Archive - 2011

Auction Hunters: Season 2, Episode 21: “Battle Bought.”

Haff-Ton team drove to Whittier, California for a shipping container auction. Container were shipped from all over the world; thought a few originated from the states.

Fact: Container auctions move quickly to avoid affecting the facility’s shipping schedule.

Allen spotted an old partner at the auction, Big Bill. He’s a mean old fella who enjoys to drop a room on buyers.

Fact: To ‘drop a room’ means to strategically bid to drive up the price on your opponent.

China Cabinet Unit

China cabinet, and lots of boxes. Haff-Ton won the unit for $525.

Allen found a can of spaghetti sauce. Oh, lunch! He also found a professional artist’s easel. Ton unpacked drapes and fabrics from a box. He then discovered a butane torch.

Allen dug up a fighting BattleBot robots. Several little ones and one big yellow one.

Fact: BattleBots was one of the many combat robot TV shows in the early 2000s.

Duo took the bots to Chuck and Jason. These men engineered and built robots for BattleBot competitions. One of them built a part of the Phoenix bot which landed on Mars.

Fact: The Phoenix Mars rover took almost 10 months to travel 422 million miles.

Haff-Ton team showed the guys their little robots. HA! Lightweights as far as Chuck and Jason were concerned. The yellow bot was another matter. It was a middleweight with a lot of brute force; plus it was almost bullet proof.

Fact: The middleweight class of combat robots can weigh up to 120 pounds.

Chuck and Jason turned it on and maneuvered the bot to see if it worked.

Fact: BattleBot arenas feature obstacles like spinning plates, pits, walls, and fire.

Allen wanted to take over but quickly damaged the guys’ fax machine with the bot. Duo were paying for a fax machine either way, might as well go eat the whole hog.

DIE FAX MACHINE, DIE!

Fact: Some bots hit with a force of 250psi, ten times the force that can break bones.

Chuck and Jason bought the yellow bot for $2,000. The little bots weren’t worth the trouble to find a buyer. Haff vs Ton BattleBot match! Ton’s bot lit Allen’s bot on fire. Char-grilled and well done, Ton.

Fact: BattleBot weapons include saw blades, axes, hammers, and flame throwers.

Antique Unit

Antique side table, carpet, ottoman, lampshades, and boxes. Haff-Ton team won the unit for $675.

Ton unpacked a silver plated tea seat. Allen found a harmonica pistol.

Fact: The first harmonica pistol was made in 1829, and is now worth $200,000.

Duo took the gun to Blaze who stated it dated back to the 1800’s. Pistol made by Jarre.

Fact: Alphonse Jarre was known for designing harmonica-feed pistols.

Historically, the harmonica pistol one step closer towards the invention of vertical magazines.

Fact: The first firearm with a vertical magazine was the Volition repeating rifle in 1848.

The gun was in mint condition. Blaze said it belonged in a museum.

Allen wanted $10,000 for it, but Blaze wouldn’t go above $7,000. Duo refused and drove off in their bread truck. Blaze, with a change of heart, called them back. He agreed to pay $10K for the pistol. That was sweet music to Allen’s and Ton’s ears.

Auction Total:

Paid $1,200
Sold: $13,300
Profit: $12,100

Please post your insightful and thoughtful opinions in the comment box below.

Auction Hunters: Mad Scientist

October 18, 2011

Auction Hunters: Season 2, Bonus Episode: “Night of the Digging Dead.”

Haff-Ton team drove to Oxnard, California. Oxnard has beaches, mansions, agriculture, and manufacturing. Anything and everything could be inside a storage locker.

Fact: Oxnard is infamous for its violent surfer gangs.

Household Unit

Jewelry cabinet, flat screen TVs, fire safe, scuba tank, detergent, furniture, fake plant, and boxes. Duo won the locker for $1,000.

The fire safe was locked. Allen used his break-into-safe skills. He dropped the corner of the safe onto the floor. Inside? No gold or silver. Papers and card titles. Wah. Wah. Wah.

Allen scuba gear and steel cage-like parts. Ton blew a cap. He knew what the steel cage was. A shark cage!

Duo put the cage together. Had all its parts. They took the cage to Chris, a shark boat captain. It was a nice cage. Had a good floating system. Decent condition and higher valued cage than most.

Fact: Rodney Fox invented the first shark cage in 1965 after surviving a near fatal shark attack.

Shark cage had to be tested. First to see if it would hold up in water. Secondly to see if it would hold up against a shark attack. Say what?

Time to head out to sea into shark infested waters. Ton would take the plunge to meet Jaws!

Fact: Great white sharks can detect blood in the water from 3 miles away.

Chris lowered the cage into the water. All was quiet. Then… OH NO! One of the floatation devices broke loose from the cage. Soon after, the bottom of the cage fell off! Ton had no yet jumped into the cage. Phew! Nothing like 300 pounds of Ton bait.

The cage’s value lowered, of course. Duo sold the cage for $500.

Doctor’s Unit

Vintage furniture, wall clock, pharmacy tubs, old doctor diagrams, and boxes. Haff-Ton team won the unit for $550.

It was very late at night by the time the duo dug through locker.

Ton unpacked boxes of games and hot wheels. Allen found an undertaker’s certificate dating back to 1926. Don’t think that had value, but the antique postmortem equipment with embalmer might.

Fact: In 1865, Lincoln became the first U.S. President to be embalmed.

Allen also retrieved a doctor’s bag from the 1920’s with an electric bone saw inside. He could literally saw someone in Haff… I meant half. Or did I?

Ton found a vintage undertakers tool kit. Who owned this storage unit? Creep-o-mongus! Duo took the postmortem equipment to the morgue to show Sean, who was an autopsy technician and collector.

Fact: An average of 2.4 million corpses pass through U.S. mortuaries annually.

The electric bone saw interested Sean. It was from the 1940’s. Electric bone saws revolutionized how bodies were examined. Sean speculated how many thousands of heads that saw had opened. Allen really didn’t want to think about it. Can’t say I blame him.

Sean wanted to see how straight and accurate the saw could would cut. Allen held sample skull. Saw cut right through that dead skull. That’s just wrong on so many levels.

Sean paid $8,500 for all the morticians equipment.

Ton could have been shark bait. Allen cut through a skull. What a weird day at auction.

Auction Total:

Paid $1,550
Sold: $9,680
Profit: $8,130

Please post your insightful and thoughtful opinions in the comment box below.

Auction Hunters: I will BUMP You off the Road

September 13, 2011

Auction Hunters: Season 2, Episode 20: “Sin City Shootout.”

Haff-Ton drove to Las Vegas, Nevada. May luck be a lady and they hit the storage unit jackpot!

Fact: The biggest slot machine jackpot in Las Vegas was worth over $39 million.

Gamblers make storage auctions an expensive business in Vegas. Locals glad to overpay for a locker for the high-stakes game of hunting for treasure in a locker.

Fender Box Unit

Shelves, heavy duty cases, hangers, crutches, box marked Fender, couch, and a fan. Duo won the unit for $350. Let’s hope that Fender box wasn’t empty.

Fact: A signed Fender guitar sold for 2.8 million at an auction in 2005.

It was a crap shoot. Fender box stuffed with trash. Allen looked on the bright side (if there is one). Duo now had $2.50 in recycled cans. Big whoop!

Allen found clothing and stuffed animals. Ton discovered a potato launcher and was he ever happy!

Fact: Potato guns can shoot a potato up to 700 yards.

Allen found two matching suitcases bot filled with magazines for AR15/M16. As luck would have it, M16’s were legal in Nevada. Which of course, Ton knew.

Fact: The U.S. first used M-16s in combat during the Vietnam War.

