Speaking as a veteran of many Dovebid auctions, be aware that Dovebid will add an 18 % buyers premium to the winning bid, and that sales tax for the state of sale is also added and reimbursed only upon submitting a shipping receipt that shows an out of state destination. They do not provide any packing, crating or handling. You will need to use a service that picks up bid lots, prepares them for shipment, and hands them off to a carrier. Dovebid requires that the service provider be selected from an approved list because of liability and insurance issues, so don't assume that you'll pick up items in person. Another, general word of advice: avoid items that are both heavy and low value unless they are local. Otherwise shipping expense will become a major fraction of final cost. Finally, pick a bid limit for each item and stick with it, lest you get caught up in the moment and turn the result into a contest of wills instead of a rational decision, as witnessed by the occasional stories of police auctions where an anxious person bids higher than retail price for a new bicycle rather than let someone else get away with the abandoned one they have their eye on. Use the information above to size your bid limit to keep total cost within budget.
I started buying at auctions back in college and made all the classic mistakes on my own dime before I got into serious money and other people's money. Trust me; there are pitfalls for amateurs beyond those discussed here. Read all the fine print at the auction website your first time through. You can get really good bargains if auction attendance is light and you're certain you know what you're looking at, but more often the final bid reflects an accurate market price for the type of item after factoring in uncertainty of condition, and sometimes a price beyond rational justification. It sometimes happens that upon delivery you discover that an item is anything but a bargain, especially when you did not inspect it in person before bidding. Occasionally you get a pleasant surprise in the form of accessories or manuals you didn't know were included. The bottom line is that at the very least, items are often inadequately or incompetently described and the stated condition is a best guess. There are compelling reasons why certain businesses make a living buying at auctions and reselling, and why most other businesses buy from the first type instead of competing with them at the auctions. There is additional value in an item that has been inspected, tested, and refurbished as required, and is sold with return privileges and perhaps a warranty, calibration, or other value add. No such considerations apply to auction merchandise and you take what you get, which is the reason auction prices are (typically) lower than otherwise. It's a tradeoff between price and risk that should be made with eyes wide open. That said, you have a chance to get the items mentioned below for a bargain (or not...) Orin Laney On Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:43:20 +0000 "Schumacher, Richard (Signal Integrity TSG)" <[email protected]> writes: > > Regulatory Compliance Radio Frequency Shielded Test Room > Manufacturer: Braden Shielding Systems > Model: custom, 20'L x 12'W x 9'H, S/N = E60531 > > EMCO Log periodic antenna > Manufacturer: EMCO > Model: 3148 > > Messempfanger Test Receiver 20-1300MHz ESVP > Manufacturer: Rohde & Schwarz > Model: ESVP > > Three-Phase Power Analyzer > Manufacturer: Voltech > Model: PM3000 > > 400MHz 4CH Oscilloscope Analog > Manufacturer: Tektronix > Model: 2467B > > > > FOR ALL ITEMS: > Sale format: Online Auction > Location: Richardson, TX > Quantity: 1 > Bidding closes: 6 days > > > For photos and other details see > > http://www.go-dove.com/browse2.asp?UserName=HPFO1198 > > Once there use the "By Location" pulldown filter for "Richardson, > TX". Click on each listing for details. > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society > emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your > e-mail to <[email protected]> > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc > Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to > that URL. > > Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Scott Douglas <[email protected]> > Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> > David Heald: <[email protected]> > - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to that URL. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
