Surplus State property auction

[old head]

A friend and I went Friday to preview a state auction for surplus property in Baton Rouge, just to see what it was all about.  They have them every 30 days I am told.

At any rate, after checking the inventory I saw a 2000 Cherokee I might be interested in and he wanted a diesel pickup.  there were about 40 trucks and cars for auction, and a whole warehouse full of chairs, desks, computers, beds, and every assorted piece of hardware you can imagine.  Outboard motors, hospital beds, auto lifts, tool boxes, cameras, ect.

Found the Cherokee, it had 181k 6 cylinder, auto, ac,4 door, with no power options.  It was really filty, and the bottom was caked with red mud, inside would need a very good shampooing.  Engine fired right up, and it went into reverse and drive, had a few oil leaks, the radiator had some gunk? in it felt like mud, but who knows.l.  basically, seemed sound, just needed some maintenance

Looked up on trade in value, about 800 considering mileage and condition.  Looked up several of the other trucks just to see what how prices were going.

Saturday, we watched in amazement the prices of these trucks went for.  they had about 10 dodge 2500, 4 wheel drive with wench, 4dr pickups that were going for 20-30% over ideal trade in?  What the heck is going on here, you weren't allowed to drive them or really assess them except what you could ascertain in the parking lot, as is no return policy.

His truck went for way more than he was willing to pay for. 

Cherokee eventually sold for 1800, ???  I couldn't believe people would pay this much for an auctioned vehicle.  I quit the cherokee at 1200, but is this the usual mentality of auctions.  People get caught up in the moment and through good sense to the winds, or do I not understand the value of vehicles anymore.

Old Head

[Noguzznoglory]

I buy cars for a living and I stopped going to gov't auctions because of the phenomenon you mentioned.
Time of the year doesn't,t help either. People with earned income credit checks can't get the money out of their hands quick enough

[Perazzimx14]

Wife and I when we 1st moved into our house would go to local auction 2 or 3 time a week. After about a year you see the same things over and over again and you watch people pay twice what you can buy it for new.

You want some real entertainment go to a "sportsman's" where they are selling mostly guns. You' ll see people paying 3 and 4 time the going rate and they feel like they are getting a GREAT deal because its an auction.

We quit going to auctions on the regular basis years ago but about one every couple of years stop in one. Still the same stuff being sold for too much money.

[GearheadGrrrl]

I've seen the same auction phenomena in the rural midwest- There's a whole culture out there that doesn't trust anything new, deals only in cash because they don't trust the "gov'ment" either. They have no idea what stuff really sells for and will bid up old tools and such to above the current price for a new one. In some rural areas this culture has spread through the whole local economy, with crooked local car dealers selling used fleet cars for more than an educated consumer can buy an equivalent new one through one of the many supplier and other discount plans for.

[Triple Jim]

I went to an auction at Ft. Meade, MD sometime in the early '90s.  I felt the way you do, way back then.  The bidders were saying that the good old days of finding good stuff for low prices were gone, because word had gotten out, and people were bidding too much.

The thing that I remember most was notebook computers.  The opening bids were so high that no one was bidding at all.  The auctioneer and some other guy got together and mumbled some stuff, and the auctioneer dropped the opening bids a little.  I don't remember anyone bidding after that either.  They were obsolete computers in unknown condition, and were worth very little.

Then there were some "5 Ton" road tractors.  They were double axle, and all wheel drive.  A guy from a company that refurbished them and sold them to logging companies bought them all.  I sat next to him, and he said he was prepared to pay whatever it took to get them.

[oldbike54]

 Ahh , Old Head , you just experienced competitive bidding . That phenomonon is largely responsible for the inflated prices of those Mopar products a few years back . Let's face it, no rational human being pays 5 times what an old car is realistically worth . Ebay is built on this , the concept of "winning" an auction is just silly .

 Dusty

[John A]

When I bought this place I helped the old guy who sold it to me auction off his shop , he repaired small tractors and mowers. At the auction I bid on some stuff and dropped out quickly on most. Afterward he said he was surprised at how high some things sold for. I plan on having an auction before I move to a grave.