Haff-Ton team took the magazines to Bob, a local gun dealer. The magazines appeared in good condition. Brand name from a decent company. Allen, of course, wanted to a fire a few rounds. You know, to make sure everything worked.

Allen fired as though he were in a bad “B” movie. He aimed at watermelons which just exploded into pieces.

Fact: The M-16 A1 can shoot 750 rounds of ammunition per minute.

Bob was in a strong bargaining position as the magazines could not be legally sold in California. Both parties agreed to the price tag of $1,250.

Warehouse Unit

Pallet jack, furniture, books, gloves, bags, and boxes. Haff-Ton team won the unit for $800.

Allen pulled the tarp off what he thought was a wine cabinet, but it turned out to be photo booth. It was a reproduction of a 50’s style piece.

Fact: The first known photo booth was unveiled at the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris.

Allen found a pair of over sized clown shoes. Weirdly enough, they fitted Ton perfectly – that dude has big feet!

Fact: Ton wears a size 15 EEE shoe.

Allen also unpacked a hamburger maker. Ton thought they should keep it for barbeques.

Fact: The record for the longest sausage is 36.75 miles, set in the UK in 2000.

Haff also discovered a Royal Doulton porcelain figurine. Unfortunately, it was chipped.

Fact: Royal Doulton has been making fine china and collectibles since 1815.

Ton had better luck. He found a BUMPER CAR that dated back to the 50’s. It still worked. Allen took it for a spin!

Fact: The longest bumper car marathon lasted over 25 hours.

Afterwards, Allen declared that was the most fun he’d ever had in a storage unit.

Allen knew he had to sell they had to sell the bumper car because it had value. Duo took the car to Peter, a bumper car collector.

Fact: Bumper cars retrofitted with 12 volt batteries can run up to 22 mph.

Peter specifically dated the car back to 1953. Time of the last of the metal bumpger cars. He showed the duo the car’s VIN number under its seat.

Fact: A bumper car’s Vehicle Identification Number [VIN] indicates what theme park it came from.

It appeared to be in good shape. Peter wanted to see if the bumper car run. Allen happy to oblige.

SOLD to Peter for $9,000. To wrap up the day, Allen suggested they head back to the gun range. Ton’s love for gun rubbed off on Allen.

Auction Total:

Paid $1,150
Sold: $13,750
Profit: $12,600

Please post your insightful and thoughtful opinions in the comment box below.

Auction Hunters: Ton rode a BULL!

September 6, 2011

Auction Hunters: Season 2, Episode 19: “Rodeo Ton.”

Haff-Ton team drove to Anaheim, California. They were not going to Disneyland, however, buying storage units at auction can at time feel like an amusement park.

Fact: Anaheim’s population boomed after the completion of Disneyland in 1955.

Allen’s weather forecast for the day was sunny with a chance of beautiful storage units.

Fact: More than half of Anaheim Hills residents make over $100,000 a year.

Expensive Unit

Mattress, air conditioner, lemonade juicer, suitcases, and boxes marked expensive. The duo won the locker for $425.

Allen unpacked a silver serving tray from one box. Unfortunately it wasn’t solid silver. He also found an old table and bad china. Crap! Ton discovered some old clothes. More crap!

Fact: In 1996, a silver serving tray sold for a record $10,287,000.

Allen dug through a box. Found hunting clothes, a duck decoys to train dogs to hunt, and a duck caller.

Fact: Native Americans created the first duck calls out of canes and reeds.

Ton retrieved an antique banjo from the 30’s from inside of one box. Inside another box he found vintage duck decoys. All hand- crafted and one-of-a-kind.

Fact: In 1924, archaeologists found 2000 year old duck decoys in a Nevada cave.

Haff-Ton team took the ducks to Mike, a decoy collector and a personal friend of Ton.

Mike knew right off the bat from the paint and shape of one particular duck, that it was made by the Dodge Decoy Company. Dated back to 1880.

