You’ll Never Guess My Latest Obsession

The pandemic and subsequent quarantine have brought out a lot of new talents and interests in all of us. We’ve had to stay home, so we’ve had to find ways to entertain ourselves. Many people have become puzzle masters.  Some have become fitness freaks and workout wonders.  A friend of mine has become a DIY queen.  It’s amazing to see the things she has done.  My daughter has become quite the baker.  But you will never guess my latest obsession.  I’ve become addicted to online surplus auctions. 

That’s right.  I buy used surplus goods that schools, cities, and other local government agencies no longer want.  And I’ve been getting some great deals.  That camera above?  I got it, a fabulous camera case, a bookcase and a 2-drawer cabinet for $6.36, and that’s including tax.  Yes, the camera is older. It needed some new batteries, and we brushed some corrosion off the contacts. But now it works just fine.  My daughter claimed the camera as soon as she saw it at the warehouse where we went to pick up our treasures.  She loves to take pictures! To be fair, her cell phone probably takes better pictures than this camera, but to quote my daughter, this camera makes her feel legit.  It looks like a professional camera.  It feels like a professional camera.  So to her, it is a professional camera.  

How it began

My latest obsession started innocently enough.  I wanted a chair to work out in.  Recently I started doing some seated work out YouTube videos for seniors.  I have knee issues, so seated workouts are best for me.  I was using a kitchen chair, but all the motion loosened the screws. Now I can’t get the screws in tight enough so that they won’t come loose again.  So then I started using my office chair, but the arms get in the way.  After much pondering, I realized what I wanted was one of those strong, hard plastic chairs you see in schools.  They hold all different sizes and shapes of students all day long.  Thus, they must be tough.  Problem is, I had no idea where to buy one. 

My First Auction

Then I remembered that schools sell off furniture and equipment they no longer need.  So I googled “school surplus sales”, and found the company that handles the auctions for our local school district.  Checking out their website, I discovered they handle most of the school districts in south Texas and many of the municipalities.  And there was an auction in progress for a school district about 10 miles away.  Woo hoo!  I perused the auction listings, and found the chairs I wanted.  Unfortunately, the lot contained about 30 chairs.  I have no way to get 30 chairs home. 

But instead of giving up, I decided to see what else they had that I might be interested in.  I spotted a study carrel.  With everyone working and going to school from home, we need more work areas.  This carrel would be perfect.  It’s big enough for a computer and notebooks, and has an upper shelf for a monitor.  Priced at $5 it was a steal, and no one had made a bid yet.  Plus, the carrel was the only item in the lot.  I knew I could get it in my SUV. So I took the plunge, registered for the auction, and bid on the study carrel. There were some other items in the auction that intrigued me, but the only item I bid on that first day was the study carrel.

The next morning I couldn’t wait to get to my computer.  Forget work, I went straight to the auction site to see if I was still the high bidder.  Fortunately, I was.  From then on, I was hooked. Online surplus auctions had become my latest obsession.

Made bolder by yesterday’s bid, I studied the auction lots intently.  There were so many desks and cabinets, but in lots of 5 – 10 items.  I had no way to get those home. There were soooo many lots of computers, tablets, laptops and peripherals.  I was way out of my league on these, but I know enough to see these were a great deal.  Someone who knows their way around computer hardware could make a nice profit on cleaning up, repairing and re-selling these.  Which is probably why these were the most active lots in the auction.

The Obsession Starts

This time through I noticed a lot of 5 “reception chairs” as they were called.  They were basically nice chairs for waiting to see the principal or other office staff.  I noticed good looking ones in the bunch that did not have arms.  They would work for my exercise videos.  The others I would just sell on Craigslist.  Currently, the high bid was $5, so I bid $6, and was the high bidder for the rest of that day.

Continuing through the available auction lots, I found one that had a bookcase, a student desk, artificial plants, a play kitchen, a dollhouse, and some other toys,  – and what really caught my eye – 2 flat screen monitors.  I briefly wondered who put these lots together.  But my desire for the monitors overtook my curiosity.  The current bid on the entire lot was $6.  I bid $7 and crossed my fingers.  It wasn’t until then that I realized what a rush I was getting every time I placed a bid.  I have always been a bargain hunter.  I had found new game to hunt!

Oh no! I was Outbid!

Luckily, I was outbid overnight on the eclectic lot with the monitors.  I realized the next morning that I could never fit all that stuff in my SUV.  Or even in my SUV and my daughter’s car.  And the bidding instructions were pretty adamant about having to take the entire lot.  So I bid a fond farewell to the monitors, and went to check on my other bids. 

Apparently, someone else was quite interested in the reception chairs, as that auction had been bid up to $12.  I wanted them enough to bid $13, but was immediately outbid.  I decided to think about this for a while and revisit the auction later.  Checking on my study carrel, I found I had been outbid there as well.  That was now up to $7.  I really wanted the study carrel, but decided to check it again in the afternoon. 

The Bidding Heats Up!

Today was the last full day of bidding.  The auction ended the next morning at 10 am.  Items that had no bids had their opening bid price dropped.  A lot of metal computer desks and a library book cart had been dropped to $1.  I really hadn’t noticed this lot before, but the $1 price caught my eye.  I realized the computer desks would make great work spaces.  And they were on wheels, so we could move them around the house to where ever we needed them. 

The book cart had 2 sides of 3 shelves each, and was on was also on wheels.  I’ve been in the process of cleaning out closets, and the book cart would be perfect for sorting clothes that we wanted to keep on one side and those to donate on the other.  Plus I could move it around with me as I worked my way through the closets.  Sold!!  Okay, so not necessarily sold.  I had to go through the auction process.  So, I placed my $1 bid and waited to see how it went. My latest obsession is rolling along.

Apparently, there are auction “pros” who wait until the very end of an auction and bid on low price items and items selling well below their value.  By the end of the day, my $1 lot of computer carts and book cart was up to $8.  My reception chairs were now $20.  Bye-bye reception chairs.  My study carrel was still at $7.  There had only been one other bidder.  I was tempted to bid $8 that evening, but I made myself wait until the next morning.  I set my alarm early, ready to take on the last hours of the auction. 

The Clock Ticks Down On My Latest Obsession

On the last morning of the auction, I was at my computer at 7 am, ready for some strategic bidding.  I checked all my lots.  The reception chairs were now up to $40.  Clearly somebody saw something in those chairs that I had missed.  I checked the study carrel.  Still sitting at $7, I bid $8.  I was not automatically outbid.  (The auction has a function where you can set a max bid, and it will automatically bid for you if someone else makes a bid, up to the amount of your max bid.)

I knew I needed to keep a close eye on the study carrel, but for now I was the high bidder.  Next up was the computer and book carts.  Overnight, the bid had gone to $10.  I had to decide if I wanted them enough to bid $11.  Yes, I know $11 is such a small price.  But it’s not just about the price.  It’s about bidding strategy and getting a great deal.  And I’m cheap.  🙂

In between working, I checked the auction every 30 minutes or so.  I was still the high bidder on the study carrel.  I decided this was the item I really wanted, so I kept my focus on this auction. About 30 minutes before the auction closed, I checked the computer and book carts lot.  The next bid was still at $11.  So, I bid the $11 and held my breath.   The carts auction closed about 10 minutes after the study carrel, so I knew had time to check this auction one last time. 

And the Winning Bidder Is…

I watched as the last seconds ticked down on the study carrel auction.  I was the high bidder!! Yes!!  I was so excited.  But I would celebrate later as I had to check out the carts auction before it closed.  The high bid was still my $11.  Nervously I watched as the minutes counted down.  I had heard that sometimes the auction “pros” swoop in at the last minute to “steal” the auction, but apparently the “pros” weren’t interested in the items I wanted.  The high bidder of the computer and book carts auction was me.  I had won 2 auctions!  It was quite the rush!

My auction-winning “high” continued throughout the day.  In the afternoon, I received an email with my invoice, and a link to pay online.  Due to the virus, all payments must be made online now.  I read all the procedures for picking up my items.  There are also many social – distancing protocols in effect, and you must have an appointment to pick up your items. I made an appointment for Wednesday of the following week. In this auction, the items would be brought out to our vehicle by forklift, and we were responsible for loading them.  I figured I should be able to fit the study carrel and 3 carts into my SUV and my daughter’s car.  I was wrong.

No Auction, No Rush

The next day started sadly as I realized there was no auction to watch.  I missed the excitement of checking the status of my items each day.  So I went back to the auction website just to look around.  Happily, there was a new auction starting that day for the city right next to where we live.  Perusing all the auction items, I found several I was interested in.  They didn’t have the chairs I wanted, but they did have some others.  The also had some bookcases, and I needed a new one.  All in all, I placed a bid on 4 auction lots.  The auction rush continues!

As its my latest obsession, every day I checked my auction lots. Eventually I was out bid on all but one lot.  I decide when I begin bidding how high I am willing to go.  Otherwise, my bidding could get out of hand quickly. The last morning of the auction, I watched the timer count down on the one lot where I was the high bidder.  There had been only 1 other bid on this auction, so I knew there wasn’t a lot of competition.  Happily, I won the auction with a bid of $6.  There’s fees and taxes on top of that, but those are all a percentage of the winning bid, so they would be minimal.  This lot included the bookcase, the camera and case, and a 2 drawer cabinet.  Not bad for $6!

Time to Pick Up Our Treasures

More importantly, today was the day I was to pick up my items from the first auction.   I was excited, yet nervous.  What if we couldn’t fit them all in our vehicles?  What if we couldn’t life them?  Our appointment was at 2:30, so I sent my boss an email that I need to take a long, late lunch, but would be back online later in the afternoon.  I had printed out the map to the pickup site at the school district’s warehouse and had a hard copy of my payment receipt.  We were ready to go!

This had been a good size auction, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  When we got to the warehouse, there were signs directing us to the back.  We went around to the back and into the parking lot.  No one else was there.  There was an A/V cart with a sign to call the posted phone number and someone would give further instructions.  We called and were told to go to pick-up location #2.  I looked around and noticed signs with large, hand-written numbers on them.  Location #2 was straight ahead.  We pulled in and waited, and a guy came out on a forklift to get our paperwork.  He told us he told us he’d be right back with our items.  It was a blistering hot day, and Location #2 was not in the shade, so we waited in our cars. 

Important Lesson #1

The study carrel was brought out first.  It was much bigger than I expected.  I was starting to worry about getting all my stuff home.  Two of the computer carts were brought out next.  They were also bigger than I expected.  It’s hard for me to approximate the size of these things from the auction pictures.  Especially when the only thing in the picture is the item.  There’s no frame of reference, and boy did I blow it when I estimated the size of my auction “treasures”.  Lastly, the library cart was brought out.  That was about the size I expected it to be.  So now we had to figure out how to get these treasures in our vehicles. 

The only thing that would fit in my daughter’s trunk was a computer cart.  And we had to tie it in place with a sheet that luckily was in my car.  We were able to get the library cart and the study carrel in my SUV.  But there was no way we were getting the other computer cart in either of the vehicles.  Due to their Covid protocols, we could not just take home what we had and come back.  About that time, another auction winner showed up to get his lots.  He had a big truck.  I asked him if he wanted the computer cart.  He was happy to take it off our hands. 

We headed home, slowly as our cargo kept us from closing the trunks of our vehicles.  We got home, unloaded the cars and brought our treasures into the house.  Luckily, all of our items had wheels, so getting them into the house was not an issue.  Overall, the auction experience was successful.  But I learned a couple of important lessons so far.

Important lesson #1 – items in the auction may be larger than they appear!  Until I get a better understanding of the size of the items I am bidding on, I should not attempt to win more than 1 lot at any given auction.

Important Lesson #2

The auction for the city next to ours had already ended, and I had won an auction lot. At that point I was very thankful I did not win any more.  I was reasonably confident that the 3 items would fit in my SUV.  But I would have to wait until the next week to find out.

As it turned out, this auction pick up was much more casual than the one the week before.  It was much smaller, and basically any time you wanted to pick up was fine.  All of the auction items were stored in a bay of the community center garage. There was a nice young man who met us at the garage door.  Of course, my items were at the far end of the garage bay.  The young man helped us get the items to our vehicle, and even helped us load them into the vehicles.  We put the bookcase in my SUV and the 2-drawer cabinet into my daughter’s trunk.  The camera went on the front seat with me.

When we got home, we brought the camera in the house and struggled to get the bookcase out of my SUV.  We left the cabinet in my daughter’s trunk.  It was another blistering hot Texas day.  We finally managed to get it out, and let it sit on the driveway until later in the day when the weather is cooler.  Texas afternoon heat can be dangerous, and I’m a chubby old lady. 

Around dusk, we went back out to get the cabinet out of my daughter’s trunk. It was made of real wood, and was heavier than I expected.  We should have called my stepson, but we tried to do ourselves.  We managed to lift it out and had it sitting on the lip of the truck.  It was still quite hot out, and my hands were getting sweaty.  As we tried to move the cabinet off the lip and onto the driveway, it slipped.  Crash!  The bookcase hit the pavement and shattered.  Uh oh.  No cabinet for us.  🙁

Important lesson #2 – be sure you have enough muscle to load and move your auction treasures.  Every new experience is a learning experience, and this was no exception.  We won’t try to lift anything that heavy by ourselves again.  I’m just very thankful that cabinet did not land on our toes!

The Rush Continues. And So Does My Latest Obsession.

While picking up my items, I spotted a lot of chairs that I recognized from the auction that hadn’t been picked up yet.  They looked better in person than they did in the auction picture.  I asked if the person who won them was still coming to pick them up.  The nice young man said the chairs were scheduled for pick up the next day, but would call me if the winner failed to get them. Since then I’ve talked to the nice young man twice.  The winner picked up some, but not all of the chairs.  He has 2 more days to get the rest.  If he doesn’t come back to get them, they’re mine! Bonus rush!!

Despite issues with fitting my auction winnings in my vehicles, and dropping those that were too heavy, I continue to peruse the auction offerings.  I placed a few bids on some auctions in the general area, but was outbid by the time the auction ended.  Most of these are further than I want to travel, so I’m not too upset about being outbid.  The rush of the bidding is what I really want. 

Every week, new auctions are added as the current ones come to a close.  I even found another auction site that handles surplus items for local cities and government agencies. 

My latest obsession is going strong. Currently, I have bids going in 4 different actions at 2 different auction houses.  I’ve been outbid on two, but the current bids are still below my max amount.  So, I watch the items each day, as I wait for the last day to make my bids. If there’s going to be a bidding war, it will happen that last morning. One of the auctions is even for the school chairs that started this whole thing.  There’s only 5 in the lot, and there hasn’t been much interest, so I’m hopeful my chances are good.  On the plus side, I know I can fit those 5 chairs in my SUV, and they are easy enough to lift out of it.  In the meantime, the rush of the auction continues!