Won stuff at an industrial auction. Now what? (now with 37% more updates)

[Jeff7]

An industrial auction was unceremoniously sprung on me and a few people at work with a lot less planning and direction than I prefer to have.
We won various items, including furniture, computers, some electronics, and so on. There's no heavy equipment though (sadly). Some of the individual items could weigh more than 80lbs. It needs to be retrieved from the building where it's all sitting, and then it must be transported 900 miles. It might be enough for....oh, let's say 4-6 pallets.
I don't think there's anyone working at the company anymore who knows exactly what happens after stuff is won at an auction like this.

I've heard of riggers being used, but, well, think of Office Space and the discussion about money laundering. I had to look up "rigger" on Wikipedia to iron down exactly what they do. That's where I'm at in terms of experience with this stuff.
They sound like they're more suited for moving of large machines.

So who do I have to call for a quote?
Moving company? Rigger? African swallows?

 

[Fenixgoon]

what about friends with trucks? is it palletized and do you need a forklift? what about a home depot rental truck?

 

[TonyG]

Call a freight shipping company who is local to the auction location and see what they say.
Also, be ready to double the cost of those old computers you just spent too much on due to shipping...

The auction company may also offer a palletizing and shipping option also, or be able to recommend someone.

 

[Mixolydian]

Get a truck

 

[mikeford]

Going into a distant auction unprepared, expect to pay for the education you are about to get.

Start by finding out deadlines, when must they receive money, when does the stuff have to be gone, deal with it.

900 miles is like 16+ hrs each way in a big truck, less time in a van or normal truck.

On site you might reduce the 4 to 6 pallets to a dumpster and much smaller load to ship or haul back.

Unless its really sturdy stuff easy to ship, I don't see how you plan to have good luck without somebody on site. I'd rent a cargo van and drive up, only keep what fits.

 

[kranky]

I think a moving company would be ideally suited but since it's the end of the month, they might be pretty busy. .

When our company moved they had a huge auction like that. It was chaos. People would bring trucks to pick up what they won, the stuff would be in 8 different places. They would forget stuff, items would be missing (they won a bid for 18 chairs, they could only find 16 when they came to pick up), it was crazy. I wouldn't waste any time getting the stuff picked up.

 

[Jeff7]

Going into a distant auction unprepared, expect to pay for the education you are about to get.

Start by finding out deadlines, when must they receive money, when does the stuff have to be gone, deal with it.

900 miles is like 16+ hrs each way in a big truck, less time in a van or normal truck.

On site you might reduce the 4 to 6 pallets to a dumpster and much smaller load to ship or haul back.

Unless its really sturdy stuff easy to ship, I don't see how you plan to have good luck without somebody on site. I'd rent a cargo van and drive up, only keep what fits.

Yeah, that will probably be the case.
It was handed to us and...well, we didn't know what we were doing, and didn't have the time to learn.
I've used eBay before. That's it. Apparently liquidation auctions operate quite differently.

I think a moving company would be ideally suited but since it's the end of the month, they might be pretty busy. .

Since some of it is furniture and such, I'm thinking that as well.

When our company moved they had a huge auction like that. It was chaos. People would bring trucks to pick up what they won, the stuff would be in 8 different places. They would forget stuff, items would be missing (they won a bid for 18 chairs, they could only find 16 when they came to pick up), it was crazy. I wouldn't waste any time getting the stuff picked up.

I doubt a drive out there is in the cards. They really don't seem to want anyone, except Sales, doing any traveling.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

rent a truck and load up. 6 pallets only take a couple guys an hour to load.

Who goes to an auction without a load out/transport plan?

 

[rudeguy]

Yeah, that will probably be the case.
It was handed to us and...well, we didn't know what we were doing, and didn't have the time to learn.
I've used eBay before. That's it. Apparently liquidation auctions operate quite differently.

Yes they do. Some will deliver, some will not let you pickup, some don't care and just want the stuff gone.

