23 Jan
2002
23 Jan
'02
2:15 a.m.
On Wed, 23 Jan 2002, Russ Blakeman wrote:
On Wed, 23 Jan 2002, Tothwolf wrote:
I know the auctioneers who handle the local auctions I mentioned, so I
somewhat doubt they are hiring anyone to bid up items. The places that own
the equipment being auctioned off could be trying to pull a fast one tho.
I'm still more inclined to think it's just a case of some people
unfamiliar with auctions and resale in general thinking they can make a
fortune on ebay.
-Toth
I used to buy *tons* of stuff at local auctions.
Lately, there have
been a few idiots who show up at the local auctions and proceed to
bid up items higher than they are worth, and then try to resell their
"wins" on ebay. Often the items are either big and heavy or
nonworking.
We've had a local auction problem lately here too, seems that a few of
the local auctioneers have hired professional shills to come in as
regular bidders and they bid crazily to get the people in the bunch
wound up and into bidding to get the thing going, then they sort of
disappear before the very end when it's 2 to 3 times more than it
normally would have gone for, especially on industrial items, stuff
from belly-up businesses and farm machinery. Where else would a 1948
Ferguson Ford 9n tractor in fair shape go for nearly $10k where they
used to get around $5k in way better shape. You have a hard time
openly selling one for $7500