surplus Auction advice.

going to my first state surplus auction mostly for pallets of computers. will pick up auction booklet Friday the day before auction day and view the items.. ask a few questions.... I've read some of peoples post about auction blunder moments, so that will help... but ill ask ya nice people if you so wish to give a pointer or 2... thanks.



paul, the recycleguy.

Basically set a price what you want to pay for the items you want to bid on and dont get auction fever

That's some great tips there Pnut, especially about the "auction fever". I haven't been to many live auctions but have seen all the things you suggested come into play.
About 25 or 30 years ago I went to a farm auction, and was really enjoying it. I'd walked the place out, writing on each lot I was interested in my max. ( I later learned NOT to forget, it was my MAX) Next to a lot of junk bicycles there were two 10ft long 2.5" diameter high pressure pipes I wanted for a boom, and I wrote $10. During the auction I followed along, taking note of my max as we approached each of those lots. When they got to the pile of bicycles, there was some talk amongst the ones standing closer, but I wasn't sure what they'd said. As the auctioneer began the auction of the bikes, he had put them and the pipes together, but it took me a minute to realize what was happening. Once I did I spoke up to say I was interested in the pipe but not the bikes, so he starts it over on the pipes. All eyes are on me after he begins the bidding. "TEN Dollars!", I say, to dead silence from the crowd. The auctioneer looks around and says, "Sold!". Haha, if I'd said TWO dollars, he probly would have said the same thing ; )

I cant thank you enough for your input and advice as well from others whom replied here. this will be my learning experience and I may or may not come home with items I sure will let yall know the outcome.. this auction is monthly.

Originally Posted by Pnutfarmer

Since you're going to follow the good advice they've posted, you'll have a list with you with your max bids already calculated. Watch the crowd and see who's bidding on the type things you are wanting to buy. You can get a feel for the price they will pay and develop a strategy for knocking them out of your items. For instance, there will be other scrappers there bidding on computer lots who don't take them all the way down. If you are maximizing your scrap value you can beat them. Sometimes, if you just follow the auctioneer on these from $1 on up slowly, you can carry too many bidders with you that might be getting a case of auction fever themselves. In this case, since you know your top bid already, you can jump the bidding up and knock them out. I think of it as a hefty raise in poker. Just know that when you hit your max, that's it, walk away, no regrets. That's why setting your cap is so important. That part is what really takes the time and effort, but it's worth it to set each price so you can make a profit on that lot.

Know where the bidding is going. On farm equipment, they will be going up in $100 or $1000 increments and I want to put in my bid even or odd to be able to land on my max bid instead of having the other bidder land on my max and be win the auction.

Do things like checking to see if all the computers in a lot have hard drives or have they been pulled for security reasons. Lots of IT guys also pull memory and CPUs for later use. Also, check the piles to see if they come with all the cables, if there is a stack of laptops under towers, or if there are crt monitors hidden in the lot.

I also like to write down every final bid that I can so I can research later and find out if I could have made money on any given lot. I've done this before and found some items that were good profit makers the next time around.

Lastly, don't let what other people are doing affect your strategy. I've accidentally missed lots because others were shaking their heads when I should have trusted my own research and bid. I've also paid way more than anyone standing around would have paid while bidding against an online bidder, but made money in the end because I knew what I could sell the item for.

Important tip: find out if there is a buyer's premium and how much and figure this plus taxes into your bids.

Good luck, but do your homework.

Originally Posted by KzScrapper

Since your previewing early price things out so you know what your cap is. Know what you need to make an hour to make it worth your while...Buy as low as possible and use restraint.

well from what I've learned here people pay 2 to 5 dollars a pc... and to scrap it out is 7 to 11 dollars a pc (recycle only), take into account my gas there and back 1.5 hrs each way, time is im on vacation so im good. check to see if hard drive/cpu/ memory is there will be difficult... count how many pc's on a pallet, make my cap at 3. 3.50 per unit ill need 50 to 100 units to make a good day.. plus I need some bar stools for my deck, hope they have some lol... but thank you for your help it is much appreciated.

Sometimes the workers at the auction can tell you if they know the hard drives are pulled. Even if you know they are gone, you may be bidding against people who don't so you might spread that information around.

Bring a small flashlight, tape measure, camera, and notepad and pen. Also business cards, you can meet a lot of people.

When I go to auctions I set my mind that it is NOT me vs. the other bidders, but rather it is my vs. the cap I put on the value. Once the bidding goes over the cap, I "lose" and the cap wins. Auction fever is very real and, in some ways, very entertaining. But you have to decide if you are there for fun or for business. Also, use technology available, such as a smart phone, to look up prices on items that can go for "more than scrap".