marvairplanes 34 #1 Posted October 20, 2013 For everyone who complains about Wheel Horse sales on e-bay.... Here's my story. Last Saturday I had one of my Lawn Rangers sold at auction, at a neighboring auction house. The tractor was not a show queen, but was nicely repainted, new decals, good tires, a one year old battery, and a very nice deck and a full tank of gas. I even included a battery minder, in case the battery was weak and needed a boost. Tractor sold for $93.00 !!!! Auctioneer took 25%, I had to pay a per cent of the advertising costs, and also "labor" costs for displaying and moving the tractor after I delivered it. My check was for $31.95 !!!!! I believe the tractor was a $275-$300 item.... Did I learn a lesson ?????? A recent politician statement " You don't learn anything new from the second mule kick!" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jake Kuhn 1,554 #2 Posted October 20, 2013 sorry for your luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevebo-(Moderator) 8,264 #3 Posted October 20, 2013 Marv- That sucks for sure. Next time stay away from that auction house.... Go ebay or cl. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RMCIII 838 #4 Posted October 20, 2013 Marv, that is a sob story.. I have heard that before about auction houses. Some places charge both the seller and the buyer. Ebay definitely is a better deal compared to the auction houses. Rob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AMC RULES 37,102 #5 Posted October 20, 2013 You'll get a fair price at the big show too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wp205a 43 #6 Posted October 20, 2013 Horror story, In my opinion. Sorry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmaynard 15,308 #7 Posted October 20, 2013 (edited) I feel for you Marv. Just took a load of tools to auction last Saturday. Among the tools was 10" Craftsman table saw in great condition. Should have brought between $100.00 to $150.00. Brought $35.00. After 25% commission my net was $26.25. I feel your pain. Edited October 20, 2013 by rmaynard Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 21,082 #8 Posted October 20, 2013 I've even given up on e-bay (listing fee, picture fee, final value fee and then a pay-pal fee if the buyer uses pay-pal!) I sell on Craigslist only now. Marv, could you have put a reserve on it? Probably a hefty fee for that right? Mike............ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mowerman1193 32 #9 Posted October 20, 2013 Just the reason I do not sell at auctions.. I do occasionally buy things at a auction.. I do like ebay ( well did before they got fee happy ).. I been selling things on the local facebook ad groups that has been making a big hit on facebook.. Only thing is you still end up with all the tire kickers and no shows that I always seem to have had to deal with on CL.. Someone sure got a deal on that auction of your for sure..to bad it wasn't you.. Kevin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tankman 3,516 #11 Posted October 20, 2013 Ouch! Never sold via auction, now I never will in the future. I like Craigs List, local sellers 'n buyers are the norm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
546cowboy 301 #12 Posted October 20, 2013 (edited) I know a guy to is an auctioneer and he has been after me to bring stuff to his sales. He has two consignment sales a year. One in the spring and one in the fall. With my situation here I asked him about setting up an auction here to sell all the stuff I have acumulated. Well I pretty much gave up that idea after I heard those fees. He said it would be cheaper to bring the stuff to his sale next month. We had talked about his fees many times before. So here are a couple of figures. You can set a reserve but if the item doesn't sell that is a $40 fee, if it does sell the fee is anywhere between 20% and 30%. Now here is what turned me off from taking stuff to auctions a few years ago. I had a bunch of tires and rims off riding mowers that were taking up space so I loaded up 20 tires with rims, fronts and rears of different sizes mostly rears, hauled them to his location, ( I had the bed of the truck full ) a couple days after the sale I went to pick up my money. Found that all those tires sold for $104 and my part was $53 so I haven't taken a thing to one since. That is why I started my own web site and why I use CL and Evilbay to sell stuff. Ebay has been charging 10% on the last three I have sold there. I don't ship stuff and I don't use PayPal for payment either. I had an experience with PayPal a year or so ago. I sold a tractor on Ebay and the buyer didn't see that I wanted cash at time of pick up and paid me through PayPal. Since I had only sold 22 items on Ebay at the time, PayPal decided to hold the money until the end of the month. I knew nothing about this until the guy is on his way to pick the mower up and he is driving 130 miles to get it. So there I am, mower is already picked up and I have to wait three weeks to get my money. Luckily it all worked out but I thought it was uncalled for and it is a ruse so PayPal can collect interest on my money which adds to their profits and not mine. Although they say they hold it in case the buyer changes his mind for their buyer protection plan. I have another story about their "Buyer Protection Plan" but it's just too hard to go over again. :banghead: AUCTIONS Edited October 20, 2013 by 546cowboy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marvairplanes 34 #13 Posted October 20, 2013 Rest of the story... The fella who bought it left his name and phone number and asked if I would sell him more of my collection at the same prices !!!! I don't think so .... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KC9KAS 4,741 #14 Posted October 20, 2013 Rest of the story... The fella who bought it left his name and phone number and asked if I would sell him more of my collection at the same prices !!!! I don't think so .... Tell him, "Sure...Thats 100% for cleaning fee, 100% for discription fee....." Get my drift! I feel your pain. I had the same thing happen on a motorcycle I sold years and years ago at a consignment auction.....It was a $500-$700 bike and I got $275 out of it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pfrederi 17,518 #15 Posted October 20, 2013 Many of the auctions around here now have a 10% buyers premium, if they are hitting the seller for 25% also that is obscene!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MalMac 1,331 #16 Posted October 20, 2013 546cowboy, I had the same thing with PayPal. took roughly 3 1/2 weeks to get my money. Never will accept payment through them again using a auction service. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JC 1965 1,530 #17 Posted October 20, 2013 Wow !! That is really sad. The auction house should be arrested for theft. Sorry for your terrible experience. Maybe the tractor will break down soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 54,383 #18 Posted October 21, 2013 So sorry to hear this. The auction houses around here are running themselves out of business with all the fees, CL and are the way to go, my . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coadster32 793 #19 Posted October 21, 2013 Auctions look cool on TV, but.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baerpath 517 #20 Posted October 21, 2013 We have one of them around here also was going to take some tractors down decided not to. Each item if it was under $500 20% if 500 to 1000 25% over 1000 29% I think they figure ebay can get fee's like that so they should to. Sold them through Clist Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redidbull 54 #21 Posted October 21, 2013 I don't even think there are any auction houses around here in Ct. Seems like kind of a rip off. Jim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites