Attending Local Estate Auctions for Profit : eBay Guides

• One of the more common techniques is to use word-of-mouth to brand someone as a thief or a “box baiter” - one who moves items from one box to another in a attempt to hide desirable items in a box of undesirable items so that they may be obtained for next of nothing. Even if an auctioneer is honest it really does not take much to destroy another bidder’s reputation - just get a small group of associates casually mentioning to the auctioneer or other bidders that they saw a person put something in their pocket or that a person has been moving stuff from box to box. Casual false gossip is often a dangerous weapon.

• Vandalism of a another bidder’s car - anything from keying a car to the removal of a hub caps and the loosening of tire lugs (yes, that actually happened at a local auction).

• The development of little inside jokes and comments geared toward upsetting other bidders based on information obtained through the local grapevine. Be prepared for anything in regards to verbal harassment; for example, if you have a relative that recently was found to have cancer, don't be surprised that once members of the ingroup find this out that you'll suddenly find yourself at auctions being surrounded by people casually dropping cancer jokes in the crowd around you.
  

• The use of physical harassment such as repeatedly stepping on a specific bidder's feet, repeatedly bumping into a targeted bidder, repeatedly greeting a targeted bidder by poking them in the arm or back with their finger. The general idea is make other bidders feel uncomfortable so that they leave the auction.

• Harassment of a bidder's eBay or other auction account. It really does not take much work for members of the ingroup to find out what eBay account another bidder is using - they simply make note of what they buy at the auction, search for it on eBay, and then bid on it using an associate's deadbeat account. They now have their competitor's name and address and they are free to leave false feedback to their heart's desire. Often such eBay harassment accounts are from out of state, are non U.S.A. accounts, or use fake contact information, so that any potential legal claims against the individuals involved cannot be pursued due to the high legal costs. To add insult to injury such individuals will let the their competition know they have harassed them on eBay by dropping casual verbal hints at the auction such as "Having problems with negative feedback lately...".  It may be beneficial to hold items purchased at a auction for several months prior to selling them online as this makes it less likely a competitor will find the item online.

• Misdirection; when an item a member of the ingroup is interested in comes up for bidding another member of ingroup will suddenly strike up a conversation with you to distract you from the bidding process - you'll feel socially obligated to answer to avoiding casting a shadow of rudeness amongst the crowd of bidders.
  

•  Paper Based: The auctioneer will have a booth, table, or trailer located on the auction grounds at which you obtain your bidding number. Some auctioneers will allow you to fill out your own bidding card, while others will ask for your license and fill the card out for you. On the card you  or a clerk will typically write your name, address, license number, your bank name, and other similar information. Once this is done the auctioneer will typically keep the smaller portion of the bidding card, which contains your personal information, and hand you the larger portion of the bidding card that contains a bidding number. Each time you revisit the same auctioneer using this type of of registration you will need to manually fill out a new bidder card.
  

• Computer Based: The auctioneer will enter your personal information into a computer database the first time you visit one of their auctions. Each time you revisit the auctioneer you show them your license, or just tell them your name depending on how well they know you, and they just hand you a bidding card.

• It may take some time to get use to the chanting individual auctioneers use, but you should remember that the auctioneer is there for one purpose only - to sell goods at the highest price in the quickest amount of time. On some occasions the auctioneer will be working the crowd into a frenzy to drive prices upward, and on other occasions the auctioneer will making jokes to temporarily relieve the tension. Don't get caught up in the thrill of the moment, the auctioneer's verbal manipulations, or jokes, otherwise you will find yourself being manipulated just as the auctioneer is trained to do. Let the "bottom line" be the sole guide to your bid amounts and like Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame remove all emotions from the bidding process.

• Typically you will be bidding on a single item or a group of items that a auctioneer's staff member may be holding, displaying, or standing by - be sure to ask if its not clear what is currently up for auction.
  

