I love bargains. And there is no better place to find bargains than at auction. Y
There are no better auctions than government surplus auctions. My favorite
The government surplus auction takes place the third week of September each year in the
County park. I won’t tell you which county park as this is my best kept secret! Even
Although the auction is advertised in local newspapers (as required by my law), usually
find the same 20-30 people hanging around, looking at all the batches. And many of
I know they are not the highest bidders!
This annual auction is the countywide surplus auction. You will find everything and
anything here since the county has several and departments. They have the typical
office equipment and furniture, cars, trucks, legal equipment, etc. But something else
unusual things that have been auctioned have been things like a street sign
manufacturer (for making stop signs and the like), a row of metal lockers (from the old
county pool), playground equipment, 5,000 plastic cafeteria trays (sold for $ 8!),
a stainless steel chef’s cart, a chrome torpedo trash can, and a
dump truck that cost several hundred dollars.
As I have been attending for many years, I know what to expect and I know how
a lot to pay. For example, they usually have a dozen retro office chairs that they sell
very good on ebay. The opening bid for the chairs is usually $ 5.00 each. However, for
without bidding, I can usually wait (and luckily no one else knows what gold mine
these chairs are … they just look like dirty old chairs!), and the auctioneer will come down
the opening offer at $ 3.00, then $ 2.00, then $ 1.00, then fifty cents! Still I’m patient
And wait while you drop two or three more chairs for fifty cents! My last trip to
auction, I won seven chairs for $ 4.00! I turned around and sold them for $ 25.00
each!
This is just one of the examples of the deals I have found in County
Auction. The secret of my success is threefold:
1. I know what’s “hot” on the market by browsing eBay, watching HGTV, and
flipping through home magazines.
2. I know what the current retail prices are and take them into account when I am
offers. I usually come to the auction early with a notebook and go through all the
lots to be auctioned. I write down the lot numbers and the highest price I have
willing to pay for that lot.
3. When the bidding starts, I wait for someone else to start the bidding. I place
myself to be able to “read” how much they want the article. I will wait to make my offer. I
never get caught up in the bidding. And I always bow to my high price that I
I wrote in my notebook. This way I can avoid buyer’s regret!
Using these tactics, I have successfully won many items at the local auction and
They have made great profits by reselling these items. By using these techniques, you can
also be successful at your local auction. I just hope you never find my gem of a
auction, and never bid against me!