I'm in the market for a new telly, since I'm doing up my 'den' room.
I've put a nice leather couch in it, got my desk all set up and the last thing to add is a telly. In the room next door are my consoles, and I want the option of playing them either in the living room or in the den, without having to physically move them or buy new consoles altogether. So I plan to get a 3 in, 2 out HDMI splitter which will allow me to run an HDMI cable through the wall to the den room while not interrupting the TV signal in the living room. With the wireless controllers on 360 and PS3, I should be able to use the machines even though they're through the wall.
So when I saw an advert in the paper for an auction being held in the Crowne Plaza Glasgow by a company who I will not name, I was intrigued. The advert said something like:
'Fine art auction. Hotel Clearance, Customs and Government auctions.
Blah, blah, blah. The auction was taking place near where I live, so I decided to go along and take a look. Having never been to an auction before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I will not be going back to one run by that particular company.
Like the advert said, there was a huge amount of items for sale, including HD TVs of all makes and sizes, cases of wine and champagne, paintings, laptops, furniture, the lot. So I was quite impressed at first, but wasn't sure about the fact that there was only an hour to view the items and there was no catalogue or agenda for when each item would be auctioned.
The guy who conducted the auction absolutely loved the sound of his own voice, and babbled away for about half an hour, desperately trying to build the appearance of a friendly rapport with the huge audience before finally getting on with the business in hand. Since I know nothing about art or wine, I couldn't be bothered with the paintings, furniture or wine auctions, and was hoping that I wouldn't have to wait too long to see what prices the TVs and laptops went for.
After about an hour, the first laptop came up (a Dell Studio 15, average spec) for sale and went for more than you could buy it for from Dell. The price started at £50, and immediately dozens of people put their hands up. Now I know that people can be stupid, but there were so many people willing to inflate the auction price that I can only assume that some were planted there by the auction company. Basic logic would tell you not to bid too quickly, and keep the price low - especially when you consider that there were multiples of most items and that as soon as the first one was sold, the rest of them were offered to other bidders at the same winning bid price.
The auctioneer was a smarmy git. He tried to placate the audience by saying that in the past they had bid too high for items which you can get cheaper elsewhere, and that he would try to keep the prices down in order to give people the best deal. What a load of tosh.
After what seemed like an eternity of horrible paintings, crap redwood furniture and boxes of ties and unknown perfume brands, one or two TVs were auctioned. Dozens of people ended up paying £187.50 for a really crappy 19 inch LCD TV (sale price was £150, then add 10% auctioneer commission and 15% VAT = £187.50) which you can buy for £100 online. RIP OFF (Though to be fair, the additional 25% was clearly indicated on the auction leaflet and by the auctioneer).
They then sold a Sharp 50 inch 1080p Plasma TV for £600 (£750) which you can get for £645 online.
Even though I was disappointed, I was still intrigued by the auction process. So I stayed a bit longer to see what prices the rest of the stuff would go for. The auction swiftly returned to the horrible paintings and crap furniture, with the occasional laptop sale in between.
After three hours in total, I gave up. The whole thing was a farce, and I feel bad for the stupidity of the people who paid a fortune for something they could've gotten from a local retailer for a lot less.
My conclusion then, is this: if you are looking for something specific, do your research. Check out the online prices, because if you go to one of these 'auctions' you will most likely NOT get a cheaper price. Take the easy route, buy your item from a reputable online retailer and save yourself the hassle of being conned by a company who try to give the impression they're looking out for the bidders, but who actually want to fleece them for every penny they've got.
Fact of Life #2: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is
I've put a nice leather couch in it, got my desk all set up and the last thing to add is a telly. In the room next door are my consoles, and I want the option of playing them either in the living room or in the den, without having to physically move them or buy new consoles altogether. So I plan to get a 3 in, 2 out HDMI splitter which will allow me to run an HDMI cable through the wall to the den room while not interrupting the TV signal in the living room. With the wireless controllers on 360 and PS3, I should be able to use the machines even though they're through the wall.
So when I saw an advert in the paper for an auction being held in the Crowne Plaza Glasgow by a company who I will not name, I was intrigued. The advert said something like:
'Fine art auction. Hotel Clearance, Customs and Government auctions.
Valuable paintings, fine wines and champagne, all at heavily reduced prices to clear.
Also available are HD Televisions all with full manufacturers warranty, in sizes from 26 inch to 50 inch, LCD and Plasma. Reserve prices starting from £100.
Laptops, brand new with warranties from manufacturers such as Dell, HP and Toshiba. Starting prices from only £50'
Blah, blah, blah. The auction was taking place near where I live, so I decided to go along and take a look. Having never been to an auction before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I will not be going back to one run by that particular company.
Like the advert said, there was a huge amount of items for sale, including HD TVs of all makes and sizes, cases of wine and champagne, paintings, laptops, furniture, the lot. So I was quite impressed at first, but wasn't sure about the fact that there was only an hour to view the items and there was no catalogue or agenda for when each item would be auctioned.
The guy who conducted the auction absolutely loved the sound of his own voice, and babbled away for about half an hour, desperately trying to build the appearance of a friendly rapport with the huge audience before finally getting on with the business in hand. Since I know nothing about art or wine, I couldn't be bothered with the paintings, furniture or wine auctions, and was hoping that I wouldn't have to wait too long to see what prices the TVs and laptops went for.
After about an hour, the first laptop came up (a Dell Studio 15, average spec) for sale and went for more than you could buy it for from Dell. The price started at £50, and immediately dozens of people put their hands up. Now I know that people can be stupid, but there were so many people willing to inflate the auction price that I can only assume that some were planted there by the auction company. Basic logic would tell you not to bid too quickly, and keep the price low - especially when you consider that there were multiples of most items and that as soon as the first one was sold, the rest of them were offered to other bidders at the same winning bid price.
The auctioneer was a smarmy git. He tried to placate the audience by saying that in the past they had bid too high for items which you can get cheaper elsewhere, and that he would try to keep the prices down in order to give people the best deal. What a load of tosh.
After what seemed like an eternity of horrible paintings, crap redwood furniture and boxes of ties and unknown perfume brands, one or two TVs were auctioned. Dozens of people ended up paying £187.50 for a really crappy 19 inch LCD TV (sale price was £150, then add 10% auctioneer commission and 15% VAT = £187.50) which you can buy for £100 online. RIP OFF (Though to be fair, the additional 25% was clearly indicated on the auction leaflet and by the auctioneer).
They then sold a Sharp 50 inch 1080p Plasma TV for £600 (£750) which you can get for £645 online.
Even though I was disappointed, I was still intrigued by the auction process. So I stayed a bit longer to see what prices the rest of the stuff would go for. The auction swiftly returned to the horrible paintings and crap furniture, with the occasional laptop sale in between.
After three hours in total, I gave up. The whole thing was a farce, and I feel bad for the stupidity of the people who paid a fortune for something they could've gotten from a local retailer for a lot less.
My conclusion then, is this: if you are looking for something specific, do your research. Check out the online prices, because if you go to one of these 'auctions' you will most likely NOT get a cheaper price. Take the easy route, buy your item from a reputable online retailer and save yourself the hassle of being conned by a company who try to give the impression they're looking out for the bidders, but who actually want to fleece them for every penny they've got.
Fact of Life #2: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is
