The first shall be last and the last shall be first

How do you lose hundreds of dollars during an auction? Well let me tell you...

 

Several months ago I was sifting through the business section of my local newspaper and found a fitness gym that was going out of business. The advertisement was for an auction company that was holding an absolute auction on the gym's equipment and materials. It looked like a great opportunity to pick up some good bargains so I decided to go.
 
This was an extremely well attended auction. The auction company had done a great job of getting the word out. They had all the equipment sorted and separated and ready for the auction block. There were all sorts in attendance from young to old, professional gym rats to professional professionals. As I often times do when attending an auction of this nature (read - about something I know nothing of) I will watch others. I watch their actions. I watch how they bid, when they bid, how much they bid and as many nuances as I can. After watching several items come and go I try to locate the high middle of the road winner of some of the items. Once located I position myself close by for the next several bid items. This gives me an up close and personal view from their perspective.
 
I had done such with this auction as well. There were one or two whales in attendance and I knew it would do no good to try to pick their brains. I did however try but to no avail. They weren't about handing out secrets to a newbie on this day. But I was able to find an older man who had won several items and seemed knowledgeable on the sport of auctions. I moseyed up to him and in between bid items I would strike up small little conversations. The longer this went on it became he that was sharing tips and tid bits with me. Suddenly I found somewhat, though short lived, of a mentor in the gentleman. During the bidding of one of the four bench press benches he drew near to me and with a glint in his eye he told me, "Never, bid on the first item when there are several items of the same kind! Never!" I felt as though I had been handed the keys to the Holy Grail of Auctions. But then again as more items came and went the tip quickly faded.
 
Having been armed with some insights and some courage I began bidding on items. Like everyone else I won some and lost some. Then the moment for lessons presented itself. As the auction was winding down the big items were now on the block. The one item of particular interest to me were the racks of free weights that were about to be sold. There were seven very similar racks ranging anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds of weight. I wanted one and I wanted it badly...the thoughts of piecing that baby out and doubling maybe tripling my money was all I could see. As the bidding for the racks began my for the moment mentor had gone to examine other pieces that he had purchased. The bidding began and it began with a fury. The excitement and energy was high. I jumped in and hung on for dear life. Then it happened...a bidding war began. A war between myself and another soon to be fool. We dug in and kept running the bidding up. Finally after all the dust settled I found myself the proud owner of a 1,200 pound $275.00 rack of weights. I was on cloud nine...until I realize that in my eagerness to get one of the racks I had bought the very first set.
 
The next four sets went for $150.00. The sixth set went for $85.00 and the last set went for $50.00. Wow! What a lesson to have to learn the hard way. From my final bid to the last final bid there was a $225.00 spread. That was $225.00 I not only lost but was not going to recoup.
 

What's the lesson? Never, bid on the first item when there are several items of the same kind! Never!