Two questions on this fine, bright, crisp morning...

All-

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I've been paying more attention to local auctions for scrapping opportunities lately and, being the nerdy data-person I am, I've begun keeping loose track of who bids on what and how much items tend to go for. Right now I'm "watching" about three dozen electronics-related lots on a particular auction site. There are 14 different "people" bidding on these lots, though only 5 people are responsible for 24 of the 36 bids (each of those 5 people are bidding on 3 or more lots). We'll see what the numbers look like after the hammer falls, but for now it appears that there are a relatively small number of people in the area interested in the same kinds of things.

So this is my first question: do any of you folks ever strike off-the-record "gentleman's agreements" to not bid against each other (either first dibs, or you bid on X, I'll bid on Y) in these kinds of situations, or is it "all's fair in love and scrapping"? There's always the possibility of a rogue bidder or bad apple or something messing things up, but it seems that with a little forethought and cooperation, folks in smaller markets could benefit from minimizing direct competition. Is this possible, or am I just being naive?

My second question: do any of you find yourselves whistling the "Sanford and Son" theme as you drive around town? I do... often.



cheers,
tbg

I can't answer your question, but I like the way you think.

Originally Posted by KzScrapper

Collusion or price fixing is illegal and some auctioneers will warn people when they here it going on. That being said it seems to happen all the time and I've even heard auctioneers say "you know your bidding against your buddy", which I think is crossing the line for sure.

That was my first thought too: Technically this would have to be called collusion. But as you point out, these kinds of "gentlemen's agreements" are not uncommon, especially when there is a small pool of bidders. Look at any small town and the bidding on contracts there. It happens because people are smart enough (sometimes) to figure out that cooperation is the best way to maximize their reward.

It is illegal, though, at least in some contexts. When large corporations do it, it is seriously illegal.

Hmm... I'm no lawyer, but I suppose what I'm talking about can be, technically, considered collusion. Is it *illegal* for two auction participants to discuss bidding strategies? I don't see how. What *would* be illegal (or at least it seems like it would be illegal) is for the auction company to plant ringers to bid against unsuspecting participants.

Whether or not "collusion" between auction participants is technically illegal, I can see why auctioneers would frown upon it and could, probably legally, kick someone out of the auction ring (or off the website) if they catch you doing it.

Perhaps it would be more constructive to broaden my question to: do folks in smaller communities divvy up territories or types of items, or is there always someone else ready, willing and able to swoop in and make a couple bucks regardless of the unspoken "rules" or "system" a community has in place?

cheers,
tbg

The Sanford and Son theme song is the ringtone on my phone!

All is fair in love,war and auctions. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

While I don't do auctions, if i found myself at one(they are rare by me without a good bit of travel) I'd be using Brandon and Happy's way of thinking. Now if I was in a situation like KZ an PTS, I'd like to think I'd end up doing what they do. Let'm go for what they are, an focus on what I want. I can adapt tho, I never try to focus on just one thing, i.e. - towers, laptops, etc I can get down with anything that' will bring me profit. I see no reason to share tho otherwise what interests me, to other bidders. Far as going an not knowing anyone..all is fair, an I ain't going to tell you what I want. Poker face baby!

an..far as Sanford an son, not only do I hum the theme song, I find myself quoting it now an then. Ha ha!


Fred Sanford: [after learning Esther is moving in] "I can see my tombstone: "Fred Sanford lies here. 1908 to 1975. Died from an overdose of ugly."

Sirscrapalot - "Oh, this is the biggest one I ever had. You hear that Elizabeth? I'm coming to join you honey." - Fred Sanford

Nice quote!

As always, I appreciate the comments. A few additional observations... the dynamics of online auctions and auctions, estate sales, etc. IRL are quite a bit different- online auctions are (or can be) much more anonymous and play out over a much longer time frame. People can see "who" (in terms of a user name or screen ID) bids how much on what, but no-one can tell how many people have looked at or examined closely which lots. In real life, everyone can see what everyone else is looking at (and trying very hard not to look interested in) and bidding on any particular item plays out in minutes, if not seconds. I shadowed a buddy of mine who makes significant cash buying antiques at yard sales and re-selling them elsewhere. He is *very* careful in how he goes about examining the items for sale as there are likely three or four other "early birds" at the same sale doing the same thing.

Which brings me to the second observation- while there is always some variation in electronic items (servers are still something of a mystery to me), many of us here can look at a pallet of computer towers and pretty quickly estimate a rough idea of the value. Sure, someone might see something that can be re-sold where someone else doesn't (or recognizes 486-class machines as opposed to newer), but a pile of computers is a reasonably predictable commodity. The situation is quite different with Ming vases and Superman comics, where a deep knowledge of the market and the condition of the item can mean orders of magnitude differences in final value. If I see a Superman comic with a $5 start and I believe it is worth $500, then heck yes, I'm going to bid on it, but that's a very different scenario than looking at 10 pallets of computers, with pretty much everyone knowing that each one is worth roughly $XX...

Anyway, I procrastinate...

cheers,
tbg