Fact: Jasper N. Dodge produced decoys between 1883 and 1905.

One duck decoy, Allen christened as the ugly duckling, was appraised at $3,000. No so ugly now. Another duck decoy was made by Janson and valued between $5,000-$6,000.

Fact: “Fresh-Air-Dick” Jason carved all of his decoys by hand, between 1920 and 1945.

Retail value of the whole flock? $15,000.

DUCK ME!

Fact: In 2007, an antique duck decoy sold at auction for a record $856,000.

Mike offered them $3,000. Ouch.

Allen wasn’t happy. He threatened to put one of the ducks in the water if Mike didn’t up his price. Now Allen, it’s not nice to harm innocent little ducky in your negotiations.

Mike raised his offer to $8,500. Sold!

Quack! Quack! Quack!

Roping Steer Unit

Cow skull for steer roping practice, statue, cooler, and boxes. There was a big space in the back, but the duo couldn’t see what was back there. Haff-Ton won the unit for $675.

Ton found a DVD player and a GPS. It was going in the bread truck!

Duo cleared away all of the boxes. WOW! Allen found a mechanical bull in the back. It reminded him of Urban Cowboy (a movie starring John Travolta and Debra Winger).

Fact: To prepare for Urban Cowboy, John Travolta installed a mechanical bull in his home.

Haff-Ton took the mechanical bull to a cowboy bar owner named Kenny. Mechanical bull model was an El Toro. It dated back to the 70’s.

Fact: The original El Toro only had two speeds: off and on.

Kenny explained that mechanical bulls originally were used to train bronco riders. They became popular in clubs after the movie, Urban Cowboy.

Fact: John Travolta did all his own bull-riding stunts in Urban Cowboy.

Kenny picked Ton to test it out. Ton weighs about 300 pounds. The mechanical bull can toss 300 pounds. That’s a lot of bull between man and machine. Allen made a side bet with Kenny. For every second Ton stayed on, Kenny would pay a grand.

Ton rode the bull for 5.5 seconds. Kenny was true to his word and bought the bull for $5,000.

Auction Total:

Paid $1,100
Sold: $16,600
Profit: $15,500

Please post your insightful and thoughtful opinions in the comment box below.

Auction Hunters: Ton of Magic

August 30, 2011

Auction Hunters: Season 2, Episode 18: “Viva La Vegas.”

The Haff-Ton team drove to Henderson, Nevada, a suburb 20 miles south of Vegas and a popular vacation home spot.

Fact: Jason Giambi, Chris Tucker and Flavor Flav all reside in Henderson.

Henderson had a reputation for great auctions and lots of professionals had showed up to bid. The Haff-Ton team had to keep on their toes.

Trash Bag Unit

Canvas sheet, open suit case, folder, walker, trash bags and boxes. The duo won the unit for $120.

Allen started going through the trash bags. He found a lot of trash inside, but also $150 dollars. Not bad! Allen also discovered some old German beer steins from the late 1800’s.

Fact: Stein lids were invented in the 1300s to repel flies carrying the Black Plague.

Ton was definitely excited.

Fact: The world record for beer drinking is 1 litre of brew in 1.3 seconds, set in 1977.

Ton found some Elvis Presley t-shirts. In a box he discovered a cane with a telescope and sword inside. Very cool.

Haff-Ton team took the sword cane to Luke, a blade specialist. He told them full length sword canes were hard to come by. The telescope probably meant this had been used by an explorer.

Fact: Canes that hold various tools are generally referred to as “gadget canes”

Luke dated it between 1820-1860. In excellent condition a sword cane would be worth up to $3,500.

Fact: Sword canes first emerged after dueling was outlawed by the King of France in 1626.

This one had been used and there was obvious wear on the blade.

Luke bought it from them for $1,500.

Safe Unit

Couch, keyboard, safe, vintage suitcase, and fake plant. The duo won the locker for $200.

