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Speaking of auctions........

Goose

Goose

Well-known Member
Speaking of auctions, there are hardly any hereabouts.

Usually at this time of year, every Saturday and some weekdays you would have a choice of meaningful farm auctions to go to. This year, there just aren't any. There appears to have been a major shift in the industry.

Have all of the smaller farmers who would retire and have a retirement auction sold out and have had their land taken over by BTO's? Or are there other factors working?

There are a couple of consignment auctions coming up next month that I always go to, but that's about it.
 
That's what i've noticed around here also.Local jockys are hauling stuff in from auctions in the south.The FFA held there annual sale yesterday.Over 400 pieces of equipment sold.Strong prices on later stuff.
 
Friend of mine wanted to get rid of some old equipment, so held consignment sale to bring in others.

It was kind of sparse, and prices not that good.

Two things of interest, 4320 $16600, and 3010 non running $1850.
 
Sykora only had three on his site for quite a while. I think it's up to about seven or so now. Seem to be large farm estates for the most part.
 
In my area, there are only a few guys, they are running lots of acres, much of it rented. I think you could put all the farmers in a fairly small room. And a lot of equipment they use is leased, not owned. And after the period of high scrap prices a few years ago, a lot of fencerow stuff got scrapped out. I used to see a few small farms near me, and stuff sitting in barns and fence rows. Mostly gone now.
 
When my brother retired from farming, he didn't have an auction. He planned to sell everything piece-by-piece. When the neighbors learned that he was retiring, they came and bought over half the equipment before he could even place an ad. Everything else sold from ads, except he still has the JD pull type swather and the old Case 14ft. SP swather - not much market for those, but someone will want them eventually. He's not in a hurry to sell them.

He kept several tractor to use around the farm: loader tractor, snowblower tractor, 2 mower tractors and an 8N collection tractor.
 
"I think you could put all the farmers in a fairly small room."

I remember back in the early to mid 90s they said you could put all the dairy farmers in the US in the seats of one football stadium. I'll bet that venue could be a lot smaller than that these days. Getting to where you could put them in a phone booth.
 
A neighbor did it that way. I think I would too. If the price of steel went back up,a good chunk of mine would go right to the crusher two miles up the road. A guy just the other side of the crusher had a sale about five years ago when steel was up there. I'll bet 50% of the stuff on his sale was bought by scrappers. He'd have been WAY ahead if he'd just hauled the bulk of his stuff there himself and taken the few decent pieces he had to a consignment sale or advertised them.
 
Spook lives just north of my place. We actually have several operations locally that are at least equal to yours. Some quite a bit larger. There is a dairy operation about 4-5 miles NE of me. At one time they were either the largest landowner in the county or second. Most of the guys I know own anywhere from 50-100 acres and then lease the rest. I look at the ones around me and have to believe the equipment is all leased. There are two auction companies with substantial on-line auction businesses. One of these up in the thumb is still doing big volume. The other one down in Mason only has a couple of items in it's February consignment sale. Live auctions are getting scarce but I attend every one I possibly can just to enjoy the day out.

Those internet auctions are too easily manipulated. I went last week to look at a CIH 1020 header I found on CL. Fella wanted a bit too much for it and I was not disposed to give it to him. He told me he had it listed with the auction house in the thumb area. High bid was $2500 and that included a nice header cart. I am sure the bidder was disappointed to find out after all his work bidding that there was a hidden reserve on the item and his good deal was all smoke and mirrors. Live auctions are more fair. You have the high bid and you own it. Reserves are spelled out up front.
 
My experience with auctions is there are always to many people there willing to pay way to much for something just to get it! But, for that reason when Dad passed away we had an auction.
 
(quoted from post at 09:11:32 02/12/17) Spook lives just north of my place. We actually have several operations locally that are at least equal to yours. Some quite a bit larger. There is a dairy operation about 4-5 miles NE of me. At one time they were either the largest landowner in the county or second. Most of the guys I know own anywhere from 50-100 acres and then lease the rest. I look at the ones around me and have to believe the equipment is all leased. There are two auction companies with substantial on-line auction businesses. One of these up in the thumb is still doing big volume. The other one down in Mason only has a couple of items in it's February consignment sale. Live auctions are getting scarce but I attend every one I possibly can just to enjoy the day out.