900 miles is pretty far. If it were me, I would check with the auction company to see if they are willing and able to load the items. Then I would use whatever freight company I prefer to ship the items back to my shop. If the auction company can't/won't load, then its time to rent a Penske truck and have a road trip.

 

[JTsyo]

Yeah, that will probably be the case.
It was handed to us and...well, we didn't know what we were doing, and didn't have the time to learn.
I've used eBay before. That's it. Apparently liquidation auctions operate quite differently.

Was the auction online? Were you guys bidding real-time for a short time frame or over days?

 

[DrPizza]

I frequently go to auctions. I see a lot of office furniture, etc. I am assuming this is used office furniture? If so, and without knowing how much you paid, I predict you're going to pay more in shipping than you paid for the furniture.


WHY?! Why did you purchase furniture 900 miles away?

It's been 10 years, but isn't a rental vehicle about 40-50 cents per mile? That's $900 for the rental, plus fuel.

edit: hey! Have an ATOTer pick it up for you and stick it in his garage.

 

[Rakehellion]

Leave it there. None of that stuff is worth the $1000 you're going to spend shipping it back.

 

[Jeff7]

rent a truck and load up. 6 pallets only take a couple guys an hour to load.

Who goes to an auction without a load out/transport plan?

We bought some equipment last year and were given 2 weeks to evaluate options. Most companies will take 6-12 months to evaluate the same kind of equipment.

Was the auction online? Were you guys bidding real-time for a short time frame or over days?

Two auction batches, with 1 and 2 days of notice.

I frequently go to auctions. I see a lot of office furniture, etc. I am assuming this is used office furniture? If so, and without knowing how much you paid, I predict you're going to pay more in shipping than you paid for the furniture.

Some people paid $1.00 for a room full of office furniture. Chairs, desks, sometimes a mini-fridge....$1.00.
They might be local.

WHY?! Why did you purchase furniture 900 miles away?

It's been 10 years, but isn't a rental vehicle about 40-50 cents per mile? That's $900 for the rental, plus fuel.

edit: hey! Have an ATOTer pick it up for you and stick it in his garage.

Like I said...we didn't have a clue what we were doing. :\

This had to get shuffled in along with a few production runs that needed more than the usual amount of supervision and Engineering's involvement.
The auction had inadequate time, resources, and experience. That's how we roll sometimes.

 

[DrPizza]

We bought some equipment last year and were given 2 weeks to evaluate options. Most companies will take 6-12 months to evaluate the same kind of equipment.



Two auction batches, with 1 and 2 days of notice.




Some people paid $1.00 for a room full of office furniture. Chairs, desks, sometimes a mini-fridge....$1.00.
They might be local.



Like I said...we didn't have a clue what we were doing. :\

This had to get shuffled in along with a few production runs that needed more than the usual amount of supervision and Engineering's involvement.
The auction had inadequate time, resources, and experience. That's how we roll sometimes.

Well, you could save money on shipping: if you have pictures of the stuff, advertise in that locale that you have <furniture> for sale. Then you just need one of you guys to go there and coordinate the pick-up of that stuff. $1 for a room full of office furniture and a mini-fridge? Wow! Auctions around here are a little better attended, though I have gotten some extremely good buys. Not quite that good though.

 

[WiseUp216]

Where are you located, and where is the stuff? You can PM me the details if you want.

FWIW, I am a materials manager in automotive and could at least give you a shipping contact that won't rip you off.

The cheapest option is going to be renting a Penske truck and doing it yourself. Any other option is going get expensive fast.

 

[Meghan54]

Well, you could save money on shipping: if you have pictures of the stuff, advertise in that locale that you have <furniture> for sale. Then you just need one of you guys to go there and coordinate the pick-up of that stuff. $1 for a room full of office furniture and a mini-fridge? Wow! Auctions around here are a little better attended, though I have gotten some extremely good buys. Not quite that good though.

As you probably know, really depends on length of auction, weather conditions, etc., in addition to how well attended it is.

