Auction that may be interest

[Artiglio]

Fine Workshop Tools; House and Garden - Gorringe's

auction.gorringes.co.uk

 

[Sheffield Tony]

If I could have them at the estimated prices I'd take a job lot

 

[Mike G]

Blimey....some of those estimates are extraordinarily low.

 

[AndyT]

Agreed. Is it just a come-on, to tempt (then disappoint) the bargain hunters?

 

[Cabinetman]

Well I hope someone who treasures tools gets them, there’s a few old Norris planes in there. One of the tool boxes was full of boxwood handled gouges, super looking tools, Marples?
And in case you didn’t see it the auction is on the 19th.

 

[wallace]

I've never understood why auctioneers group things together, like who needs 8 drawknives or 10 handsaws. Surely making groups of tools would attract more bids

 

[AndyT]

Looking again at the estimates... I'd guess that there are maybe a few items where it's dead easy to search online and learn that "Norris planes are valuable" or the vendor may have set a reserve. But all the others at £60-80 look like a default answer from a very general auction team.

As for grouping similar tools... this could just be the way they came in, with no thought applied, or it could be designed to favour regular trade customers looking for stock to split up and sell on.

In theory, the price for 19 of one tool is about the same as the price for 20, so a really strong willed user could buy a boxful, pick out the best one and put the rest back into the next sale. The auction house would be happy, they'd get double fees and commission!

 

[NickM]

I've never understood why auctioneers group things together, like who needs 8 drawknives or 10 handsaws. Surely making groups of tools would attract more bids

I thought the same thing! I can see that having thousands of individuals lots would create problems, but mixed sets of tools would be more attractive.

 

[Mike]

I've never understood why auctioneers group things together, like who needs 8 drawknives or 10 handsaws. Surely making groups of tools would attract more bids

I've attended hundreds of auctions, both in person and online. Time is money for the auction houses, so creating job lots of similar items that won't fetch a lot of money is usually the best solution. Spending 15-30 seconds to secure an acceptable buyer's and seller's premium is better than spending several minutes to sell each item for a lesser premium. As @AndyT wrote, I will buy a single lot of similar items in order to keep the one or two that I want. The rest go to the recycling center and everyone is happy.

Years ago, I was the successful bidder on one of about 20 lots of assorted ceramics at a German auction. The lots that sold went for the starting bid of €10, but most were not sold. I was the only bidder for the lot I was interested in and was happy with my €10 bid (plus fee and VAT). The box had about 40 assorted pieces of mostly kitsch and holiday souvenirs, but I recognized one item near the bottom of the box that the auctioneers and other bidders overlooked or didn't recognize. When I took the box to my truck, I extracted the Troika Celtic Cross vase for my collection and tossed the rest in the tip.

 

[AndyT]

I just remembered this auction and had a look at the prices realised for the tools. As far as I can see, there were no astonishing bargains, despite the somewhat arbitrary "estimates".

 

[Cabinetman]

Thanks Andy, I’m not in the market for more tools but still wouldn’t have wanted to miss a bargain!