Stupid people and auctions.

0patience

It amazes me how most people go stupid when it comes to auctions.
Car auctions where the final bid is as much or even more than you could buy the same car retail.
Electronic/computer auctions where the bids go so high that there is no resale value left to work with.
Govt/GSA/municipality auctions where the bids are so ridiculous that it's rarely worth even bidding.
County Property tax auction where the vacant lot went for more than the appraised value, even though real estate here is barely even moving.
And then, of course, there are the cigar auctions where a large percentage of them go for right about retail.

So I have to ask, do none of these people do any research what so ever before they buy or what?
How do they get so screwed up that they bid up to and sometimes more than retail?

I've gone to hundreds of auctions of one type or another and before the bidding starts, I always know the price I will go to and NEVER go higher than that. Yet, it amazes me that there are those people who get into a bidding frenzy and will not stop, even at retail price.

The whole idea behind going to a wholesale auto auction is to pay wholesale, not retail. LOL!

And storage auctions, forget about it. I watched a unit go for double what it was worth and everything was plainly visible. No hidden things in that one.

A couple weeks ago, saw an auction with a decent laptop. Nothing fancy, but thought if I could get it reasonable, I'd flip it for a few bucks. The laptop retailed new at Best Buys for $499. So I thought, $200 max, I could sell it for $250 tomorrow and make a few bucks.
Oh no, that wasn't to happen. The final price? $475. Are you kidding me?

So I've come to the conclusion that people are just stupid when it comes to auctions.

james40

It's a C-O-N-spiracy just to piss you off dude. But yes, some poeple are happy saving 2% or $10 off retail.

Lasabar

I remember when EBay was actually a place that people unloaded their stuff for pennies on the dollar and now it's becoming just an online market place for business and entrepreneurs that are selling goods for a profit..... ghey

0patience

james40:

It's a C-O-N-spiracy just to piss you off dude. But yes, some poeple are happy saving 2% or $10 off retail.

LOL! That'd be something, if I were important enough for anyone to want to piss off, but I ain't. LOL!

catfishbluezz

Went to a music store auction once...watched people pay 30-50% above market value for stuff....bought 4k of gear at about 10% of cost....and made a killing. People are stupid.

beatnic

No everyone at these auctions is stupid. Remember, the seller is making a killing.

Scrambler

Back when I was buying a lot of cigars via online auctions, I was always baffled by people bidding significantly more than they could just buy exactly the same item from the same company. If it was only a couple dollars more, I could see it making sense if they had already won other auctions and thus were combining shipping, but I saw people paying WAY more.

jeep edson

i have fallen prey to the cigar auction but i always make sure it is about half retail. doesn't mean i don't go overboard and buy way to much though. haha so according to my wife i am stupid.

Rail Jockey

I use auctions, expically cigar auctions....key is REASEARCH! I too laugh when people pay 200 for something worth 50 bucks

james40

0patience:

james40:

It's a C-O-N-spiracy just to piss you off dude. But yes, some poeple are happy saving 2% or $10 off retail.

LOL! That'd be something, if I were important enough for anyone to want to piss off, but I ain't. LOL!

Who better to piss off than someone with no patience?? Especially something that takes patience, like an auction.

phobicsquirrel

Lasabar:

I remember when EBay was actually a place that people unloaded their stuff for pennies on the dollar and now it's becoming just an online market place for business and entrepreneurs that are selling goods for a profit..... ghey

so true. Auctions any more leave much to be desired IMO.

Rhamlin

I often have wondered why people do this to.