• Some times the auctioneer will display a group of items and accept bids for "choice". The highest bidder on such a group is allowed to take as many items from the group as they wish at the amount they bid (i.e., a top bid of $5.00 on 10 items at choice would cost $35.00 if the bidder choose to take 7 of the items). Auctioneers typically use choice for like items such as "X" pairs or salt and pepper shakers, but they also can use this technique for completely unrelated items on occasions where they know there's not going to be any great demand for any of the individual items if they were offered separately, so they artificially create a demand in the crowd because no one knows exactly what the others bidders will choose from the group of items.

• Don't pay much attention to any claims or suggestions that the auctioneer may make amount items. Always base bids on confirmations derived from your own personal knowledge of items obtained through research and actually physically observation of an item.

• Don't pay any attention to notes attached to the bottom of items that say "Grandma's" or that have dates, or other similar information as they are often added to items to falsify age. Remember than old looking paper, or masking tape, is not a sign of age of the object its attached to, just the paper and tape.

• Don't pay much attention to what other bidders are saying as casual comments are often used to misdirect other bidders, such as dropping comments about the authenticity of an item when in fact they know the item is genuine.
  

• Its generally a good practice to momentarily turn away from the auctioneer if you need to scratch your head, stretch, or perform a similar gesture, so as to not be confused as a current bidder. Repeatedly delaying an auction by "accidental bids" will not make you too many friends.
  

The most convenient place to record bids is to write them on your bidder card as it can be easily folded and placed into to your pocket should you need to make a quick trip to your car with items you just bought. You may however want to purchase a small pocket size bound notebook for recording bids as this provides a more durable storage place.

• Paper Based: While the auctioneer is selling items a clerk, typically holding a clipboard, will be recording bids on multi-layered forms consisting of carbon paper-like surface sheet affixed over a perforated fiberboard sheet. Each sheet is subdivided into many small rectangles that represent individual items. Within each rectangle a the clerk records a brief item description, its price, and the winning bidder number. When the top paper sheet is written on the hand writing is copied to the bottom sheet of fiberboard. After a sheet becomes full it is transfered to the auction staff member who is processing payments, who removes the top paper sheet as the auctioneer's copy of goods sold. The sheet of perforated fiberboard rectangles is then separated into many small cards, which are sorted into small cubicles according to bidder number. When you pay for your items a clerk will total the amounts shown on all the cards for your bidding number and then give you the cards as a receipt once payment is made. This may be a slow process because: (a) The addition of bidding cards is typically done with a hand calculator; and (b) If you recently bid on a item and its on a sheet that the auctioneer has not completely filled you will have to wait until that sheet is finished and someone brings it to the checkout clerk.
  

• Computer Based: A clerk will be entering bids into a computer while the auctioneer is selling and when it comes time to pay for your goods a auction clerk will simply call up your bidding number and print you a computer paper receipt. Usually extremely fast barring rare computer failures.
  

• Pack a quick snack or lunch that you can keep in your car as this may save you a considerable amount of money over having to buy food items at the auction site, assuming that they are available. Ideally a nice lunch at a local restaurant would be great, but just think of all the items you will not be able to bid on while you are eating an extended lunch.

• Paper and pencil to record bids
• Calculator
• Small pocket size tape measure
• Pocket magnifying glass
• Reference guides (keep in car for quick reference)
• Small lunch pail; pair of gloves for dirty items who plan you clean up and restore
• Second pair of shoes or shoe protectors for those rural sales.
• Some teams of bidders, typically and wife and husband, use cell phones - one examines items at the auction while the other looks the items up online.
  

• Don't ever loose your bidding card as someone else can use it to bid on items. Should you loose your card immediately tell the auctioneer to stop taking any further bids from that number and immediately obtain a accounting of any items that have been bid on using that number.
  

• Pay by check. Carrying large amounts of cash can make you a target for muggers. Paying by credit card may add to your costs as some auctioneers charge a processing fee.
  

• Park your vehicle in a secure location with high traffic flow to make vandalism and theft less likely. Try to secure goods in hidden compartments such as a closed trunk as opposed to a glassed in area. Equip your vehicle with an alarm if at all possible and try to visit your vehicle occasionally during the auction.

• Never leave items you bid on unattended - trust no one - I've seen rich little old lady antique dealers steal $20.00 boxes of figurines.