Can anyone give a rundown of what to expect at the Super Auctions? Ray's summary of the auctions he has been to was great, but it sounds like Super Auctions run a bit differently. I'm considering going up to Milwaukee next weekend but want to know when to get there, how long we have to look at the machines, are there fees to get in, are there fees on top of the auction price, does the guy talk really fast? I would just like to hear a day in the life of someone who attended one. Anyone?
From Fred's message: Inspection time is from 8-10. After that, they will not allow you to turn on games, although they DO fire up the games prior to starting the bidding on 'em (if possible - dead game = dead game, although Fred will always grasp onto any glimmer of "it shot sparks out the ass end" as "worked earlier this morning"
)
Parking is all you'll have to pay for, but if you get a jerk, they might not let you in if you decide to leave to go for a bacon sammitch for breffus.
When you get there, head over to the registration table to get your bidder number. On the back of that, they will lay out the % they take from the buyer. This is IN ADDITION to the amount your winning bid was. For instance, let's say the % is 10%, and you win a $500 game. You will have to pay $505 before you are allowed to remove the game from the premises.
If it's Fred, he only SOUNDS like he's talking fast. You'll CONSTANTLY hear this phrase he uses as "filler": Hey now, git 'er down now, git 'er down". You'll pick up on this really quick - it's NOT as quick as you think once you get used to his pitch, but for your first one, it'll FEEL like it's going pretty quick. If it's ROB (not often for Milwaukee), he wastes FAR less time and doesn't use the "auctioneer" type of calling.
DO NOT be the first one to bid. Fred is SUPER ridiculous at what he starts prices at and almost ALWAYS takes it down within a few seconds, at which you'll start to see bids from people who don't have their heads up Uranus. If there's no bid for more than 10 seconds (meaning Fred has said "who'll give me $_____ for it?" then you can feel reasonably safe that you're gonna have that item sold pretty quickly after that, so bid if you want it.
Bring an extension cord. They'll have crap plugged in, and places to plug into, but you'll still want your own, just in case you wanna look at something that's not plugged in.
Shoot me a PM at PP and I'll give you my number. Mebbe we can meet Radish somewhere and get some breffus - there's a pretty decent place just down the block, and that way we'll only need to take one car. I've got 2 buddies coming with me as well (1 for certain, the other one is iffy right now), so if you find something, we'll have more than enough muscle to help you load up.
The auctions
generally last till between 3-5, although it's ENTIRELY dependent on how much stuff there is.