What are your recent worst buys and mistakes?

[clovis97]

I have a hunch that this thread will die a lonely death...

Just wondering what mistakes and bad purchases you have made recently.

I am a train guy, and about a month ago, bought a Lionel set...and wish that I hadn't!

I was at an estate auction, and went outside for a break, and when I walked back in, they were selling the set. I almost missed it, and now wish that I would have, lol. As usual, I was shooting from the hip, so to speak, and bid on the engine and set, without having inspected it in any way.

Of course, I knew that it was a turbine model, with 4 extra cars, all of them from Lionel's better line back in the early 50's. I also know that, generally speaking, there is usually some way to make money. I've bought enough of them over the years to know how to profit, no matter what condition they are in.

Well, this one has turned out to be a basket case, and that is putting it lightly. The engine is missing several of the most expensive parts. I am going to have to spend time and money, just to get it to run, if it will at all. I also found that there is a screw broken off in the shell...one more kiss of death to any value.

I've been trying to work on the engine, and found that the axles are bent, which can be a very difficult fix, especially since I don't have the specialized tools to repair it. The cars, which I thought I could pop for $10 to $20 each, all have significant damage. They are worth less than $10, even on a good day.

I only have $53 in the entire set. The story started bad, and has gotten worse as time has gone on. I am literally laughing at the whole situation...it is that bad.

I did very well at that auction...incredibly well...except for that set!!!!

 

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[Baltimore]

I know I have a bad habit of seeing something that looks good and then having my blinders go up and ignoring obvious flaws. Just the other day I found a couple shirts by a designer who's shirts sell for $80+ USED for $5 at a local thrift, and I was so surprised that i bought them on the spot. Of course I brought them home and discovered gnarly pit and collar stains on one of them. If I had kept my cool I would have noticed the flaws in an instant, but the fact that I found a sought after brand for the first time made me ignore the obvious. I'm trying a diluted bleach bath, but I have a feeling I'll be eating that $5. Live and learn is the name of this game.

 

[jerseyben]

My worst mistake that still haunts me: Paid $500 for a coin that had been "doctored". Actual value, under $100.

 

[clovis97]

Very good point, Nitric. It happens every day of the week.

I saw a vintage fencing mask with gloves sell at auction. I absolutely had no clue about them. I was just throwing the dice and shooting into the dark. An extremely wealthy antiques dealer started to bid against me, thinking that I knew something that she didn't. I (stupidly) went to $55, thinking she knew something that I didn't, and then quit bidding. She won it for $60. I watched her sell on it on ebay for $12!!!!

I learned long ago not to second guess what others were paying for stuff. I only bid to where I am comfortable, and then stop. Sometimes, I get sick when I learn what something is worth, only after I look it up.

On the basket case train set that I bought, I am a ​Lionel train guy. Even bidding almost site unseen, I thought "Even if it is a junker, I can make money on parts." Turns out that the last laugh was on me, since three of the best parts were missing completely, and the chassis won't turn smoothly due to the bent axles.

 

[randazzo1]

I was duped into buying a small collection of 19th century U.S. coins. They were all in little holders (not professional grading ones - cardboard).

The gent who sold them to me said he they belonged to his great Uncle.

I know little if anything about coins but figured they had to be worth more than silver scrap.

Not so. Our local dealer told me they were made in China in the last five years and we're all fantasy pieces. He said they should have been marked "copy" but they were not.

 

[clovis97]

Just thinking a bit more about your post, Nitric.

i think that is where most people start getting into trouble. They start guessing about something, and then start guessing to what others might possibly know.

I liken it to feeding chickens. If you throw out scraps from a dinner table to a flock of chickens, you'll see that some chickens will flock to certain items that other chickens have. I've seen chickens have an entire muffin to eat by themselves over in a corner, but will scurry away from it when they see that another chicken has something, and will fight the other one, even though it could be less than a single baked bean.

Auction goers can be just like chickens: Greedy to the point of being outrageously stupid.

