BARGAIN HUNTING AT AUCTIONS
Auctions are fantastic places for bargains.
I'm not talking about Sotheby's and buying
rare Ming vases or 17th-century porcelain
elephants.
I'm talking about buying the contents of
someone's house or someone's business for
pennies on the dollar. Sometimes I get
things that originally cost
hundreds of dollars for two bucks.
Pots and pans, bedroom sets, ladders, cars,
soda machines, back hoes, --
you name it!
Where does this stuff come from?
A few places:
- Someone dies, and the family needs to settle
the estate and liquidate the personal belongings.
- Someone's moving and they need to downsize.
- A company goes out of business and they need to
liquidate.
- People bring things to the auction company to
sell on their behalf (these are consignment
auctions).
"Budda-Bee, Budda-Bah ... SOLD!"
The auction itself has a lot of very fast-paced
selling. Most auctioneers
are lots of fun to listen to. It's a
performance, really. They want to entertain
you and mesmerize you a little so that you'll
have a good time -- and bid on a lot of items.
That's always their ulterior motive. They
want you to part with as much of your money
as possible. No bid is too high for them.
And they have a lot of tricks to get your
bid up as high as possible. They're nice about
it, but they do want your money, don't they?
I like keeping my money! Tell me how!
Some "Auction 101" tips:
- Check the advertisement for particular items
you may want. Get a feel for their prices so that
you'll know how much they're worth when you get
there.
- Arrive early to check out the stuff. Inspect it
very carefully. Plug it in if you can. You can
bring the item back the next day, but the auction
company won't be there! Things are usually sold as-is.
- Pay attention after the auction starts. Sometimes
they sell over a hundred lots an hour. They don't
have time to wait around while you think.
- Be sure you know what you're bidding on, and whether
the item is "all for one money" or, for example,
"six times the money" for a set of six chairs (if you
bid $15, you're actually paying $90).
- Wait to bid. Generally, the auctioneer will start
at a high price, work down until someone bids, and
stop at the highest bid.
- Make it clear whether you're bidding on an item or
not. The auctioneer may interpret an itchy nose
as a bid!
- Keep a rein on your emotions. This is much easier
said than done, but with practice you get better
at avoiding a bidding war and letting things go
once the bid goes too high.
- Watch your things. If someone runs off with them,
you still owe what you bid on them!
- Have a good time!
© 2004-2006 MightyBargainHunter.com. All rights reserved.
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