I remember I was invited to go to an auction with neighbors several years ago, I believe in the 80s. It was my first time. I had such a ball! Listening to the auctioneer and the bidders I got all caught up in it. Luckily, my neighbors drove a van because I bought more than they did. We joked about it all the way home. The experience got me hooked on auctions. It took me awhile to learn the ropes and yes I did make a boo boo once but I sold the item on Ebay and made more than I paid for it. I really loved the box lots. That's where the winning bidder gets first choice of boxed items at the cost of the winning bid - each. The bids would go high at first and then lower as the boxes dwindle. I won a lot of yard tools for $1 and my mom was with me and asked, What are you going to do with all those tools? All the men present turned around waiting for my answer which was "I dunno.".
My neighbor across the street is an auctioneer, so I've been to a few of his auctions. Other than that, I went to an auction near Corona, California when I was in my early twenties. After watching a few saddles bid up to five or six hundred dollars, just for fun I bid two hundred on a saddle. The bidding stopped there, so I bought a saddle that I didn't need for a horse I'd never have. I had that saddle sitting over a sawhorse in my living room for years, then at some point it disappeared. I guess someone stole it because it was too big to misplace.
My dad loved auctions and took me to a few as a child. Then I got hooked on them as I got older. After I was married, wifey got hooked too, and that became our Saturday routine. Attending auctions, or yard sales.
I've enjoyed the auctions I've been to. There used to be a local one every single Friday night and they had such cool things! There were food stands, and Bingo... just a great activity for a Friday evening. Only downside was that it was always totally filled with smoke and breathing became something that could be difficult at best. I've also been to some Public Auctions for estate sales and real estate. Not nearly as much fun as the other kind.
There was one auctioneer which I really liked because he had a good sense of humor. When no one would take the hook somehow he would always focus on me for $1 dollar bids and things would get rolling. I would win some but lost a lot.
Oh, aren't those dollar wins wonderful, @Von Jones ?! I used to get large boxes of books for $1 and it was always like a treasure. One time I found a very old book of Josephus in one of those boxes!
I have gone to auctions in the past. There is a company kind of near here that does them. I have been to their food auctions before where somebody with a decent freezer could make out like a bandit. Mine is oddly configured due to the water dispenser, and I can barely fit a pizza in the box in there!I need to go to another one of their auctions. They also auction antiques and so forth. Your discussion has inspired me to look at their schedule Von.
Oh yeah. They are awesome! I would lose out on those at that time it seem like everyone was into books. One time I won a lot of two tables of books, all kinds for $10. Cookbooks especially. I sold a lot of those on Ebay but still have those that are for specific ethnic recipes. They always sell.
I've only gone and helped set up live auctions that were fundraisers for my grandsons school. Did that every year for a long time because my daughter was on the committee.
@Chrissy Page that sounds like something that I would like to do -- getting behind the scenes and helping set up. I had tried several times to get on at a public tv auction but never got called.
My husband tagged along for a while. He would always say that my face would light up once the auction started. He never participated but did help with loading my spoils.
My town had a sale barn where auctions were held either on Friday nights or Saturday morning. We attended lots of household auctions, usually held in the yard of the house. Farm auctions usually took several days, and lunch was available on the grounds, often by the country church the seller attended. At one time, our whole living room was furnished with auction or yard sale stuff. Thank God I had a truck in those days.
I went to a farm auction just for the fun of it. I didn't think that I would find anything among all the machinery. Johnny thought I was out of my league and was ready to leave. It became interesting when it was announced that there will be two auctions going at the same time - one for the machinery and the other for personal items in the home Whoo hoo! Unfortunately I was outbidded except for an old wiener/hot dogs rotisserie for $2. I still have it and it works. We had driven quite a ways and I didn't want to leave empty handed.
Wifey and I was at a farm auction once. They were selling the household stuff and there was a large crowd. We got separated in the crowd, but when they started the bidding on a picnic table, I joined in. We had a large yard and needed one. Someone kept bidding against me. I finally won. Later, I found wifey. She told me she wanted that picnic table, but some jerk kept outbidding her.
I haven't experienced an auction although I find bidding an exciting experience. However, some colleagues said that I should not join an auction if I don't clearly know all the rules. There is the thing called outbidding to mean the other bidder is bent on beating your bid no matter how high. Sometimes, that incessant bidder is connected to the seller, that is to get a higher price for the auctioned item. But don't take this a gospel truth, for as I said, I don't have an experience in auctions.