Auction adventures - not just cars
Discussion
Thinning out my car books, I put several of the more valuable ones into the Bonhams Auction at the Goodwood Revival. Bonhams divided them into two lots. One lot sold very well and nearly achieved top estimate. The other lot was bid to £600. I'd signed up for the auctioneer to use Auctioneer's Discretion and as £600 was neither the low estimate nor the reserve he used his discretion and they didn't sell.
The books were put into a later on-line sale with the same blurb, same estimate and same reserve. But this time the auctioneer had Wide Discretion and they sold for £420.
Some you win, some you lose.
The books were put into a later on-line sale with the same blurb, same estimate and same reserve. But this time the auctioneer had Wide Discretion and they sold for £420.
Some you win, some you lose.
My brother put his 1969 MkII Mini Cooper S into an auction soon after a MkI Mini 850 sold for £16,000. The estimate was £12,000 to £16,000. It had its original shell and original engine. The reserve was the low estimate of £12,000. The bidding didn't make £10,000 and it was called as unsold.
The problem, we realised afterwards, was originality. Despite the major components being original, it had Dunlop wheels, a full Webasto sunroof and Special Tuning seats. When he bought it like that in the seventies it was spot on. Thirty five years later when he sold it, it wasn't how buyers wanted it to be.
The auctioneer said the high bidder had approached them about the possibility of buying it. £10,000 was negotiated by the auction house who got their cut.
The sunroof would have had to stay but a set of original steel wheels and original seats would probably have made a huge difference.
The problem, we realised afterwards, was originality. Despite the major components being original, it had Dunlop wheels, a full Webasto sunroof and Special Tuning seats. When he bought it like that in the seventies it was spot on. Thirty five years later when he sold it, it wasn't how buyers wanted it to be.
The auctioneer said the high bidder had approached them about the possibility of buying it. £10,000 was negotiated by the auction house who got their cut.
The sunroof would have had to stay but a set of original steel wheels and original seats would probably have made a huge difference.
My first and so far only attempt to sell resulted in a mixed bag. Looking at it as a whole, the auctioneer's estimates for my 4 lots were £600 - £850. The end result was a net £1450. He estimated my 4 photo books which accompanied Wimpffen's Time & Two Seats at £100-150. They fetched £440 as I knew full well they would. A large collection of race programmes was estimated £100-150 and fetched £660. However 50 original 1950s Dinky Toys plus a decent 9-shelf cabinet only fetched bottom estimate £100.
You never know what to expect on the day.
You never know what to expect on the day.
At an auction of a private collection of cars and automobilia at the deceased owner's premises, I bid on one lot. At the time I was autojumbling and the box had all sorts of goodies. Most appealing to me were a pair of Lucas 548 rear lights which fitted the early DB4, the DB4GT, the Peerless and several other exotic motors. I won the bidding. When I went to collect the box the rear lights had gone. Doh!
Many years ago (12ish) I went to a hotel that was hosting auction sales that day - I got there a little early and was interested in a Ferrari 360 Modena that was going through.
The sales beforehand though were for Keith Pattinson estate agents and saw a terraced bungalow come up in a street adjacent to one I already had a nearly identical rental property in.
The start was (very) low (IIRC it was £8k) and being sold with no reserve.
There were no pics of it inside and it was metal boarded externally to protect from squatters etc. but I knew the style and the property pre-boarding so was semi-confident that it wouldn’t need too much work to get it habitable.
Thankfully I was already registered with Pattinsons as a bidder from previous purchases and there wasn’t much interest in it, I ended up getting it for a £15k plus premium.
I didn’t stay for the car auction as I’d ostensibly spent part of my budget on the house.
The Mrs at the time was less than impressed when I returned without having won the car I’d been bleating on about for months and instead a “project house”
It needed a new kitchen, bathroom, flooring, boiler and general decoration - managed to get it up and running in about 8weeks on £475pcm. Sold it 6yrs later for £55k so not bad all in really.
The sales beforehand though were for Keith Pattinson estate agents and saw a terraced bungalow come up in a street adjacent to one I already had a nearly identical rental property in.
The start was (very) low (IIRC it was £8k) and being sold with no reserve.
There were no pics of it inside and it was metal boarded externally to protect from squatters etc. but I knew the style and the property pre-boarding so was semi-confident that it wouldn’t need too much work to get it habitable.
Thankfully I was already registered with Pattinsons as a bidder from previous purchases and there wasn’t much interest in it, I ended up getting it for a £15k plus premium.