Those internet auctions are too easily manipulated. I went last week to look at a CIH 1020 header I found on CL. Fella wanted a bit too much for it and I was not disposed to give it to him. He told me he had it listed with the auction house in the thumb area. High bid was $2500 and that included a nice header cart. I am sure the bidder was disappointed to find out after all his work bidding that there was a hidden reserve on the item and his good deal was all smoke and mirrors. Live auctions are more fair. You have the high bid and you own it. Reserves are spelled out up front.
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You think live auctions aren't easily and often manipulated?!? Must be different kind of auctions in Michigan. EVERY auction has some sort of backroom dealings going on, auctioneers working to jockeys, friends bidding up for the seller, Auctioneers pulling bids from the sky, etc. Online auctions are no different, except you don't have to blow a day waiting for an item that sells for more than you're willing to spend. You punch in your price 5 minutes before it ends, and you either own it or you don't.

I used to get worked up about it, but very recently decided it isn't worth getting worked up for. I bid to where I'm comfortable paying, and am willing to walk away.
 
When Meidema sold out Honest John Stamm down there in Wayland,they had live and online bidding. I stayed home and bid on a Gehl silage cart. I could hear the live sale going on. My last bid was $750. They claimed they had $775 on site and wanted me to bid $800. I wouldn't do it. They said sold for $775. I sat there a few minutes and it popped up on my screen that I'd bought it for $750. I don't know what kind of shady thing was going on there. I went and got in on Monday for $750.
 
I have seen fellows sell out in many ways. If your completely quitting farming than an on farm live auction is still a pretty good way to sell things. Just remember that advertising is the key IF you have some high dollar stuff. That one person from miles away can easily drive the sale price up on one item much more than the cost of advertising. Junk will bring junk price but many things will have a value you may not expect.

I would have everything out in a row that you want rid of. Even a dollar is better than paying to have it hauled away. I just helped my BIL have his sale a few years ago. HE was a pack rat but most of hiss tuff was in good shape. He had 20 hog feeders. They all had good lids and cast iron bases, no holes. We felt he would be lucky to get $5-10 each on them. He did advertise them as good and had lots of pictures on line. Those feeders sold for over $100 each average. He had lots of rough sawed lumber. HE would have logs sawed to build things an always had some lumber left over. Red and White Oak, Wild Cherry, Poplar, and a few boards of walnut. You could have hauled it all in a one ton truck. We sorted it into piles of each type. That lumber brought over $2000. Several furniture restoring guys bid it up to use for repairs.

So you never know what will sell well. IF it is advertised well then things will 90% of the time bring their market value. That may not be what you want but it usually is close. Things will average out too. Some stuff will sell high and some will go low. On my BIL sale he had two good Stihl chain saws. An 038 Magnum and a O28Av saw. The 038 only sold for $175 and the 028 for $125. That 038 is $1000 saw new. It should have brought $400-500 but it did not. The rest of the stuff on the wagons sold for new price so it averaged out.
 
Yes, I have heard that argument before. It just falls flat. People who are in love with technology will argue for it in the face of all reason. It isn't always the best way to go. For that matter...people lately will argue in the face of all reason with anybody or anything which doesn't agree with their view of the world. I'm not one of those people. I know that with great regularity I would get some really good buys on used items at live auctions. Rarely if ever with internet auctions. Plus I can talk to the owner and relatives on sight. Plus I have a nice day, frequently run into friends, go home happy even if I don't buy anything. If you enjoy squatting in front of your computer throwing money at phantoms...go for it.
 
Sounds like you were bidding against a reserve and the seller lowered it after the final bid. Hard to get away with that when everyone is standing in a half circle. They would have had to disclose the reserve up front or give you a choice of backing off your bid when you found out there was not another bidder. I like auctioneers who stand up and tell you reserves before you bid and ID relatives and auction employees who might be bidding. I used to see that a lot. I was bidding on a Gleaner manual a couple years back over your way. I got it in my head that the kid across from me bidding had bought the actual combine. I stopped the auctioneer and asked the kid if he had indeed bought the combine. He said yes and I told the auctioneer to give it to him. The auctioneer chewed me out pretty good, but I told him I thought the manual should have gone with the machine. The crowd was heavily on my side. I prefer ethics to greed.
 
