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 !