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Auction do's and dont's
Witchboard:
If you live close you can go rent a city van from Uhaul or something. Get one with the lift on it.
IntruderAlert:
It'll be about a 2 1/2 or 3 hour drive for me but I know someone with a truck like that.. maybe I can borrow it.
How many people will I need to move a pool table?
Do they usually have anyone there that will help load?
greven grevs:
i have been to one superauction in san jose , this was last year. some things i learned from that were...
1) bring a folding chair. standing for 8-10 hrs really sucked.
2) bring your own food.
3) watch for people messing with machines. what i mean is , i wanted to buy a cocktail that i tried and played during the preview. when it came time to be auctioned it and a few others around had had the plugs cut off of them so that they could not be plugged in. i knew the one i wanted worked but was still outbid by a guy who ended buying all the damaged cocktails. he "hoped" they would work.
as far as someone helping you load, thats hit or miss. you get to talk to alot of people during the auction. some are nice some are a$$e$. though if you ask a few people you should be able to get at least one good samaritan [sp] to help you out. i think me and my buddy helped load 5-6 games just to help get people out of the way so that we could get out truck up to the door. we just asked a couple of the guys to help us when our truck came up. they were kind enough to oblige.
Sinner:
I'm going to my first auction tomorrow, and I'm glad I ready this...I wasn't sure what to expect...
I'm going to an auction in Canada, but I'm sure most of the rules apply...
Thanks for the info...
Flack:
There are some really good responses here and a lot of information to sift through. I've been to probably a dozen auctions and have bought over 30 cabinets over the past few years. Here's my few pointers, YMMV (and any other caveats you wish to apply).
Items I take to every auction:
Duct Tape
Spiral Notebook / pen
Rope / Straps
Trailer
Dolly
Flashlight
Extension Cord
(if at all possible) A friend.
Things I do at every auction:
Preview Time: You MUST use this time to your advantage! If you are there just to have fun then by all means play the games and have fun, but if you are there to spend money then use that time! Check out every single game. See what works, what doesn't. See what games are being worked on that morning. See which games come right up and which ones need to be fiddled with.
Whatever your findings are, WRITE THEM DOWN. I have excel sheets I've printed out with little spots for the game names, lot numbers, condition, repairs needed, whether or not I will bid on them, and how high I will go. It is very easy to be logical when you're not in the middle of a bidding war. Also, it is very easy to forget which game had a bad monitor and which game had a bad joystick when they're turned off.
Another thing you should do is LISTEN to the people around you. Listen to the people working on games. Listen to the peole running the auction. Listen to the sellers, and listen to other bidders. You can hear a LOT of information between people. You will find out what games people are going to bid on and how high they are willing to go. You may find out games that have problems. You may find out all kinds of things.
The only other advice I have is, if you're planning on buying, go to buy, and if you're planning on looking, go to look. Don't change you mind. In other words, don't drive a motorcycle to an auction and then decide to bid on stuff. If I think there might remotely be something at an auction I'm interested in, I take my trailer and all the other things I mentioned.
One last thing -- document the sales prices and whether or not the games were buy backs, and share that info with the world! That gives the rest of us a good idea at current market prices.