 

[clovis97]

You probably already know this....Some people will auction or have sales selling their mistakes or pieced together junk. Sometimes it sells better this way than it would on Ebay.Because of impulse or bidding wars. After a while you will see what actions or who is just unloading their junk. Not that it's wrong to do! You just have to watch for that stuff. Like I said I have made tons of mistakes! What use to happen before Ebay. Guys would buy stuff at one sale and sell at a different sale because they learned the buyers. The original pickers! Not like the tv show! lol

Yeah, I've been going to auctions all my life. I think my first auction was when I was 10 or 11. That was a long time ago!!!

Estate tag sales are a new thing in our parts. Auctions make up 95% of the market in our area.

You are right. There are lots of 'pigs in pokes', if you aren't careful. In our area, most of the estate auctions are pretty pure, meaning that auctioneers won't add consignments to the sales.

The place to really be careful is at barns or consignment sales. You better be on your toes at those sales!!!! But generally speaking, often, lots of that stuff is sold cheap, or the word gets out about the item. ("Did you notice that the motor is missing from that train engine?") ("Yeah, I saw Jim Smith unloading those pottery pieces at the auction barn. He's known for repairing and repainting pottery, so beware!!!")

I bought some furniture a few years ago at an estate auction, and needed to flip it FAST due to no storage, so I took it to the best auction barn for selling furniture. I lost money on one item, but made $60 on the other! You can make decent money flipping from barn to barn. You just have to know what markets pay the best. You don't want to take a heifer to a thoroughbred auction, KWIM? Lots of people still make good money flipping from barn to barn.

 

[diggummup]

My worst buys or mistakes usually deal with finding damages or imperfections in a piece that I didn't or couldn't see or feel because of bad lighting. Although I did pay a bit too much for a pair of Royal Doulton vases recently, paid $120, that's probably all they are worth.

 

[BosnMate]

I'm notorious for bidding to much at auctions. Tried buying storage units, and after purchasing three of them, we broke even, and I could see the hand writing on the wall. Another time I got to an auction late, and they were selling a saddle really cheap, I jumped in and bought it, and my cheap purchase was eaten up with worms. Looked good from a distance, but worth absolutely nothing.

 

[Beachkid23]

I just went to a yard sale this weekend and the lady had a huge box of jewelry. I talked to her a little bit and found a 14 karat gold pendant and a couple pieces of Sterling there was a bunch of jewelry still in vintage boxes easily 15 pounds jewelry. Maybe 5 pounds of it were plastic cheap things but all the rest of it looked old and really good and the possibility of more stuff being in there was good seeing found a gold right away.

Wrong!!

Finding that about ruined the rest of my day because I wanted to go home and look through it I really didn't care about finding anything else! I went to maybe 10 more houses and then decided to come home for the day...

That piece of gold was the only thing in there that was worth anything. There is another bracelet set with matching earrings and a ring and pendant that might sell for $25. Hoping a little bit more seeing that it is krementz brand. The gold pendant was 1.3 grams.

I spent $100! Blah...

 

[clovis97]

Thank you for the replies so far!

Here is a dumb one...I bought a set of used OEM Ford floor mats at GW for $8, thinking that they would be worth a small fortune. These things are almost worthless!

Sure, it is only $8, but they are still sitting here as a small reminder of my stupidity! LOL.

 

[trdhrdr007]

I've bought plenty of stuff that ended up biting me in the butt. Fortunately I can only think of a few items that cost more than $10 and all of those items were before I got a smart phone. I still buy the occasional item I'm unsure about but if it's more than $5 I'm looking it up.

 

[dejapooh]

Were are you, clovis? We don't really have auctions here. The few I've seen, the prices were outragious.

Yeah, I've been going to auctions all my life. I think my first auction was when I was 10 or 11. That was a long time ago!!!

Estate tag sales are a new thing in our parts. Auctions make up 95% of the market in our area.

You are right. There are lots of 'pigs in pokes', if you aren't careful. In our area, most of the estate auctions are pretty pure, meaning that auctioneers won't add consignments to the sales.