In Dec. last year, bought a Simplicity Regent rider, 2012 model. (21hp, 42" cut.) It was unused, being sold by a dealer at an equipment auction, along with a few other pieces of lawn equipment...all brand new. Got the mower for $1000. Did have to replace the battery and shut-off solenoid on the carb. Heck, the tires still had that paint stripe on the tread. Rainy outdoor auction, the mower sold towards the end, few bidders left after 3 hours of standing in the rain.


Went to a local school system's auction a few years ago when the school system admin. and storage/maintenance was moving to new buildings.

I bought rooms of old computers for $5. And when I say rooms, I mean 10x10 classrooms, stacked waist high with old towers, laptops, CRTs, and almost anything else electronic you'd find in a school.

Of course, this was after 6 hours of auction and it was raining all day long. Hate outdoor auctions in the rain except it sure weeds out all the noobs quickly.

 

[lupi]

/marked for upcoming amusing resolution story.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Are you sure you actually won?

Sounds like losing to me.

 

[slag]

Are you sure you actually won?

Sounds like losing to me.

+1

 

[Jeff7]

/marked for upcoming amusing resolution story.

Are you sure you actually won?

Sounds like losing to me.

You don't ask non-technical managers to design a circuit, and I guess you also shouldn't ask engineers to oversee an entire auction for the first time.

We did at least get some small pieces of industrial equipment for around 30% of refurb price, as well as a few smaller items at 15% of new, and from what I could learn out about the company that was being liquidated, the more expensive items should be in very good condition - Class 10,000 cleanroom environment.




(I'll also note that, in previous auctions where the company owner was the bidder, we'd tend to have a semi show up one day with 1-3 large machines of dubious quality and usefulness. That was one thing that was in mind to try to fill in the missing bits of direction we had with regards to what to buy.)

Well, you could save money on shipping: if you have pictures of the stuff, advertise in that locale that you have <furniture> for sale. Then you just need one of you guys to go there and coordinate the pick-up of that stuff. $1 for a room full of office furniture and a mini-fridge? Wow! Auctions around here are a little better attended, though I have gotten some extremely good buys. Not quite that good though.

I went back to the listing of what was won, but clicking the items just redirects to the site's main page. I guess they delist things shortly after the auction ends.

Where are you located, and where is the stuff? You can PM me the details if you want.

FWIW, I am a materials manager in automotive and could at least give you a shipping contact that won't rip you off.

The stuff is in Minnesota, outside of Minneapolis. I'm in western PA.

The cheapest option is going to be renting a Penske truck and doing it yourself. Any other option is going get expensive fast.

Not gonna happen. At least not anyone in engineering - they don't let us travel much in the first place, unless it's by specific and extremely firm customer request.

Though given the recent travel BS, I'm not exactly keen on attempting travel in the winter again. Maybe the US will adopt high-speed rail travel sometime in the next 200 years, right after Half Life 3 is released.

 

[mikeford]

Many auctions have a HARD deadline for payment and for pickup. You miss either deadline and the auction company may dispose of the stuff anyway they want, and you are still liable for the difference between your bid and the net cost of removal. Deadline is usually less than a week unless a huge volume of items are being removed.

Read the fine print of the auction brochure.

 

[feralkid]

what about friends with trucks? is it palletized and do you need a forklift? what about a home depot rental truck?

Do the math.

 

[waffleironhead]

If I was bored and I didnt have other stuff at the moment, Id be down for picking the stuff up for you and delivering it. Maybe norseamd could get it for you?

 

[Jeff7]

Many auctions have a HARD deadline for payment and for pickup. You miss either deadline and the auction company may dispose of the stuff anyway they want, and you are still liable for the difference between your bid and the net cost of removal. Deadline is usually less than a week unless a huge volume of items are being removed.

Read the fine print of the auction brochure.

Yup, this is going to be a fun time all around.

 

[Braznor]

You could ask TridentT to do it for you.