Yep, thats what I do! Haven't found any hunting rifles yet though 

I'm thinking that the uptick in trends is do more to people wanting to find out about the new seasons of the TV shows and not necessarily about an increase in the business in general.

Somehow I think the interest in the TV shows is going to translate into an increase in auction attendence. Still too many people losing thier jobs and working low paying jobs who never gave this business a "shot" yet, so the new TV seasons may incourage them to do it.

Couple that with Christmas money & time off & tax rebate check season just around the corner, we all may have to deal with another wave of newbies. Good thing is I don't see how this wave could be worse then the Spring 2011 wave and the Spring 2012 wave.

I'm going out on a limb and predicting that if we can get through the tax season, then we will have smooth sailing again by June 2013 and the auction scene should look a lot more like it did in 2009. Unless there are huge numbers of layoffs of middle class and upper middle class workers this winter/spring.

Yes, generally it's newbs/novices with money to burn and they run the prices up. Probably one of, if not only time of the year they will buy a unit, so it's a fun little adventure for them.

Been thinking about it, just haven't tried it yet.

Someone finally knocked Mr. Andersen off the Top Ten! Good show Alloro!

Wouldn't it be bad form NOT to misdirect a newbie? 

It really depends on the behavior of the crowd, who is bidding, what the unit looks like, etc. I use both methods depending on the circumstances and what my strategy is for the day or for that particle unit.

I don't think one technique is necessarily always better then the other.

I can say that coming in at the end when everyone thinks the bidding is done can be diabolically fun.