I didn’t stay for the car auction as I’d ostensibly spent part of my budget on the house.
The Mrs at the time was less than impressed when I returned without having won the car I’d been bleating on about for months and instead a “project house”
It needed a new kitchen, bathroom, flooring, boiler and general decoration - managed to get it up and running in about 8weeks on £475pcm. Sold it 6yrs later for £55k so not bad all in really.
I was taken along to a local auction house a friend uses last summer. He likes to collect paintings of his local area, preferably by local artists. He had to collect a picture he had won the week before and had paid £150 for. While we were there one of the staff recognised him and mentioned another picture by the same artist had been entered late to that day's auction so he decided to wait and bid on it, £30 later it was his .
A couple of weeks later he was bidding again on the same artist and apparently gave up at £400. He reckons it is all down to who is looking on the day, particularly if a gallery or two are short of stock of pictures of his area. All seemed very hap dash to me and I imagine the "better" houses offering auctions of somewhat higher value items regularly are nicer places to attend as some of the audience on the day I attended would set Jeremy Kyle off.
A couple of weeks later he was bidding again on the same artist and apparently gave up at £400. He reckons it is all down to who is looking on the day, particularly if a gallery or two are short of stock of pictures of his area. All seemed very hap dash to me and I imagine the "better" houses offering auctions of somewhat higher value items regularly are nicer places to attend as some of the audience on the day I attended would set Jeremy Kyle off.
Never really got on with auctions.
I used to go down Bridgwater car auctions fairly often. Without fail you could've bought the same car for less privately or even from a dealer. I assume it's a giant money laundering operation.
For other auctions, stuff I thought would be ludicrous tat went for 10x more than I would ever part with.
They attract some seriously weird psychology.
I used to go down Bridgwater car auctions fairly often. Without fail you could've bought the same car for less privately or even from a dealer. I assume it's a giant money laundering operation.
For other auctions, stuff I thought would be ludicrous tat went for 10x more than I would ever part with.
They attract some seriously weird psychology.
DickyC said:
My brother put his 1969 MkII Mini Cooper S into an auction soon after a MkI Mini 850 sold for £16,000. The estimate was £12,000 to £16,000. It had its original shell and original engine. The reserve was the low estimate of £12,000. The bidding didn't make £10,000 and it was called as unsold.
The problem, we realised afterwards, was originality. Despite the major components being original, it had Dunlop wheels, a full Webasto sunroof and Special Tuning seats. When he bought it like that in the seventies it was spot on. Thirty five years later when he sold it, it wasn't how buyers wanted it to be.
The auctioneer said the high bidder had approached them about the possibility of buying it. £10,000 was negotiated by the auction house who got their cut.
The sunroof would have had to stay but a set of original steel wheels and original seats would probably have made a huge difference.
Originality is nice and everyone seems to go for it these days, but it often results in row upon row of identical 'rare' cars turning up at shows, not least when it comes to Minis. I went to the Cooper Register day at Beaulieu in 2011 in my blue and white Mk2 S, and counted fourteen Mk1s and Mk2s in the same colour combo scattered about the main display area. There were at least twenty in the Abingdon Works colours of tartan red with a white roof. The following year I had it restored and repainted in dark metallic purple, a period colour for poshed up Radford and Wood & Pickett Minis of the '60s and '70s, but still different enough to attract some nasty comments from a few fellow MCR members. Such is life!The problem, we realised afterwards, was originality. Despite the major components being original, it had Dunlop wheels, a full Webasto sunroof and Special Tuning seats. When he bought it like that in the seventies it was spot on. Thirty five years later when he sold it, it wasn't how buyers wanted it to be.
The auctioneer said the high bidder had approached them about the possibility of buying it. £10,000 was negotiated by the auction house who got their cut.
The sunroof would have had to stay but a set of original steel wheels and original seats would probably have made a huge difference.
I've never bought or sold a car at auction, but when looking at potential classic purchases it's the period extras like Webastos and alloys etc that I often look out for.
Glosphil said:
A number of items cost the buyers more than the retail price. I think they forget the have to pay the auction house 18% commission.
The most incredible one I saw was the Jessops liquidation auctions which were online. There was a camera forum going mad for it. People were buying broken lens filters that they never would have considered unbroken, 'cos it was a bargain, and paying 20-50% more than an intact one and with the premium on top.
Just goes to show how mindless many people are.
I'm amazed they didn't immediately reopen Jessops with the profits.
