Author Topic: Agricultural Auctions (Read 4083 times)

Norfolk Newby · « **on:** October 26, 2009, 02:59:53 pm »

This is a request for opinions rather than a plea for information. I bought some land about 2 years ago and found I needed all sorts of bits of machinery and other equipment. I had a look at a couple of agricultural auctions and found them pretty useless.

Most of the equipment was either enormous or old and busted. Also, the sale was attended by some fairly ugly looking characters and I got the impression it would be a bad idea to bid against them. I am not sure if physical violence was on offer but I could imagine that my car might suffer if I decided to bid hard for anything they wanted.

It may be I just had a couple of bad experiences by choosing the sales that I went to or perhaps it's different in other areas.

In the end, I got my tractor and the attachments I use with it from a machinery supplier who had what I wanted second hand. This made the prices much closer to affordable and I took the plunge. The supplier was also able to advise on what would work and what to avoid for the type of land and agriculture I intended to carry out.

I would still like to find a few smaller items (hand tools, a small plough, harrows to prepare seed beds, etc.) and wondered whether others had found it useful to go looking at any auctions or if there were better places to start.

Any opinions?

NN

RUSTYME · « **Reply #1 on:** October 26, 2009, 03:22:29 pm »

cor blimey .. wish I had been at those auctions .. I've bid against them even if I didn't want what I was bidding for ...

...
I know what you mean NN , I have seen the 'click' at work too.
In my younger days, I would just bid against them ,so they paid way over the odds for what they were bidding on ...I went to auctions on a regular basis at the time, and saw the same 4 people trying to outbid everyone on almost everything .
One example was a wheelbarrow, an old rusty builders barrow, full of crap ....well one of the 4 put a bid on and I followed as I needed a w/b. Well it went on till I let him win the w/b for £25 ....

I then just said in a very loud voice ... "you got me beat there mate ...I will now have to go and buy a brand new one for £12.50 ", which was how much they were then . The whole place erupted in laughter , apart from him !!!

I did get some very iffy looks from the terrible 4 ...but what the hell, if it all went wrong I was used to hospital food anyway, (and at least one of them would come with me!!) ....

I do however think it is an area related thing . Not all sales are quite that bad. There are always 'iffy' looking charactors at sales (I could well be one of them ...

) , but most are just there after a good deal and no more.
If you go to enough , you will find what you are after at a reasonable price , it just may take some time thats all ...good luck anyway ...

cheers

Russ

chickenfeed · « **Reply #2 on:** October 26, 2009, 09:05:02 pm »

:)a lot of people that attend these farm sales / auctions are not what you think if you took time to talk to them you may have gained some valuable information as to what you need and even been able to point you in the right direction had the items you needed not been on offer at the sale.
my first sale was a little daunting ( i went alone and being a female was out of my depth) but i talked to other bidders and found them most helpful and friendly. maybe they treated you with the same caution as you treated them with, yes some buyers may look rough round the edges but give them a chance you may be surprised

MiriMaran · « **Reply #3 on:** October 26, 2009, 09:09:24 pm »

I love going to the auctions and seeing people from different walks of life rubbing shoulders together - there are always some real dodgy looking characters, but like Chickenfeed said, if only I had the courage to talk to them they would probably be really helpful.

bamford6 · « **Reply #4 on:** October 26, 2009, 09:15:39 pm »

you should serch the net for farm sales in youre area ...i went to a farm sale tractors hay sheds everey think must go ...Best bet

Roxy · « **Reply #5 on:** October 26, 2009, 09:51:18 pm »

I love farm sales. Yes, some of the people you may eye with caution, and not want to bid against, but no one has ever put me off bidding, and I have never had any trouble from disgruntled losers for an item we were bidding for!! In fact, at my last auction a few weeks ago, a man and myself were in a bit of a bidding war for an item ......we eyeballed each other across the field, as each bid, until finally he mouthed "do you really want that"? I nodded, and he stopped bidding. Kind man!! Pity he did not stop 4 bids back though!!!

The thing with auctions is that its easy to get carried away, and bid silly money for things. They are usually well atteneded, and in my experience everyone wants the thing I do!!!

doganjo · « **Reply #6 on:** October 27, 2009, 12:27:09 am »

Can anyone tell me why we bid for a couple of ancient glass washboards? They lay in our barn for years afterwards till they somehow disappeared - don't remember where or when. Didn't pay much for them but there were a few folk bidding.