a few decent things.......refrigerator, flat screen tv, and lots of junk....I was seeing a big dump run in there.  It sold for $625.  Third one was a 5x10....I figured it was good for about $100.....sold for $325!  Last one had an old sewing machine and nothing else really interesting.......and not even that full......and it sold for $425!   

What was interesting about this particular auction to me, was that there were only 18 people at the auction, but out of the 18 there were only three of us that were regulars.  Lot of new people spending stupid money. 

Went to another auction today....I'm on a roll!  Didn't buy anything again though.....

So are people getting their tax refunds already?  There was about 60 people today....more than I've seen at any auction in quite awhile now.  About five were regulars who I know have been doing this since way before the shows ever started.......a couple I recognized as newer bidders that have stuck around, and everybody else was new.

Best locker of the day had lot of broken and scratched up furniture and junk in it........myself and a couple of other regulars were talking about it and I figured it would go about $600 and pretty much we all agreed between $600-$800 is probably what it would sell for.  I would have been interested at $350-$400.  Anyway, the hammer dropped at $1250!  As it was climbing in price, we looked back in there to see what we missed.......I just didn't see it.......I see a lot of work to either break even or possibly even lose a little money on that one! we

Most of the lockers were typical junk...there was one more that I was interested in that had some boxes in it.  I thought maybe I had a chance......5'x5' about half full.....but a couple of new guys got into it and it was at $250 when i walked off to the next locker, so not sure what it ended up at.......I wouldn't have gone $100 on it......and then I see the episode of Auction Hunters where they bought a $5 locker and walked away with over 5K after finding a taser and a spear and some other stuff.........boy, did I make a mistake!

Went to my first auction of the year on Saturday. It was a facility in my town that hadn't had an auction since I started buying units 1 1/2 years ago. So, I was pretty excited about what could possibly be up for auction. They had 6 units on the auction block including one from a roofing company(I was thinking tools and materials, could be some big money). Well first unit was crap. I think it went for $50. 2nd unit was the roofing unit. Big 20x20 with a bunch of random material in piss-poor condition and a couple of random tools. Not enough profit with all the work of cleanout not to mention materials considered hazardous that the dump won't accept. Needless to say I passed. Next 2 units were crap as well. 5th unit they opened had a homemade butcher block style table and benches and a lot of mid-century furniture. Also had 2 speaker boxes labeled Pioneer CS-88 ($300-$400 on eBay incl. shipping). But they are never in there right. Nice looking vintage couch possibly leather. Also had an old wringer washer. As well as some other unknowns. I had a good feeling on this unit so I bid. I ended up getting it for $475. A little more than I wanted to pay, but still a decent price for what I could see. The gut bidding against me, ended up buying a couple of items off me already. (crap thing about it is that he said if he had thought more about it, he wouldn't have bid me up and just bought the things from me  ) Anyway, the speakers were in the boxes and in great shape. and I also found a Sansui 1000A Stereo Tube amplifier which goes on eBay for $600-$800 including shipping in good condition. It is in it's original box and shipping box as well, so my guess is it is in pretty good shape. There is also a lot of other various mid-century items, that I found. When all is said and done I may make about $1500 -$2000 off of this unit.  Pretty good auction day. Oh yeah, no dump runs and no personal info to give back.

Went to one auction today, 2/12/2014, after missing another half dozen this day and some a few days earlier.

Talked to one of the regulars and he said everything this week had been trash and he usually buy 4 or 5 lockers a month.

Today there were 9 lockers. First 3 were OK but went a little high for the contents.

Next 6 were the ultimate trash lockers. Five of the 6 sold for $1 and that was with the auctioneer paying the dollar. I walked off before the last one sold, but it was about 6 pieces of particle board shelving so not much.

I am more and more convinced that, at least in my area, people are paying up on their lockers to save their stuff. The last 6 that sold today were trash....I guess the former owners don't care about their credit ratings...maybe they don't even HAVE credit ratings !

Auction today was wet, windy and miserable. All conditions that would lead you to believe few would show. NOT!

38 numbers were handed out for 12 units. Half decent and half crap. Prices were high as there were so many newbies.
I did score the second unit for $120. Two nice older dressers, 4 oak dinning chairs, a vintage headboard that I will make into a bench and a few odds and ends. Should make me a couple hundred dollars. All in all not to bad of a day for me. Several other regulars were quite disgusted by how many people turned out. We kinda all figured that the newbies would be discouraged by the rain.