Ton was excited to get his hands on the safe. The keypad was broken, but this didn’t stop Ton who got his tools out of the truck.

Fact: A $339,000 safe designed to hold luxury clothing is the most expensive in the world.

He drilled a hole through the safe and used a snake cam to look inside. Duo spotted some money inside and got very excited. Ton also saw the safe’s key and with the use of a magnet, got it out.

Fact: Snake cams are used by SWAT teams to detect threats under doors and around corners.

Duo were extremely disappointed when they opened the safe and found the money was fake.

Allen opened the vintage suitcase and found magician props inside, including a wand and magic hat.

Fact: The world record for most rabbits pulled out of a magician’s hat is 300, set in 2008.

In the back of the unit Ton found a magic box and saws used for a magic trick to cut a woman in half and then put her back together again.

Haff-Ton team took the magic box to pro magician Larry. Larry called it the Zig Zag Girl and said it was invented by Robert Harbin.

Fact: Robert Harbin was a popular British illusionist in the mid-1900s.

Larry explained it was very important in magic history. Depending on how well the parts worked, it would be worth between $1,200-$3,000.

Larry brought out his assistant Angela to help him test it out. Together with Allen and Ton, Larry performed the trick.

Fact: Black paint on the sides of the box make the space inside appear smaller than it really is.

All the parts worked well, and Larry paid $2,500 for the box. Now that’s pretty magical!

To wrap up the day, duo treated themselves to some beer in the beer steins. Bottoms up!

Auction Total:

Paid $320
Sold: $5,070
Profit: $4,750

Please post your insightful and thoughtful opinions in the comment box below.

Auction Hunters: Allen Races Ton

August 23, 2011

Auction Hunters: Season 2, Episode 17: “Half Pipe Dreams.”

The Haff-Ton drove the bread truck to Long Beach. Allen had one word describe auction hunting in Long Beach – Money!

Fact: The port of Long Beach shipped $140 billion worth of cargo in 2010.

Duo was hoped not to see any local whales. Then there’s Denny. Allen described Denny as, “Ton without the charm.” Wait, Ton has charm?

Household Unit

Mattresses, couch, mini fridge, skate board, lamp, and blankets. The Haff-Ton team won this locker for $625.

Allen thought the rug inside might be from Kashan. No dice. It was a reproduction.

Fact: A genuine antique Perisna rug from the Kashan region can be worth up to $100,000.

Allen found a damaged surf board. Big whoop. Ton unpacked several boxes of old clothes. Another big whoop.

Allen discovered nine vintage skateboards, including a Z-Flex skateboard with some very fancy artwork. The Haff-Ton team took the boards down to Venice Beach near Dogtown.

Fact: “Dogtown” refers to the area in Santa Monica where many early skateboarders lived.

Duo showed the boards to professional skateboarder, Steve, who was also a vintage skateboard collector. He expressed how skateboarding originated with surfers. Surfers would make boards from wood and added roller skate wheels when there were no waves to ride.

Fact: The first mass produced skateboard was introduced by “Roller Derby” in 1959.

Steve informed the duo that some of their skateboards where from the 50’s and 60’s.In mint condition the boards would have been worth about $3K.

Unfortunately some of the boards had water damage or cracks or the graphics were worn away. In their current condition, they were worth between $400-$600.

Allen then showed Steve the Z-Flex skateboard. Steve said the board had wear on the wheels that was likely caused by pool riding.

Fact: Pool riding emerged after a 1976 drought led Southern CA residents to drain their pools.

Steve explained the artwork on the board was by Doug Smith, an artist who drew graphics especially for pro skateboarders. The art was very rare and the graphics, one-of-a-kind. To a collector, the board was worth about $2,000.

Steve bought all the boards for $2,500.

Musician Unit

Helmet, audio equipment, mixer, tool box, speaker box, plastic containers, and garbage bags. The Haff-Ton team won the locker for $775.