[GearheadGrrrl]

I've been shopping for a small tractor for years and been to dozens of auctions. It gets insane- 30 year old beat up Kubota that maybe had 12 HP new with a busted loader that don't fit and a questionable 3 point mower and won't even start, goes for $2k. Heck, you can buy a new one with half again the power for $9k! Cub Cadet 782 diesel, 2 wheel drive, runs but showing wear, goes for over $4k. Even non running half century old 2WD gas tractors like the IH Cubs and Ford Ns go for over $1k, even if they don't run. No better on Craigslist, saw a 30+ year old Ford 1100 that reputedly ran but looked like it'd been through a war went for $1500 before I could get a look at it. I just gave up and bought a new Deere 1 series with mower and loader for $15k+tax, I'll be relaxing while the auction suckers are still trying to get their old junk running.

That said, got a MX250 Yamaha for $25 at the end of a long day at an auction miles from nowhere, and let go of a rust free Spridget when the bidding went past $700. Would have gone higher, but 'twas a rubber bumpered Triumph engined model rather than the '72 that the auction flyer said it was.

[Two Checks]

Those Rams were expensive because they came with wenches.
We all know wenches aint cheep to keep.

[LowRyter]

2 checks, you're saying they are high maintenance items?

[nsmith]

The reason guns sell so high at these auctions (at least here in South Dakota) is the simple fact there will be no background check. Pay and play. A lot of these folks can't abide filling out a form just so uncle Sam can come take that gun away. Even if they can legally purchase a gun they don't need uncle Sam knowing about it. 

[charlie b]

If you can get a GOOD auction house to sell your stuff you can really make out.

But, I've been to auctions where everything was selling cheap.  One was being run by what I would consider a less than ethical auctioneer.  She would stop bidding on some items and say, "I know the owner doesn't want this sold so cheap so I am going to impose a reserve on it."  I've bought some stuff really cheap cause no one there wanted it.

Guns and cars?  Things can get weird really fast.  FYI, the auction house near us was a licensed firearms dealer so all sales required paperwork.

[nc43bsa]

My experience with state surplus auctions has been fairly good, I guess.

I went to one to find a microfiche reader and bought a pallet with 2 of them, along with assorted other junk.  I picked the reader I wanted, and sold the other one before I loaded it all into my van and made half of the purchase price back.    That auction also had an electron scanning microscope that went for $2000.  A pallet of computers went for $100.  I also got a high-back desk chair for $5, which I'm still using 20+ years later.

Another auction netted me 4 Hollerith card file cabinets. each one about 54x29x19 inches, with ball-bearing drawers, and heavy as hell.  IIRC, $105US for all 4.

Another auction had a five year old Suburban, apparently from Clemson University, that went for $900.  I was looking for a van at the time, but I was interested in this until I found out it had a 7.4L engine.  And it smoked when it started.

Sometimes you can get some interesting stuff cheap.

[simonome]

I got my MG from an auction here in Italy.
The municipality was ebaying some MGs and BMWs off his fleet.

I had a bid just for the fun of it, and got it quite cheap (600 �).

My bike was one of the best of the lot, but during its service life it has suffered some abuse.

Transimission oil was almost dry, and the clutch slips at 50k km. This is surely due to the 99% city riding it has been used for.
Carbs may need some servicing, and the starter was at the end of its service life.

Sofar I've just changed all the fluids and fit a new starter. Clutch will remain in place for as long as possible.

I'm satisfied overall, as it has been my very cheap admission ticket to moto guzzi ownership

By the way, while chatting with the local manager, he has told me that for sure the municipality has spent on those sales more than what it has earned: they had to pay 1 more year of insurance, ownership tax, ebay commission, plus their time. They'd earned more by dropping them to a junkyard, but the new citiy major wanted to show a sign of "responsible use" of public resources, then ordered the old bikes to be auctioned.

[DaSwami]

Ebay is built on this , the concept of "winning" an auction is just silly .

