Tips for picking up machinery at auctions

[Digger]

I keep seeing folks on here say that they've scored farm machinery at great prices through auctions. What are some of your tips for scoring those deals? I live in Florida and I've been to a few auctions, but I can't say that I've fared well. I'm usually either quickly outbid or the merchandise is lacking and is nothing I want. What's the trick here?

 

[RichZ]

The trick is being at the right place at the right time. Know exactly what the item is worth, and know exactly the limit you are willing to bid on it. A bidding war starts when at least 2 people want the same item. A lot of scoring something is luck. The tractor I bought at an auction, I got for the top price I was willing to pay. I was willing to pay $5000 for it. The bidding went quickly to $5000, and I got that bid, I expected someone to outbid me and I would have been done, but to my surprise, the bidding stopped. Pure luck. Sometimes you have to go to a bunch of auctions before you find what you want. Also, frequent some local auctions, after a while you start to know what certain things will go for.

 

[Gardenry]

A lot of it also depends on where you live. I used to live near a big auction site so I could go pretty often to check things out without wasting time and gas, plus I knew some of the local workers who could let me know whether there was something I might want to look at.

 

[RichZ]

Good point, very true. We used to live fairly close to an auction house that had auctions EVERY Friday and Saturday. And twice each year they'd have a huge outside auction. My wife and I use to wait all year for the outside auctions, we picked up lots of farming equipment at those. We got lots of stuff at the weekly auctions, too. That used to be our main form of entertainment, auctions are fun.

 

[jack]

The trick is being at the right place at the right time. Know exactly what the item is worth, and know exactly the limit you are willing to bid on it. A bidding war starts when at least 2 people want the same item. A lot of scoring something is luck. The tractor I bought at an auction, I got for the top price I was willing to pay. I was willing to pay $5000 for it. The bidding went quickly to $5000, and I got that bid, I expected someone to outbid me and I would have been done, but to my surprise, the bidding stopped. Pure luck. Sometimes you have to go to a bunch of auctions before you find what you want. Also, frequent some local auctions, after a while you start to know what certain things will go for.

Being at the right place at the same time helps, plus setting a limit to how much you're willing to spend. I remember a friend who was lucky to get an auction item at a much lesser value. It was about being at the right place at the right time and having no one to outbid them.

 

[RichZ]

Exactly!!!! You have to set a strict limit, and you have to be lucky. Some people start to get competitive and they HAVE to win the bid. That's how you end up spending more than something is worth.