Secrets of My Favorite Government Auction

by Dean Novosat

I love bargains. And there’s no better place to find bargains than an auction. And there are no better auctions than government surplus auctions. My favorite government surplus auction takes place the 3rd week of September every year in the County Park. I won’t tell you which county park as this is my best-kept secret! Even though the auction is advertised in the local papers (as required my law), I usually find the same 20-30 people mulling around, looking at all the lots. And many of them I know are not high-bidders! This annual auction is the county-wide surplus auction. You will find everything and anything here as the county has various and departments. They have the typical office equipment and furniture, cars, trucks, law equipment, etc. But some more unusual things that have been auctioned off have been things like a street sign maker (for making stop signs and the like), a row of metal lockers (from the old county pool), playground equipment, 5000 plastic cafeteria trays (that sold for $8!), a stainless steel chef’s cart, a chrome torpedo trash can, and a fully operational dump truck that went for several hundred dollars. Since I have been attending for many years, I know what to expect and I know how much to pay. For example, they typically have a dozen retro office chairs that sell very well on ebay. The opening bid on the chairs is usually $5.00 each. However, by not bidding, I can usually wait (and luckily no one else knows what a gold mine these chairs are…they just look like dirty old chairs!), and the auctioneer will lower the opening bid to $3.00, then $2.00, then $1.00, then fifty cents! Still, I am patient and wait as he throws in two or three more chairs for fifty cents! My last trip to the auction, I netted seven chairs for $4.00! I turned around and sold them for $25.00 each! This is just one of the examples of the deals that I have found at the County Auction. The secret to my success is three-fold: 1.I know what is “hot” in the market by browsing ebay, watching HGTV, and flipping through home magazines. 2.I know what the going retail prices are and keep these in mind when I am bidding. I usually arrive at the auction early with a notebook and check out all the lots that will be auctioned. I jot down the lots numbers and the highest price I am willing to pay for that lot. 3.When the bidding starts, I wait for someone else to start the bidding. I place myself so I can “read” how badly they want the item. I will wait to place my bid. I never get caught-up in the bidding. And I always bow out at my high price that I wrote in my notebook. This way I can avoid buyer’s remorse! Using these tactics, I have successfully won many items at the local auction and have made a huge profit reselling these items. If you use these techniques, you will also be successful at your local auction. I just hope you never find my gem of an auction, and never bid against me! * * * * * * * * More of my writings can be found on my blog at http://www.novosat.us/wp. About the Author Dean Novosat regularly attends local government auctions and participates online. Much of what he wins, he resells. He has several informative websites including http://www.buy-sell-gov-surplus.com and http://www.government-deals.com .

Drive Yourself to More Auction Money

by Brian McGregor

Big ticket items are increasingly popular on eBay. Cars are probably one of the best examples of this. In fact, eBay is the largest dealer of used cars in the USA. And eBay's car sales in the UK is also growing significantly. Every 16 seconds, a car is sold on eBay! If you're an eBay seller, here's an idea you might like to consider to make extra cash. The vast majority of car dealers don't use eBay. They advertise in the press, usually locally, and their customers likewise usually live within reach of the car dealer. What eBay Motors has successfully proved is that people will bid on cars from owners hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Why not take your eBay selling expertise, and offer your services to car dealers in your area? You know how to create auctions, take and upload photos, and manage auctions. The dealers have vehicles which are getting a tiny fraction of the exposure which eBay could offer. You might decide to offer this to dealers on a no-cost basis. In other words, you bear the cost of eBay's listing and selling fees. The benefit here is that there is no reason why the dealer shouldn't give you the go-ahead. They could get a sale without cost to them and no extra effort on their behalf. That's what I call a no-brainer! Alternatively, you could pass on the fees to the dealer on the basis that they would be spending money anyway on press advertising. The other commercial arrangements are simple. You could work on a commission, where you get a percentage of the sale price. Or you could agree a price which the dealer will accept for the sale of the car, and anything you can get above that price is your profit. This would work particularly well if the dealer has had a vehicle for some time, and has no interest in it. The best types of cars to sell on eBay are those that are unusual for one reason or another. It might be vintage or classic vehicles, sports cars or high value models. You're best to avoid what might be termed "normal" cars. It also depends on the kind of dealers you have in your area. One of the major potential problems is easily handled. You can't expect the dealer to cease trying to sell a vehicle which you have on eBay auction. In every auction you run for a car, you state that the vehicle is also on sale in other ways, and that you reserve the right to withdraw it before the end of the auction period. You will see such statements on many eBay car auctions. This idea doesn't have to be limited to cars. There are big ticket item opportunities in several categories. You're looking for retail outlets which tend to concentrate on local advertising and local trade. Examples of this would be jewellers, antique traders and real estate operations. With big ticket items, just one or two sales per week could make a significant difference to you. Worth thinking about! About the Author Brian McGregor specializes in showing website owners how to make more money from their sites by applying inventive and original use of eBay. For a free copy of ‘The eBay Traffic Funnel’ which shows how to use the power of eBay to make more money with your website, visit http://www.more-auction-sales.com/websites

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