Ton found several vintage concert t-shirts. Allen found a stack of old newspapers celebrating the end of the Y2K scare.

Fact: Americans spent an estimated $134 billion preparing for Y2K.

Ton discovered a survival kit with water proof matches, blankets, water, knife, and wilderness survival guide.

Fact: Large survival kits are also known as “Get-Out-Of-Dodge” or “GOOD” bags.

Duo found two pocket bikes in the back of the unit.

Two bikes. Two guys. Race time!

Fact: Pocket bikes can reach speeds as high as 78 mph.

Allen found a Kevlar vest. It was old but still in good condition.

Fact: Kevlar was created by DuPont in the 1970s as replacement for steel belting in race car tires.

He also found a swat helmet and a ballistics face mask.

Fact: The first Special Weapons Tactics (SWAT) unit was formed in Los Angeles in 1968.

Allen wanted to know why Ton had to try it all on. How long has he known Ton for; and he still had to ask?

Fact: Mycenaean Greeks used armored helmets made from boar tusks as early as 1700 BC.

Haff-Ton team took the special tactic armor to Shaun, an armor collector. Shaun didn’t show interest in the armor and helmet, but the mask caught his eye. He told them it could stop the bullet from a .44 magnum. Whoa!

Fact: In 1965, publisher Robert E. Peterson killed a 1500 lb. polar bear with a .44 Magnum.

Shaun showed duo one of his own face masks which could stop a .357 magnum. He let the duo try shooting at his face mask in exchange for a fair deal. I would not let anyone shoot me in the face, would you?

Fact: A bullet shot from a .357 magnum travels over 900 miles per hour.

Duo sold Shaun all the tactical gear for $500 and threw in a doughnut to sweeten the deal. First time Ton fired a weapon and did not destroy something.

Auction Total:

Paid $1,400
Sold: $5,300
Profit: $3,900

Please post your insightful and thoughtful opinions in the comment box below.

Auction Hunters: Multi-Tool of Death

August 16, 2011

Auction Hunters: Season 2, Episode 16: “Knuckle Dust.”

The Haff-Ton team drove to Hollywood, CA. Duo looked for a big Hollywood dream storage unit. They were not the only ones though who sought a Hollywood dream locker. Competition would be tough.

Fact: Hollywood’s historic Walk of Fame has over 2,400 stars.

Antique Bed Unit

Antique bed, opened boxes, and trash. Ton didn’t like the contents, but Allen liked the bed. The Haff-Ton team won the locker for $300.

As the duo rummaged through the items they found garbage, old milk bottles, old books, and old clothes. Allen found a portable CD player. How old school!

Allen was confident the antique bed would pay off. That was another dream. Unfortunately the bed was in pieces. Duo discovered they only three-fourths of the parts. Ugh!

That was a broken dream.

Mattress Unit

Mattress, artwork, nice furniture, suitcase, and an inversion table. The duo won it for $750.

Allen opened the suitcase and found it full of Simpsons collectibles plus a CD signed by Perry Farrell.

Allen also found an autographed Raging Bull poster and signed artwork by Henry Hill that was signed. Hill was a better gangster then artist. That thought was a nightmare.

Ton wanted to try out the inversion table. Yep. Ton was upside down, or was the world right side up? Anyhoo, once out of the contraption, Ton found a signed book on the art of George Rodrigue. He also found an original Rodrique painting of a blue dog.

Fact: The “Blue Dog” has been featured in ad campaigns for Absolut Vodka and Xerox.

The Haff-Ton team had art expert, Sandra visit their warehouse to look at the painting. She had personally known Rodrique since 1972.

Fact: Rodrique has raised millions to help rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Sandra confirmed the painting was genuine. The highest sold painting by Rodrique was at $300,000. Allen and Ton dreamed big bucks. Sorry to disappoint. Sandra offered $8,250. Haff-Ton team could live with a small dream. Sold!

