Ever bought anything at estate auction?

Was going to have an auction to sell my Dad's stuff ,for my Mom, My Dad was mechanic/machinist.He ran the repair shop at Mopar here, then went to Dodge dealership. Repaired/rebuilt Falcon's in the early 60's then Vw's mostly, and some tractors.
So, had the auctioneer come today to the farm. There were 2 of them (and I know em both)and I kinda got the good cop/bad cop routine. They kept tellin me there wasn't enouph "good stuff". I don't know what they were looking for. Told me 2 or 3 times as were kinda getting inventory.there wasn't enouph for auction. Told me twice their min. is $350.00. That's 15 % of what? 2500?
We looked in the back of an old school bus & they said "well, ya got an engine block & a couple of ******s. This is just junk" I told him that was 38' 60 HP Ford Flathead w/intake and one of the ******s was for it and ought to be worth 300. Never looked at the Edmonds twin intake for about a 50' flathead or the 3 stromburg carbs (one a 97). Lathe,big press,225 amp arc welder,cuttin torch w/hose. welding torch w/ hose,impact wrench,phneumatic tools,2'X4'X4' mechanic's tool chest,2 ton chain hoist,did I mention the tool chest is full of hand tools up to about 2", alot of SK -craftsman- etc.? 3 1X1X2 tool chests. One has BIG deep sockets,gauges,gear pullers,gench grinders,torque wtenches,testers etc,etc,etc.
I thought all that stuff oughtta along w/ the rest of the estate ought to be worth 2500. What do ya think? I told em I'd think about it.They'd do it but they got that 350 min. Uglymailman

 

I've seen Model A transmissions go for $12 or less at auctions. Flathead core engines might often bring $35-$50. Auctions bring a fraction on the dollar when they are selling mainstream items. When they are selling specialty items it can be an even tougher sale.

It kills me to go to an auction and see stuff go for way less than it should (unless I am buying it). I just attended a friends fathers auction and frankly I felt really sorry for him. Big Block Corvette core engines were going for $100 to $150. There just weren't enough people there with interest, and I wasn't there with enough money.

Most of the buyers were more interested in the 30 year old riding lawnmower...

The tools should bring something, especially the Lathe and press, but again, pretty much a specialty market. If two guys or more show up that really want them, the sky is the limit, but if one serious guy is interested, he is gonna get a bargain.

Just curious, why aren't YOU interested in keeping your Dads stuff?!?!

 

With their comments I'd look for another auctioneer. If you get the same reaction then think about an estate sale, garage sale or Craigslist. A couple of things going for the auction is it's all gone in one day and treasure or trash you get money for it. But will you have the right crowd? Run a sale yourself and you can stretch it out for however long you need to in order to get the prices you want.

 

Maybe they aren't as familiar as you are with old car part values. They are worried about the high cost of advertising as well. You will just have to help them do their job well or sell it one piece at a time yourself.

 

list it here and keep what you want

Omar

 

its all about how you advertise it! put it on here first.

 

You know what you have. You should be able to better here in the cl***ified or your local craigslist.

 

auctions are hit and miss. sometimes stuff goes cheap sometimes higher than new. the only way i would have one is if i had too much to deal with. the machinist tools will be high dollar. you have to be careful at a auction. they might lump stuff together and it not bring max value. a lot depends on auctioneer. good luck though.

 

Auctions are really hit and miss.We had one when we moved. 53 henry J rustfree roller went for 250, beautiful 74 Buick convert for 1200, 1"top welding bench for .50, a good running condition 125cfm Jaeger conpressor for125, A 35 Lasalle bare frame for 3000, tools your choice .50, a chair that was in the barn when we moved there 2000. You just take your chances. If the auctioneers say there is not enough for a sale, listen to them. Do individual sales.

 

I bought a building this fall from estate. It was full of old car stuff. Nothing real valuable, but lots of it. Asked them what they would take just walk away let me have it. They wanted to have an auction.

Long story short, they didn't get nearly as much(before paying the auctioneer) as I would have given them. AND I still have a building half full of the **** they didn't take the time to sell.

Worst part of the whole ordeal was seeing this guy's daughter standing there crying as they gave her dad's stuff away. If you have the time to deal with getting rid of the stuff don't have an auction.

 

It all depends on how they publicize the auction and who shows up. If you put in the advertising "old hot rod flathead speed parts" the stuff is liable to go for more than it's worth. Sometimes on a high value item the auction guys will have someone out there to bid on the item to help run the price up because they get a commission and don't want to give things away. But at the same time I went to a big auction at a guy's garage and the complete cars were selling for as little as $25, I bought a '51 Ford manual OD trans for $5 with the clutch, bell, and flywheel; and a lot of **** was bought in big lots by guys who s****ped it. A Dodge Hemi 4x2bbl intake went for $300 and a lot of the collectable stuff went for big money.

Auctions are good because they clean a place out pretty well in one day or so and you don't have to do anything. But they're bad because stuff can go cheap and sometimes there's ******** and drama to deal with. Your auctioneers are either idiots, or they know damned well what the stuff is and want to use some of their guys to bid and steal it cheap. I mean one 97 core is $75-$125 depending on what kind of shape it's in on eBay, the last 4 or 5 I had all sold over $100 and were fresh out of where they'd been stored inside cars in the junkyard.

 

I'd bet those auctioneers have a much better idea what their usual crowds will pay than you do. Perhaps it's time for plan B.

Good luck

 

I went to an estate aution recently that was posted on craigslist, the fathers kids ran the estate sale themselfs, they listed all the big ticket items in the ad (heli-arc welder, bandsaw, etc), everything that was for sale had a price tag on it. I think that's the best way to do it, advertise the car parts, machines, and you'll get the car, machinist crowd.

 

Estate auctioneers are generally well versed in the relative value of furniture, household items, antiques, etc. They tend to have "regulars" that attend their auctions and they are pretty good at getting a general feel for the the total take as it's very important to being worthwhile to them. They are rarely experts in anything, especially hot rod parts.

The good thing is you will clean everything out fast. The bad side is you may not get top dollar for specialty items that sold individually with good advertising, pictures, shipping etc would do much better. You have to be willing to put the time in.

 

Where in Missouri are you?

 

screw em...sell it here..and craigslist

sounds to me like they didnt want to work for their money..or they wanted somethin for nothing..

 

All sounds like stuff you need to keep, especially being your dads. Why would you sell all that?

 

Estate auctions are usually the cheapest place to buy anything, except for antique furniture and John Deere items. If you don't want to do it yourself, you could find a local ebay listing service that will photograph each item and sell it for you for a percentage. Craigslist brings out all the wackos and conmen, it'll drive you crazy if you don't like dealing with the public.

 

Take a weekend and sell it yourself.

 

I'll agree that most auctioners don't have a clue about what old car stuff is worth.

My cousin was helping set up a farm auction for a friend of his that had died. He said he looked over and they were looping a chain through the doors of a 36 Chevy pickup that was still in real good shape. He asked them what they were doing and they said they were going to set it in the s**** metal pile. He told them that he had recieved about 10 calls on that truck and they decided to put it in the sale line.

If they don't know what's there, they don't know how to advertise it to get top dollar. I would think seriously about finding another way of selling the stuff, especially if I was getting a bad feeling about how things were going.
Larry T

 

I have attended at least two hundred estate sales. First a sale near thefirst of the month when the Gov. checks come will do better than the third saturday. The reason i go to sales is to buy stuff cheap. If the items you mention where mine I wouldnt pay some auctioneer to give it away. I would advertize the flathead stuff and car items on The HAMB cl***ifieds. Advertize the machine stuff and tools on craigs list and the large metro newspapers. the stuff that you dont sell can be sold on ebay or taken to a consignment auction house as a last resort. OldWolf

 

i went to a auction last fall they advertised a bridgeport as a drill press. i go to a lot of auctions. the alure cheap deals is what draws people in. but i have never talked to anyone who had a auction and was pleased. they always think they should have got more- even if i thought the stuff was selling pretty high.

 

I buy lot's of stuff at auction, it's my business. My wife and I run an Antique and everything store. If you are interested in a 'batch' sale contact me off list. We're near Tulsa so most places in Missouri at within my driving range.

 

When I had my farm auction in 89 I was very happy. Some things didn't go for as much as I'd hoped but others went sky high, in the end it all evened out and I got more than expected. But we're not talking things like that here we're talking car parts, hand tools and machines. As someone already pointed out the auctioneer has to know his stuff and he has to be good at his job along with his spotters. I've seen auctioneers that IMHO were so bad I wouldn't let them auction off a FREE lunch.

