When you are advertising large, somewhat expensive items for an auction, you should actually SELL them or attempt to sell them. Last saturday, they made a big deal out of a huge auction, one item being a retro jukebox that played 45s. It was hyped on the websites, in newspapers and on the actual listing sheet IN the auction. We got there about 20 minutes before start time. Auctioneer did the usual introductions and of course, prayer at start time of 5pm. When the item came due (#117) the auctioneer put something else in the auction and completely bypassed the jukebox, saying nothing about it, even though the item was on premises. When I went up front a few minutes later to ask about it, you would have sworn I committed a top secret crime. They mumbled about having said earlier that it wouldn't be auctioned because "something was wrong with it." They never told the crowd what my inquiry was. Having come to the auction ONLY for this item, it left me less than happy.
Shortly after, the auctioneer took a break and actually approached me in the crowd pretty angry. He asked what time I had arrived and I told him. He said they made an announcement before the start saying there was a working issue with it... It worked, then it DIDN'T work. Ummm, no. They didn't say ONE word to us. Well, this was an absolute auction, meaning as-is, etc. The coke machines they auctioned were not guaranteed to work so, why would they pull THIS offering? He was mad when I put up the defense that we had been there with no announcements made. Besides, when it came time to accept bids, why would you not tell people that had arrived later that there was something wrong with the jukebox? Why avoid mentioning the item all night long? To me, it was shady, like they had maybe decided to keep the item themselves on a buy or made a deal off the bidding floor. They never plugged it in, never even tried an explanation, just passed it over. It's not the 1st time I have been there but will be the last. If you take them any item and it sells individually for under $200, they keep a whopping 35% commisssion. PLUS, they get 13% buyers premium so every item they sell, they make about 48% of the purchase price.
This auction house is horrid. Employee and buyers kids run through the place carrying on. The food is way overpriced. They supplement some older auctioneer when cowboy takes a break and it's mumbling and sooo slow and they miss people waving their arms. When they have regular items, it can go fast but if it's expensive items, they beat em to death with time, trying to squeeze the last dime out of people. It's painful to watch and they make people feel horrible if they don't bid what they think they should get. The guns there end up selling above true value, as does most every item. There's no such thing as a bargain here and certainly not for a seller losing most of his money to their pockets. I swear, some people have never been to WalMart. Used items go for higher bids than buying new would cost retail. There are alot of dealers buying and the average person looking for a decent, fair price stands no chance, let alone a good buy. It drains all of the fun out of going. I have been to many auctions and gotten good deals... Not here. The auctioneer was really rude, letting us know that he didn't need our business. Stinks when he gets caught cheating the customer base. He was a nervous wreck. Also, they talk down to women. If you go and see anything that involves the kitchen, sewing, jewelry, etc, watch the "little lady" comments. They want the ladies barefoot and cooking, for sure. The women all around us groan and count down waiting for the demeaning comments to begin. Save yourself a loooonnnngggg drawn out night of waiting through boring comments and elongated bidding. They want your money and take their time getting it but they shouldn't do false advertising. Going to complain now to consumer affairs for TN. Those "jet black" loose diamonds were the funniest things I've ever seen, too. You should have seen cowboy stomping mad when those "genuine rare" diamonds weren't going above 60$. He was mad at the crowd. Ummm, genuine REAL black diamonds aren't officially called "jet black" nor are they sold in bulk to an auction house in 1 cent ziploc bags.
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