Fact: Cajun artist Rodrigue is known worldwide for his blue dog themed work.

Ton also found a Knuckleduster which is a combination brass knuckles, knife, and gun. Allen called it a multi-tool of death.

Duo took the antique gun to Blaze, a weapon’s expert. He stated the Knucklebuster dated back to the 1870’s. It would have been used by the Apache gangs in Paris. Whoa!

Fact: Apache criminal gangs terrorized turn-of-the-century Paris.

The gun’s range was only good at about five feet. Knife was brutal and lethal.

Ammunition had not been made for the gun in over 100 years. A single round would be worth $25. Luckily, Ton had found some ammo too.

Both Allen and Ton gave the Knuckleduster a try. At $25 a round, maybe one of them should have sat this one out. Blaze told them he’d been dealing guns since 1953. This was only the second Knuckleduster he had ever seen.

After a bit of bargaining, Blaze paid the duo $4,200 for the weapon.

“Sweet dreams are made of these… MONEY!”

Auction Total:

Paid $1,050
Sold: $13,750
Profit: $12,700

Please post your insightful and thoughtful opinions in the comment box below.

Auction Hunters: Howdy Partner!

August 9, 2011

Auction Hunters: Season 2, Episode 15: “The Dallas Mavericks.”

The Haff-Ton team drove to Dallas, TX. The locals were serious players. The storage facility in a nice area = good merchandise. Duo had to bring their a-game.

Fact: The world’s largest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, started in Dallas in 1927.

Military Box Unit

An air compressor, work bench, chair, old electronics, military case, and lots of boxes. Duo won the unit for $200.

Ton found a pair of welding goggles and a complete set of tools worth. Allen found a pair of dolly tires.

Ton opened the military case. Inside was a turbine engine. The engine was too small for a jet or a tank. Ton was clueless to its use.

The Haff-Ton team took the engine to Terry, an engineer. He stated that it was a military motor used for a cruise missile.

If the engine worked, appraisal value between $12,000-$15,000. To make sure it worked, Terry would have to take it apart. He would have it modified with his own tech people.

When the Haff-Ton team returned, they saw that Terry had the engine plugged into a computer. If the motor didn’t work, it would probably explode. Yikes!

Fact: The max RPM on this turbine engine is 10 times that of a Ford Mustang GT.

Terry flipped a switch. Everyone held their breath. No explosion. It worked! They sold it to the expert for $8,500.

Trailer Unit

Barbeque, small trailer, bed, mattress, old TV, bike, stove, doors, papers, and boxes. The Haff-Ton team won at $1,950.

The commercial barbeque grill was long, about 36 inches. Ton found a nice 60’s teak desk in good condition.

Fact: The largest grill in Texas is 40 ft. long and can cook 1,000 hot dogs at a time.

Ton pulled the trailer out of the locker. They opened the doors to discover it was a concession trailer.

Fact: New mobile food trailers can retail for $20,000 – $35,000 each.

Haff-Ton team found a pair of vintage saddles inside the concession trailer. What exactly were saddles doing inside a trailer?

Duo took the saddles to a cowboy and old west memorabilia expert named Hoot. One saddle had no value because of its condition. The second saddle was kept in good condition with Lanolin.

Fact: ‘Lanolin’ is a wax secreted by sheep and often used as a skin protectant.

The saddle was not made by a well-known manufacturer like C.P. Shipley; but still of good quality.

Fact: The C.P. Shipley Company custom made saddles for Gene Autry and Will Rogers.

Back in the day, the saddle would have cost $100 to $250. Present day retail value at $2,500. Hoot paid $1,250 for the pair.

Between barbeques, saddles and trailers… it was a very TEXAS day. Allen and Ton rode horses into the sunset. Yee haw!

Auction Total:

Paid $2,150
Sold: $12,125
Profit: $9,975

Please post your insightful and thoughtful opinions in the comment box below.

Auction Hunters: Smash Up

August 2, 2011