Don't know how you guy's do it. I've been to half a dozen auctions in my entire life and have never purchased anything at one. Seems like it's either junk or it sells higher than new price. There's no in between. I get disgusted and stay home for another decade till I get the itch and the process is the same again. Glad it works for some!
 
(quoted from post at 10:26:53 02/12/17) Yes, I have heard that argument before. It just falls flat. People who are in love with technology will argue for it in the face of all reason. It isn't always the best way to go. For that matter...people lately will argue in the face of all reason with anybody or anything which doesn't agree with their view of the world. I'm not one of those people. I know that with great regularity I would get some really good buys on used items at live auctions. Rarely if ever with internet auctions. Plus I can talk to the owner and relatives on sight. Plus I have a nice day, frequently run into friends, go home happy even if I don't buy anything. If you enjoy squatting in front of your computer throwing money at phantoms...go for it.
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Oh, I do enjoy going to auctions the same as you. But I also am starting to do the online thing. There was an auction about a month ago 2 1/2 hours north of me. I would never have attended the sale. I bought 5 lots online and got some really good prices on some tractor toolboxes. They would have sold for quite a bit more on a live sale, but were not labelled properly. Still had to make the drive, but I paid, loaded, and left within a half hour versus spending 8-10 hours watching everything sell.
 
Goes both ways. The first machine shop my son ever worked at got sold out by court order in an online auction a few weeks ago. He bought a few things on the sale for his new shop. One of the most expensive things he bought as an air compressor for $300. The pump was trashed,broken rod,cracked case,the whole nine yards. He might as well have thrown his money on the floor and set fire to it.
 
There used to be two guys here who would bid things up for the guy having the sale. You had to be pretty stupid not to have known them or known what they were up to. They got me right in the middle of it one time. There was a riding lawn mower that I wanted on a sale. One of those jokers owed me some money for some calves he'd gotten from me. I told him I wanted that mower. When it sold,his partner in crime was bidding on it,so I wasn't going to get in on it. A few minutes later,the one that owed me money came over and said he got it for me. OK,they worked together sometimes,so I figured they were working together that time.
I brought the mower home,bought a new battery for it and used it one time. A day or two later,the one who'd been bidding came over,calling me a thief and wanting his lawn mower. I told him that his buddy told me that he'd gotten it for me and that I took it for part of the money he owed me. He told me in no uncertain terms that he's bought it for himself.
I wasn't gonna argue with him. I took my new battery out of it and used the loader to put it in the back of his pickup. He didn't even tie it down,just put it in gear. He took off out of here like the devil was chasing him and as soon as he whipped out in to the road,it rolled right out of the back of his truck on to the pavement. LOL
 
My uncle is selling out in five weeks. There are a couple of things there I would like, but I bought what I really wanted from him already. I was shocked to find yesterday that the auctioneer has it listed on his site but no bill. Just "50 years worth of stuff, will run two rings most of the day". It wasn't even in the local paper today. I guess times are different. Used to be that you planned way in advance for the ones you thought would be big ones - social events. I'd be hopping mad at that austioneer. In this day and age there is no reason to not have things listed online. None of his stuff is, including the auctions to sell in a couple of days.
 
If they did what you are saying then they would have lost their licebce. If an auctioneere has a bid from someone not at sale he must have it in writing with what item and amount to bid up to. And as far as someone running things up. I have a family member that is an auctioner and several years ago at consignment sale someone had brought in a piece (I forgot what it was) Somebody complained the owner was running it up and took it to the licening board for auctioners and he had a lot of leagal trobles till it was proved that the owner that had brought the item in was not at the sale but several states away at that time. And if an item has a reserve on the auctioneer has to anounce it before he takes any bid on the tractor or other item. I buy items at sales for the Amish and as I cannot be at all sales or even realize the sale is being held I wrote out a paper for him and all the auction crew giving then the right to bid on and buy many different types of items for me. In it I said the name of the family member that is the auctioneer, the owner of the auction company, the other auctioneer that is also a friend and the family members that cleark the sale, named them by name and said they have my permission to buy any of the items on the list at any sale they might have or at any sale they might attened. So everybody is legally covered as if any questiond by anybody they can show them in wrighting who they have the bid for. We have had enough problems with people like you complaing about something that is not tru. The sale that the person caused the trouble was not even paid auctioneers but donating their tine for a non proffit. If you know any of that stuff for a fact and not a wild guess talk to the govenery body in your state and they will make sure it does not happen again. But make absolute sure of your facts.
 