 Dusty

Not if you are the seller!  That concept puts money in your pocket.  I just sold a bunch of stuff on Gunbroker and all my auctions start at a penny with no reserve.  Works wonders!

[simonome]

Not if you are the seller!  That concept puts money in your pocket.  I just sold a bunch of stuff on Gunbroker and all my auctions start at a penny with no reserve.  Works wonders!

As a professional seller with an inventory on ebay for new stuff, I have a completely experience.

Probably the users who approach sales of new items fall in a different category than the ones taking part to auctions.

I keep receiving offers for my goods, that are ridiculous, sometimes even offensive. If something is offered for sale at 100, there is always someone that wants to beat the market, and thinks I will be happy to sell my goods at a loss for 50, sometimes even 30.

I do business on 2 directly-owned e-shops, plus amazon, ebay and B2B. Customer profile-base, Ebay is by far the lowest-end marketplace in my business model.

[DaSwami]

I do business on 2 directly-owned e-shops, plus amazon, ebay and B2B. Customer profile-base, Ebay is by far the lowest-end marketplace in my business model.

Ebay is also ridiculously expensive for the seller, especially for low margin items.  good place to buy, lousy place to sell.

[rocker59]

Dodge Ram Cummins trucks sell high.

Heck, any 2500 or 3500 truck with a diesel sells for a premium.

I recently bought a used gas GMC Sierra 3500 for about $9k less than the identical truck with Duramax.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[LeRoy]

Heck, any 2500 or 3500 truck with a diesel sells for a premium.

I recently bought a used gas GMC Sierra 3500 for about $9k less than the identical truck with Duramax.

That's probably the same price difference between gas and diesel engines as when the truck was new. The truck depreciates. The diesel engine doesn't.

[rocker59]

Duramax option was not $9k for model year 2003.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[Lannis]

Not if you are the seller!  That concept puts money in your pocket.  I just sold a bunch of stuff on Gunbroker and all my auctions start at a penny with no reserve.  Works wonders!

I've found the same to be true.    Start it at low or nothing, let the momentum build, and it will send the price (often) way above a "Start Bid" that no one is bidding on.

Buyers at auctions are buying at an auction because they want to pay the actual market price, not some artificial hopeful number that the seller wishes was the actual market price.   A true auction gets the market price for both buyer and seller.

Lannis

[simonome]

Ebay is also ridiculously expensive for the seller, especially for low margin items.  good place to buy, lousy place to sell.

yes, 10% fee according to my stats.

[Socalrob]

Duramax option was not $9k for model year 2003.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

$9k difference might be a bit high, but in my experience of buying pickups for my company, you can buy gas pickups at deep discounts but pay much closer to list for diesels.  Back in 2003 I could buy club cab pickups (work trim) for well under $20k out the door. 

Using pencil paper and calculator, I have never been able to get diesel to pencil out in under 250 miles of ownership, and by then the rest of the truck is normally shot.  Keep in mind I am buying these for others to drive.  Club cab Sierra 1500 I bought last year was $28,000, or $31k OTD. 

[rocker59]

As I recall, Duramax was in the $4k to $4.5k range back then. So in effect, the diesel engines appreciate in value with miles! LOL!

In my case, the gasser I bought for under $14k had 73000 miles, and the diesel with 150000 miles was $23k. Crazy.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[azguzzirep]

I grew up going to city and State surplus auctions with my dad. We would buy something cheap and clean it up and resell it for a profit. Easy, squeezed, lemon pealzey.

Then, the prices of new cars got so high the used car market skyrocketed. Cars we used to pay six hundred for were now selling for three thousand! We're talking used police cars here!

Plus, a lot of the cars were going South, down Mexico way. Yeah,it got pretty redickulas. (sp)

[charlie b]

We could tell when there was a car auction of any type in the area.  The day after there would be a small convoy of cars pulling other cars with towbars.  A group of 6 or 8 of these could be seen in I25 traveling south together across the border.  Then a bit later you could see another group of 6 or 8.  One day we counted over 50 cars and trucks like this between Las Cruces and Albuquerque.

The older used car market around here is driven by the Mexican market.