Online auctions

Yeah, we avoid online auctions.

Some local auctions have preview days so we can inspect items that we then bid on when we go home. When we win, we then have to go pick up the items. After doing this a couple times, it’s just a pain in the ass.

Online auctions outside our area make zero sense. The cost of shipping alone makes the purchase untenable. Then the fact that we cant inspect items also makes no logical sense.

There are too many other places to scavenge where we can see the item and by it on the spot.

Your experience with online auctions probably denpends a lot on where you live.
I live in a medium sized northern plains city of roughly 200k, there are many out lying small towns that have auction houses doing online actions, they set up a viewing day but I rarely go look as it’s usually a 30-40 minute drive. I know I’m taking a chance but I’m careful and so far haven’t been burned.

I actually really like online auctions, at least the ones run by one company called MaxSold that runs them regularly in my area. I realize that I am taking a risk, and I bid accordingly. I’ll look at a few lots that I’m really interested in, and I’ll be willing to bid a little higher. Then I’ll look through the lots with no or very low bids and decide whether something looks like there might be a hidden gem worth the risk. If I get something for the lowest bid of $1, then it’s really no risk at all.

I think that MaxSold is also pretty good at disclosing issues. They may not get everything, but they mention issues when they see them. They’ll also adjust your purchase price if there is an issue. About 2 weeks ago, I was at a pickup, and we were trying to figure out what was included in the lot and what wasn’t when the owner picked out something I already had in the box saying it wasn’t part of the deal. However, it was listed in the writeup. So, they refunded me almost half of the bid even though it was one item out of maybe five.

I’ve only tried one other online auction company. I found it on Proxybid. The pickup was in New York City, and I wasn’t crazy about driving in; however, there were so many great items that no one was bidding on. A few hours before the end, I put in my bids. Then, as each lot got a few minutes before ending, the bidding started all of a sudden. The MaxSold auctions had much more action before the end. Anyway, I didn’t have to drive into NYC. It was probably for the best.