odd auction goof

Anonymous-0 · Apr 12, 2014

you win some and lose some,,today , I sacrificed a good used new idea 250 dollar 3pt fertilizer spreader at local consignment auction ,,I do a lot of biznes there . ,,. it was odd, auctioner tried startin at 300 and fell all the way down to 60 bux, and then dropped the hammer SOLD , it all happened in 30 seconds time ,,while I was trying to tell if he had 160 or just,, 60 ,when auctioneer hollered sold ,. the catch bid never even got another bid ,,NEXT TIME THAT HAPPENS ,, I WILL HOLLER OUT NO SALE ,,. told the owner auctioneer, I was not pleased how junior auctioneer gave up so quikly ,,. he asked why did I not bid it up , and I told him it went way too fast, before anyone had time to think ,, besides I resist pushing up a bid, and no doubt the spreader would had brought more if more time would had been spent on it ,it was probably the bargain for the long day , if I asked the auctioneer to waive his fee,, I Know He would ,, but in all honesty ,,. Everything is probably better left unsaid , and the law of averages will win out over time,, just glad it was on a small item

2x4 · Apr 12, 2014

know how you feel. Just put up 3 pt hitch box blade & field cultivator. $160-box blade (really strong one) & $110 cultivator(like new- paid $330). Low for either one but then they deducted $100 per item for each place in the auction. Didn't see that in the contract, which I signed but they don't give you a copy. On top of that, they collected a 15% buyers fee! That should've been their fee. Took 30 seconds to sell each item. So I got $70 for both implements plus cost $30 in gasoline to truck it there. Moral - don't send anything to Ritchie Bros. that won't bring $1000. Takes a month to get your money too. Wish I'd taken it to the local consignment.

Anonymous-0 · Apr 13, 2014

Sounds like you got McScrewed! If it's something the auctioneer owns, he spends 5 minutes tryin to sell it, if it's yours, he takes 3 bids and is done...

Dr. Walt · Apr 13, 2014

You should have set a "reserve" price, they can't set bids below it, has to be above the reserve. If no bids above the reserve, then it doesn't sell.

Doc

Anonymous-0 · Apr 13, 2014

I bet he did that as a favor to a friend.. A local auction barn does that.. Bends all the rules for a few favorites.. I quit going.

jm. · Apr 13, 2014

Ritchie Bro. will tell you here they do not want anything under a thousand and also tell you about the hundred dollar fee. They also tell you it is against their rules and you consignment agreement to bid on your own property. Pretty much a place to really get screwed if you are a seller. They hold all the cards and the deck is stacked in their favor.

Traditional Farmer · Apr 13, 2014

First off it was a $60 spreader on that day not a $250 one.Auctions are a crap shoot if you wanted top $$ a consignment auction isn't the way to go.Around here if you want to bid you better be getting your hand up.Too many people at auctions don't pay attention,talking to their buddies etc etc
then get upset when they miss an item.For me an auction is a days work and I get a lot of baragins because I'm right on top of items I'm interested in buying.I've sold countless items to guys that missed an item that sold cheap and they weren't paying attention and sometimes the BSing they were doing gets pretty expensive.

Pops1532 · Apr 13, 2014

(quoted from post at 03:19:46 04/13/14) you win some and lose some,,today , I sacrificed a good used new idea 250 dollar 3pt fertilizer spreader at local consignment auction ,,I do a lot of biznes there . ,,. it was odd, auctioner tried startin at 300 and fell all the way down to 60 bux, and then dropped the hammer SOLD , it all happened in 30 seconds time ,,while I was trying to tell if he had 160 or just,, 60 ,when auctioneer hollered sold ,. the catch bid never even got another bid ,,NEXT TIME THAT HAPPENS ,, I WILL HOLLER OUT NO SALE ,,. told the owner auctioneer, I was not pleased how junior auctioneer gave up so quikly ,,. he asked why did I not bid it up , and I told him it went way too fast, before anyone had time to think ,, besides I resist pushing up a bid, and no doubt the spreader would had brought more if more time would had been spent on it ,it was probably the bargain for the long day , if I asked the auctioneer to waive his fee,, I Know He would ,, but in all honesty ,,. Everything is probably better left unsaid , and the law of averages will win out over time,, just glad it was on a small item

Was the auction advertised as "absolute"? Sounds like you didn't place a reserve on the item. If it was an absolute auction, you can't place a reserve, or declare no sale.
Did the auctioneer announce prior to the start of the auction that sellers could bid on items they consign? If not, then it would be illegal for sellers to bid on the items they consigned.