The place to really be careful is at barns or consignment sales. You better be on your toes at those sales!!!! But generally speaking, often, lots of that stuff is sold cheap, or the word gets out about the item. ("Did you notice that the motor is missing from that train engine?") ("Yeah, I saw Jim Smith unloading those pottery pieces at the auction barn. He's known for repairing and repainting pottery, so beware!!!")

I bought some furniture a few years ago at an estate auction, and needed to flip it FAST due to no storage, so I took it to the best auction barn for selling furniture. I lost money on one item, but made $60 on the other! You can make decent money flipping from barn to barn. You just have to know what markets pay the best. You don't want to take a heifer to a thoroughbred auction, KWIM? Lots of people still make good money flipping from barn to barn.

 

[Tallone]

I'm glad you started this thread, clovis. I have thought about starting a similar thread several times but didn't figuring, as you did, that it would quickly fade away. I have always felt like I learned at least as much from my mistakes as my successes and I'm not too proud to share some of my boneheaded maneuvers with the crew here. Hopefully, others can learn something from me and I from them. So, here is my biggest blunder to date...



This is a motorized bicycle (not exactly a moped or a motorcycle). I bought it at an estate auction for $650. They started it up before selling it. I thought I knew what one of these would sell for so I figured I could flip it quick and make a couple of hundred bucks. During the auction I thought I would be clever and jump in first with a fairly high bid hoping other buyers would hesitate too long and not bid before the auctioneer closed the sale. Well... I was right. Nobody else bid on it.

When I got it home, I couldn't get the thing started if my life depended on it. I had a mechanic friend of mine look at it and he said it needed a new carburetor. I took the carburetor off and drove all over town trying to find one. Turns out this is a Chinese motor and nobody carries parts for these motors. I looked on line and couldn't find one either. I tried to sell it on Craigslist (hoping to get at least MOST of my money back) but the best offer I got was less than half of what I paid.

So then I thought I would take it to Atlanta and let my nephew (who is really good with motorcycle mechanics) see if he could get it running and then sell it in the much larger market of Atlanta. I told him I just wanted to get my money back and he can keep anything he gets above that. Well, he says he did get it running after scraping gunk out of the carburetor but then he also took some other stuff apart to try to turn it into a regular moped. And that is where it stands today.... hundreds of miles from here, in his garage, partially disassembled... for the last six months. He says he can't find a chain for it. Who knows when he will get this thing put back together and get it sold.

Lessons learned: #1 - This was WAY too big a risk given my lack of mechanical knowledge. #2 - Don't try to be so damned clever when bidding.

 

[roaddust66]

I have a commercial 8 lane slot car track like new in storage ! Just like we raced on when we were kids. Its cheap !

 

[clovis97]

Were are you, clovis? We don't really have auctions here. The few I've seen, the prices were outragious.

Indiana.

Go to auctionzip.com, and use an Indiana zip code, if you want to see how popular auctions are here. In comparison, look at estate sales.net with the same zip code. I'm telling you...estate tag sales are a new phenomenon here.

 

[OldSowBreath]

I've made way too many mistakes to list, but generally, they fall into not knowing the general values of a certain area (why I avoid dolls, glass, pottery, furniture, musical instruments and high end electronics), buying things too big or too heavy or very cumbersome to package, and, this is the worst - believing what people tell you the damn thing is worth. "They go as high as a thousand dollars on ebay!!" God, have I suffered for falling for those lines.

If it hadn't been for diggumup, Cyberdan and a host of others, along with the forum in general, I'd really be up a creek.

 

[DirtyHowi]

Indiana.

Go to auctionzip.com, and use an Indiana zip code, if you want to see how popular auctions are here. In comparison, look at estate sales.net with the same zip code. I'm telling you...estate tag sales are a new phenomenon here.

so you are the same clovis from over at HT been wondering...

 

[frankendime]

Not buying scrap gold/silver jewelry in the mid 90's when I first got into auctions.

 

[clovis97]

so you are the same clovis from over at HT been wondering...

I am.

Were you the person posting about TN on the CSF forum?

My goodness, it is a small world!