(quoted from post at 09:05:01 02/13/17) If they did what you are saying then they would have lost their licebce. If an auctioneere has a bid from someone not at sale he must have it in writing with what item and amount to bid up to. And as far as someone running things up. I have a family member that is an auctioner and several years ago at consignment sale someone had brought in a piece (I forgot what it was) Somebody complained the owner was running it up and took it to the licening board for auctioners and he had a lot of leagal trobles till it was proved that the owner that had brought the item in was not at the sale but several states away at that time. And if an item has a reserve on the auctioneer has to anounce it before he takes any bid on the tractor or other item. I buy items at sales for the Amish and as I cannot be at all sales or even realize the sale is being held I wrote out a paper for him and all the auction crew giving then the right to bid on and buy many different types of items for me. In it I said the name of the family member that is the auctioneer, the owner of the auction company, the other auctioneer that is also a friend and the family members that cleark the sale, named them by name and said they have my permission to buy any of the items on the list at any sale they might have or at any sale they might attened. So everybody is legally covered as if any questiond by anybody they can show them in wrighting who they have the bid for. We have had enough problems with people like you complaing about something that is not tru. The sale that the person caused the trouble was not even paid auctioneers but donating their tine for a non proffit. If you know any of that stuff for a fact and not a wild guess talk to the govenery body in your state and they will make sure it does not happen again. But make absolute sure of your facts.
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Leroy,

You must not pick up on much if you don't see that stuff happening at every sale. You go to a consignment sale at Hennessey Imp near me and you will see it done on dozens of pieces. The guy selling the item will go up to the callers and whisper that he needs this much out of it, and they will pull bids outta the air for a while, then say it takes more than that and go on to the next item. Wilkinson is TERRIBLE about it. The kid will run the item up like he has bids, then start over. Go to an Everitt sale over in Strawberry Point or in Fennimore. I never saw so many pieces "Sell to the truck". Those items sell fast, but then they'll drag out every last bid on the items Everitt owns. If he doesn't like the price, he'll just say it takes more than that and moves on.

Yeah, take it to the board. Good luck. It's your word against theirs. Who do you think the auction board cares more about - The bidder or their dues-paying members?

I just accept that it's the way the game is played. I bid until I've reached my limit and I own it or I don't.
 
You are not understanding the law. And the only fee the auctionrs pay is the licence, the same way you pay for a licence on your truck.
 
As I was headed to grab parts today, I saw all the equipment lined up in the field of the guy who farmed the two fields next to me in the past. He died last Spring, early 60s', right as planting was to start. Several of the BTOs nearby banded together and planted, sprayed and harvested the crops for his widow. Most of the fields looked better than ours, they did a really nice job. He supposedly had contracts she could not get out of, so she needed the crops.

He farmed 5-600 acres or more, a nice line of newer JD stuff, sized to do much of the work alone. I hope she does well, will be looking for signs/flyers to post, if any of you are interested.
 
I can tell you do not know what you are talking about. Complaining because the auctioner is following the law. And knowing bidders for years and knowing how they bid. You must think every bidder must be required to stand holding a flag as he bids. We don't need people like you going to the auctions. And I have helped work them.
 
(quoted from post at 20:20:17 02/13/17) I can tell you do not know what you are talking about. Complaining because the auctioner is following the law. And knowing bidders for years and knowing how they bid. You must think every bidder must be required to stand holding a flag as he bids. We don't need people like you going to the auctions. And I have helped work them.
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Leroy,

You're entitled to your opinion. Good evening to you.
 
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