Anonymous-0 · Apr 13, 2014

Your last sentence says it all. Values vary from day to day and the buyers there that day. You don't hear many complaints about the items that sell for far more than they are worth. When selling at auction you have to take the average. I recently sold some small items on a local consignment auction. I thought some items were a little weak, but the check was bigger than I expected when I took the items, so all was well. Also a lot of times the seller's will put a higher value on the item than what it is actually worth, and be careful which auction you take it to. In our area we are fortunate to have several good reasonable, reliable auction companies.

T in NE · Apr 13, 2014

If they declare sold on a single bid without looking for another, I"d say he has grounds.

Leroy · Apr 13, 2014

It is law that you get copy of contract.

MNGB · Apr 13, 2014

Boy do I know how you feel, I took a number of items to a local consignment auction a couple of yrs ago, one item was a $300.00 tow bar mount auctioneer looked at and said looks like scrape $5.00 and that's what it went for. Lesson learned now I sell on CL.
GB in MN

Eldon (WA) · Apr 13, 2014

(quoted from post at 20:19:46 04/12/14) you win some and lose some,,today , I sacrificed a good used new idea 250 dollar 3pt fertilizer spreader at local consignment auction ,,I do a lot of biznes there . ,,. it was odd, auctioner tried startin at 300 and fell all the way down to 60 bux, and then dropped the hammer SOLD , it all happened in 30 seconds time ,,while I was trying to tell if he had 160 or just,, 60 ,when auctioneer hollered sold ,. the catch bid never even got another bid ,,NEXT TIME THAT HAPPENS ,, I WILL HOLLER OUT NO SALE ,,. told the owner auctioneer, I was not pleased how junior auctioneer gave up so quikly ,,. he asked why did I not bid it up , and I told him it went way too fast, before anyone had time to think ,, besides I resist pushing up a bid, and no doubt the spreader would had brought more if more time would had been spent on it ,it was probably the bargain for the long day , if I asked the auctioneer to waive his fee,, I Know He would ,, but in all honesty ,,. Everything is probably better left unsaid , and the law of averages will win out over time,, just glad it was on a small item

That's why I only sell on Craigslist...I have total control over what I get for an item.

2 Old 2 care · Apr 13, 2014

You play the game, you take your chances.....Would you have complained if it brought far MORE than you anticipated?

Anonymous-0 · Apr 13, 2014

Most people have an inflated opinion of what there stuff is worth.A consignment auction is not the place to get top dollar,it's a place to find bargains if the stuff is actually for sale and the owner isn't bidding.

Alan K · Apr 13, 2014

Sounds like an iffy auction company. There are good auctioneers and bad ones.

Anonymous-0 · Apr 13, 2014

Ritchie Bros. rules are very clear from the outset. They are no reserve period. They even state in their buyers catalog about having other people bid on your items. They will prosecute you. Ritchie Bros. thrives in a bad economy because there are still people/contractors with money to spend. Dave Ritchie took about a 4 year cruise and it only cost him about $40,000,000. Sold the yacht he paid $100,000,000+ for at an unreserved auction and it only brought $62,000,000. I don't think he has too many money problems but commend him on selling it unreserved. Every Ritchie Bros. auction brings in $15 to $50 million in sales and sometimes more.

A lot of farm auctions you have no idea and the so called rules are changed to suit whoever. I've seen auctioneers yell sold almost instantly before anyone else even had a chance to get their hand up or shout out. Most likely buying it for themselves.

redforlife · Apr 13, 2014

Knew an auctioneer that would hold up household glasswear. He would hauler for what he thought it was worth. Nobody would bid (waiting for him to back way off of what it was worth). He would drop it on the ground breaking it all and say "well I guess we'll move on to something else". People would get there dang hands out of there pockets then. I have also seen auctioneers sell an item or 2 cheap just to wake people up. But cant remember seeing it done at a consignment auction.

Pops1532 · Apr 14, 2014

While he certainly might have grounds to be mad at the auctioneer, once the auctioneer says sold, the item is sold. That IS the law.
I have a buddy that's a lawyer that specializes in auction law. The way he explains it is when the auctioneer calls for bids that is the "offer" part of a contractual agreement. When someone places the highest bid that is the "acceptance" part of the contract. When the bidding stops advancing and the auctioneer says "sold", it is a legally binding contract.

The OP's auctioneer sounds like a good one to steer clear of for a couple of reasons. One being he was the agent for the seller and it doesn't sound like he called for another bid once he had gotten the initial bid. That is wrong. If he had called for $65 or even $61 and the bidding didn't advance, he would have at least fulfilled his fiduciary duty to the seller.
The other thing I take exception with is the auctioneer telling the seller he could have bid on the item himself. Seller bidding is only legally permissible when the auctioneer announces that seller bidding is allowed. Why would someone do business as either a buyer or seller with someone that suggests their sellers break the law?

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