Auction of tools from an estate today.
 

Dropped by an estate tool auction this morning. Was primarily interested in a good used belt sander as my own one only lasted a minute after my son in law returned it. Phase of the moon I suppose? To buy it's new equivelant today is 350.00 with tax on sale.

Looked over everything there and registered just to get the belt sander if it did not go too high. I felt 50-80 dollars was not out of line for the model there. They started putting things up and I took the opening bid of 5.00 never figuring I would prevail on a few items. It soon became obvious that there were few people interested in a lot of items.

So I got a better grade so called proffessional craftman 1/2 inch self powered 18 volt drill with two battery packs charger and case. Figuring that maybe the packs were bad. Tested really good when I got them home right out of the case was a little suprising. Then a dual action sander rated at 4.5 amps like new in appearance. It turned out that a bearing block had broken in it at one time and it is the only thing that was not in good condition but the broken part easily made in half an hour when I thought about it. Or 3.26 from sears plus postage when I looked it up.

Next was about 15 pounds of solder and a pile of other related items in a box. Then a detail sander that gets into really tight spaces with 10.00-20.00 worth of specialized sandpaper for it. Then the belt sander came up. All the above items came my way just for my opening bid of 5.00 each.

I was going to go home then but there was a box coming up with a clean dual action air straight line sander. An air palm sander, electric powered metal shears good for fourteen gauge steel that also looked fairly new. A smaller detail air paint gun, three sets of sheet metal gripping vice grips and a 20 inch heavy duty C clamp in the box.

So I stayed and that combined lot went for thirty dollars to me as well. Then I paid up and left.

What did disturb me was that nothing basically was bringing much action. Have people stopped doing stuff was what I was wondering? I do not think the economy is that bad. Or have the cheap chinese tools enabled most people to have most tools they need so there is little demand? Even if their quality is questionable. Decent tools used to bring decent prices at auctions.

To me it hardly seemed worthwhile for the auction service to be there. Any single power tool would probably cost as much or more than my total of items did at a retail outlet. It was a great oportunity for a young guy starting out in my opinion.

The mechanics tools also went dirt cheap but I have all I need. Decent not worn brand name air powered 1/2 impact tools for 5.00 each for example. I never remember an auction with perhaps a hundred to a hundred and fifty people there being so inactive before. All the like new makita stuff went for 5.00 each as well with the exception of a heavily built 1/2 inch drill and a drywall screwdriver. Those two items brought ten dollars each.

Whoever the deceased guy was he never brought really cheap stuff. His widow was there and hopefully had no ideal of how much he probably paid for all his tools. If nothing else it did prove to me how litle residue value our used tools seem to have now. She should have given them all to a relative unless she was financially strapped. Then again like myself she would have thought they should have done better than the prices they got. I posted this just because I cannot really put my finger on why the prices recieved were so low.

Not too many people have cash... Most people buy new, as they can buy with credit.

You: 1.
Producers of tools made of lo mein noodles: 0.

Enjoy your victory.

That kind of occured to me. I am aware that something has changed is all though.

IDK, yard sales I've been at in NJ and coming back from Conesus Lake this summer seemed to have plenty of people buying things. Maybe this auction just wasn't advertised correctly to the right people.

Believe it or not I would have felt better if the prices where as they have been in the past. It indicates something when an episode like this occurs. Even if I cannot really define it. For example it may be less than healthy. Or a precursor that something is in the wind. We have existed by primarily being a consumer based society for a long time..

The government has been warning the general public that far too many people as a percentage of the population in Canada are financially in over their heads. Not only that but the current concern is they are still going in deeper since the warnings started. The cost of living rises in an incidious fashion. My visa statement we always pay off before the due date seems to be much larger than say three years ago for example month over month. Plus the wife is spending more than I ever remember.

Strange but all year the prices at the car auctions in general have been much higher. So high I never purchased any cars for resale this year. I just cannot realise enough margin to interest me at these prices. Unless I abuse people and that does not interest me.

I like passing along good cars at fair prices. The premium on what I call good cars at the auctions is far too much currently in our region.

Second hand goods over here have also hit rock bottom prices - well that's my impression of selling stuff that I want to get rid of. You almost have to pay people to take stuff away.

However, there do seem to be some exceptions - shipping containers, for example, are at an all time high (just when I need one!).

Recent Craftsman power tools are manufactured by Ryobi.

That's just the way auctions go. Especially estate auctions. If they don't manage to get the right crowd there, the stuff can go for scrapper prices. OTOH, you get a bunch of fools there and an auctioneer with a good personality, and that stuff can go for more than new.

Used tools, unless they are high and and/or specialty, most often sell for peanuts. They are all over the place. Just about every auction or sale has them. I've never seen run-of-the-mill tools go for much more than what you paid for yours, and I've been to lots of auctions.

This does not suprise me in your region. Our society is a little different. As for the location Nova Scotia has been a strong conservative area politically till recently. Was the equivelant to your republican party for at least decades.

Now any party will basically do and say whatever they feel will carry them to power. I have been trying to remember if I have ever seen good clean used tools not junk going for below 25 percent of their new value before.

I too have also left a few auctions where the bidding was out of control and people were paying more than new prices for a lot of things. I have also avoided certain auctioneers that tend to start the bidding at about everything the item is worth. Or set it aside.

Used tools are going for dirt cheap because the market is basically flooded with them. So many craftsmen are out of work, and are selling their tools to make ends meet.

This past summer, I picked up a box of concrete floats, Dewalt 18V drill/saw/light combo with radio charger, two Dremels with attachments, and a host of other goodies for $65 at a garage sale. Everything works like new. The guy selling them worked in construction for a number of years, but hasn't found work, other than the occasional handyman job, in months.

It's amazing just how cheaply you can pick used tools up today.

This could be one of the results of what I call the "Home Depot Syndrome"-- which is, make it as cheap as possible at any cost. When I had my tool rental business, the box stores killed my pressure washer and airless sprayer business with all the disposable junk they sell.

Fortunately, when I liquidated the business in late 2006 and early 2007, I was getting 40-50 cents on the dollar for used equipment. I doubt that would be the case in today's market.