I used to go to the cattle market furniture auctions in Nottingham on a Saturday morning about 30 years ago.
Looking for a chest of drawers, had very little money, pine was popular and even when painted went for silly money. An oak one came up, auctioneer said £10...silence...£5...silence...Anyone want it..I put my hand up...£1.
Needed a bit of work but sanded and polished it came up nicely.
Another day something like this came up. My wife liked it, we decided we'd bid up to £100.
Auctioneer.. who'll start me at £300 Seeing what the one in the link if for sale for, we should have scraped some more cash together, but we had a 60k mortgage and a baby!
Looking for a chest of drawers, had very little money, pine was popular and even when painted went for silly money. An oak one came up, auctioneer said £10...silence...£5...silence...Anyone want it..I put my hand up...£1.
Needed a bit of work but sanded and polished it came up nicely.
Another day something like this came up. My wife liked it, we decided we'd bid up to £100.
Auctioneer.. who'll start me at £300
Seeing what the one in the link if for sale for, we should have scraped some more cash together, but we had a 60k mortgage and a baby!julianm said:
Moving house led to the auction of our beautiful 4 piece mahogany & walnut inlay bedroom suite, dated approx1910.
It made £37.50.
My mother buys things on online antiques auction sites, brown furniture is effectively worthless these days. I have seen beautiful tables and chairs with a starting price of £5 not attract a single bid, in fact the auctioneer stated that they were not taking on any more of these as they are not worth them bothering with.It made £37.50.
People would rather buy an Ikea one made of cardboard.
john2443 said:
That is absolutely beautiful.I sold a lot of our house contents after a painful divorce. Things we had bought together and treasured sold for pennies. I had to leave the auction as I found it a really upsetting experience.
I've bought quite a few cars at auction. The usual mixture of dogs, good buys and just ok. Fortunately, as far as I know, the only dogs have been cheaper cars. I think I've done well with some but you never know until you sell. I bought a lovely 928 S4 with boxes of history for £7K during the pandemic and which has barely moved since. I think I've done ok there.
A mate had three Victorian pictures he found in a skip about 30 years ago. I did point out that they may have been in a skip for a good reason but he was adamant they were chucked out by someone who didn't know their worth. Two years ago he found a listing where some pictures which looked very similar had sold for £50K each. I finally persuaded him to take them to Christies with a view to auction where they told him he might get £30 for all three frames.
I like auctions. They attract oddballs and unusual lots. They are one of those things I find enjoyable that are hard to explain, like visiting a breakers. Some people prefer golf which is as attractive to me as self-castration.
I've bought quite a few cars at auction. The usual mixture of dogs, good buys and just ok. Fortunately, as far as I know, the only dogs have been cheaper cars. I think I've done well with some but you never know until you sell. I bought a lovely 928 S4 with boxes of history for £7K during the pandemic and which has barely moved since. I think I've done ok there.
A mate had three Victorian pictures he found in a skip about 30 years ago. I did point out that they may have been in a skip for a good reason but he was adamant they were chucked out by someone who didn't know their worth. Two years ago he found a listing where some pictures which looked very similar had sold for £50K each. I finally persuaded him to take them to Christies with a view to auction where they told him he might get £30 for all three frames.
I like auctions. They attract oddballs and unusual lots. They are one of those things I find enjoyable that are hard to explain, like visiting a breakers. Some people prefer golf which is as attractive to me as self-castration.
I’ve mentioned this one before but a mate and I used to buy old marina vans , ex post office and water board , from the auction and fix them up to sell to fund our stock car hobby .
Matey went to the auction and bought 3 , brought one back on the trailer with him and we went back to collect the other 2 , 1 on the trailer as it was a non runner and I’d drive the other back as it was tested , ran ok and we had trader insurance. Loaded the trailer and off went matey , I jumped in the runner , started it and put it in gear . Speedo rose quicker than a supercars but I went nowhere . The post office mechanic had taken the prop shaft off probably to repair another van .
This was the days before mobile phones so I had a long unexpected wait outside the auction.
Matey went to the auction and bought 3 , brought one back on the trailer with him and we went back to collect the other 2 , 1 on the trailer as it was a non runner and I’d drive the other back as it was tested , ran ok and we had trader insurance. Loaded the trailer and off went matey , I jumped in the runner , started it and put it in gear . Speedo rose quicker than a supercars but I went nowhere . The post office mechanic had taken the prop shaft off probably to repair another van .
This was the days before mobile phones so I had a long unexpected wait outside the auction.
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