Auction report

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Willowbilly3

A *real* tin magnet
Joined
Dec 10, 2007
Messages
7,847
Location
Black Hills South Dakota
A big one yesterday, lots of old stuff but the dealers were out banging heads and most of the stuff went way high. A 30-31 A pickup cab, setting in the dirt but decent looking doors-$1000. Bed for same, no fenders or floor and a few bullet holes, $800. 32 Chevy truck, crusty, $1200. 34 chevy truck, no grille, $900. 29 Model A 4 door, all there but pretty rough, $2500. Pretty decent 31 coupe went for $7100. I thought it would go higher. There was a 55 Plymouth 2 door I probably should have bought. It was real straight and looked like it would run, $700.
 
I dont even go to any auctions any more.Too many morons bidding everything up way to high,same with tool auctions,stuff goes as high as what I can buy new stuff for.Same on ebay,was looking at a speedway disk brake kit for model A that some shop had sitting around and they bid it up five bucks more then you can get it at speedway motors .You got to be a complete idiot to do that. Everybody out there must just have too much money that they just throw it out there.The whole point of auctions and ebay was to get some good deals,not to pay as much as you do at a store or dealer.
 
These old auto auctions are going the way that the early motorcycle auctions that the CHP used to have . In the begining it was easy to pick up a old running cop H.D. for $200 then it went to $400 and it just kept going up and up till it was out of sight. Once people find they can make a buck off of it - forget it, people start bidding high to begin with and it just keeps on getting higher and higher.
 
I think some people get caught up in the bidding and the prices go unreasonably high sometimes because of that. I went to an auction one time of a boat dealer who had been in business since 1957 and he was closing up. People were bidding outrageous money on boats that had weeds growing inside them............they had probably been there for 40 years and would never see the water again. [S



A lot of it happens because someone outbids you and there is no way you are going to be beaten by someone else, so you just keep raising the price.:rolleyes:


Don
 
Yeah, I have pretty much decided I am not going to any more of the big auctions with old stuff. I went to one a while back that was 100 miles from nowhere thinking I might get a bargain. There were over 400 bidder numbers and half the time you couldn't even get close to the stuff to see what they were selling. And if there is old guns, just forget it. I see old Winchesters with problems almost always bring more than you can buy a better one for from a dealer. I don't even stick around for the tools to sell. Even old guys who should know better will pay new price for most of that stuff. Same with iron, I have seen rusty square tubing bring more than I can have new stuff delivered for.
Funny thing is that 2 guys who make a living selling old cars were the ones running a lot of the stuff up. They were paying way more than I can sell the stuff for on ebay.
I think I'll start gathering up stuff to have my own auction.
 
Auctions have always run hot and cold. As soon as someone looks like they got a great buy, everybody else wants in on the action too. But, that is just human nature. I took an Auctioneers course and schooling about 10 years ago and received my diploma. They even had a blurb about the buying frenzy that can happen at an auction, referred to it as Auction Fever. When it happens, the auctioneer will feed it, and keep it hot with fast rhetoric, and a sense of urgency, and the bidders don't have a chance of realizing what or where the bidding is going, they just have to have it. Gamblers get caught up in the same euphoria. It will cool off when the 'wild' bidders run out of money or have bought what they want causing the demand to cool. Besides, if they do nothing with it, you might get another crack at it at their auction!;)
 
I've fell into the same trap before. On ebay. I just kept bidding 5 dollars more. Next thing I knew I was at 500 dollars for a tunnel ram and I was praying someone out bid me. Lucky for me there was someone else out there who wanted it more than me. It auction closed at 575.00 for a very used tunnel ram.
 
I mess with british cars and ebay is one of the few places I can find parts I need. Freight can be the killer. but I always sit and relax till figure out a price it is worth then place the bid about 5 min. before end of auction if the price is hasn't gone crazy. then I walk away from the computer until after the sale
 

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