 

Hey, I ran into the same **** when my dad died so I went out and bought a bullhorn and advertised in all the surrounding town's newspapers a few weeks ahead of the auction. I spent 2 weeks going through all the stuff and even made 2 huge s**** metal piles...when the auction day came I enlisted help from all 3 of my bros and seester.....I did my own actioneering with the bullhorn and although I was dissapointed in the final outcome, we got rid of all the stuff and we all [bros and sister] walked away with a few grand apiece....
anything that didn't sell went into the s**** pile and I sold the s**** last...hell, I even sold my dad's rock collection. Everything sold.
Do it yourself.

 

Thanks for all the reply's yall.Think I'll get second opinion from another auctioneer.

 

i know someone else asked, but if you are in sw MO i can tell you which ones i think are best bets for that type of auction. no, i don't want to buy your stuff before someone else or have a cousin or anybody else that's a auctioneer. for years i have attended hundreds of auctions buying as a hobby. when i was talking about noone being happy when they had a auction that's a generalization. most people tend to see the items that went cheap and feel pissed off and don't realize it really averages out. i bet a auctioneer gets no bigger thrill than selling a used item for more than the price of a new one, and it happens at most auctions at least once. although sometimes they sell it all cheap, like everyone says it depends on who shows up, advertising and the auctioneer. if you have the time i still think sell it yourself. then take what's left to a auction barn or the landfill. good luck. hr

 

A few years back, I attended an estate auction in central WA - it was a farm, and the heirs were in VA somewhere - they just hired the first auction company they came to in the phone book. Attorney provided access. There was a 20ft steel container next to the barn - doors had been welded a foot or two at top and bottom and there was combination lock on the actual latch. I bought it 'as is/where is' for $150. I didn't want to use a torch to open the doors due to danger of fire/explosion. Had it picked up by a local towing company and dropped at a friend's place in Dayton, WA. We used his grinder to open it up (and some simple bolt-cutters on the padlock. Inside was a very well-preserved Ford 8N tractor, two stock flathead V8s (8BAs), four early Ford 3spd floorshifts - looked like 39s. A 56 265 V8 longblock that was in a homemade crate and quite clean. Five Craftsman toolboxes (four top units of varying sizes and one lower cabinet) with a great collection of non-rusty utile tools - hand and electric. Several boxes of miscellaneous parts - taillights, rear view mirrors, some sidegl*** for a 50s GM sedan (my guess), a couple of electric heaters (large 220V), a Lincoln welder pretty much complete, torch set, no tanks, a gun cabinet with seven rifles, three handguns (2 revolvers, 1 DA SA) and a couple of stacks of Life/Look/SatEvePost magazines from the 50s. There was other stuff, but some wasn't worth delineating here. Sold the tractor to a 'friend of my friend's friend', sold both 8BAs to a buddy in Twin Falls, the guns all came home (a man cannot have too many weapons) as did most of the other stuff - have sold some of it since, going to keep some if it for myself. One of the guns alone (an early Winchester 94) was worth 10x what I paid for the entire box and contents.

Some years ago I attended an auction in AK...same sort of deal - storage locker - contents unspecified - two TVs (both modern at the time) and the coup de grace - a Martin guitar. Paid $75 for the storage locker contents and sold the guitar (reluctantly...I do play guitar - but not well enough to justify keeping that beauty around) and one of the TVs for enough to get a new engine and transfer case for my Jeep project.

I just LOVE auctions.

dj

 

What he said

 

my stepfather was an auctioneer, he and my family did several estate auctions. (i had a "regular" job and didn't help out much).
A lot of auctioneer's will say there isn't enough "inventory" at an estate sale, so they can put in some of their own furniture, stuff that hasn't sold at their own auctions, so they sell it off at estate sales, and make money auctioning their own junk mixed in with your family's, plus making a commission off of the things they sold.
Now I am sure these two auctioneer's most likely don't have a bunch of old car part's or tool's around, so that may not be the case.
If the other auctioneer says the same thing, then have your own "estate sale".
That is what I did with my Dad's stuff. and did well.
Or do as other said prior, and ppost it here, or on Craigslist.

Good luck