Questions to Ask When Buying at Auction

[SF]

Ive seen some dishonest things going on at sales. Namely people bidding on their own cattle or having someone they know (silent bidder) to drive up the price of their cattle.

Nothing dishonest about that, it's done all the time. Called "bidding them in" I believe.

Auctioneer still gets his cut, why would he care?

What is the diff between that and a reserve bid?

Now "ghost bidders" , thats a different story.

Some call this just protecting your investment (cattle). If you don't look out for yourself, no one else will for sure. The buyers are certainly not going to be looking out for you.

What is a ghost bidder?

 

[Dave]

A ghost bidder is when the auctioneer takes a bid that is not there in an attempt to run you up on the price.
I was at a bucking horse sale one time the bidding came to a sudden stop. Jim Shoulders was one of those buying horses that day. Jim looked up at the auctioneer and said, "I think it is time you bought one." He had caught the auctioneer ghost bidding against him. When he quit bidding it left the auctioneer holding the bid. The auctioneer had to buy a bucking horse which he certainly didn't need. I bet he was honest for the rest of that sale.
Dave

 

[Anonymous]

Watch for a buyer or two who buy lots of good cattle. Only bid on cattle they are bidding on. Never be the first one to bid. Only bid one bid more than the big buyers do. Look for cattle that are bright eyed. Don't bid on cattle that are dull eyed or seem cheap. Watch how they are breathing. Bad lungs are not a good thing in feeder cattle and one of the most common things that will get you in trouble. Watch how the cattle move. Again bad feet and legs are trouble. Pay little attention to the auctioneer, watch the cattle and the other buyers. Set a price limit and stick to it. Don't get caught up in the excitement of an auction. Bid slow, this forces the auctioneer to slow down and allows you to study the cattle more (auctioneers don't like this but it isn't his money you are spending).
In my area none of the cattle go across the scale before they are sold. They get weighed after they are sold. If this is the case at the sale you go to you better get good at guessing the weights. You can request that they weigh the cattle sometimes they will sometimes they wont. It slows things down so depends how much they want to please you.
If you can sit right beside one of those big buyers and tell them what you are looking for. They will generally help a person out.
Dave

Good advice, I would also add walking the pens as has been mentioned and to do all of this for a couple weeks or more prior to actually buying to get a feel for prices and how the action works. Buying cattle at the sale barn can be like your first poker game in Vegas, the sharks are circling. Dave you must be attending Centralia and /or Chehalis auctions like I do. Interestingly at least at a couple of the auctions I've attended in Oregon they weigh before entering the ring.

 

[SF]

A ghost bidder is when the auctioneer takes a bid that is not there in an attempt to run you up on the price.
I was at a bucking horse sale one time the bidding came to a sudden stop. Jim Shoulders was one of those buying horses that day. Jim looked up at the auctioneer and said, "I think it is time you bought one." He had caught the auctioneer ghost bidding against him. When he quit bidding it left the auctioneer holding the bid. The auctioneer had to buy a bucking horse which he certainly didn't need. I bet he was honest for the rest of that sale.
Dave

I think I might quit going to that auction afterr that experience. Good for Jim, I'd love to have seen the look on the faces that day.

 

[Susie David]

Over in our end when a good number of cattle are cosigned the sale folks run an ad in Sunday's paper with the names of the cosignees and the number of head. When cattle enter the ring the auctioneer will let announce who's cattle they are selling.
Doesn't take long to know who raises the good ones.
I look for clean, well fleshed cattle. When you see crap all over a calf's back end, that's not one that I want to take home.
Never be ashamed to go home with an empty trailer if you didn't get the bid on something that you wanted in your price range...more cows next week.

 

[Stocker Steve]

My husband and I are planning in invest in some 600 lb feeder steers to pasture for the summer and sell in the fall. We don't want to have to get them at the stock yards but in the case we have to what questions would you seasoned pro's ask and what things specific things would you look for? I know it is somewhat common sense but......... :?

It depends on your goal:

It you want to improve your husbandry skills then buy lots of cheap singles to comingle - - ideally horned bulls. You will learn a lot!

If you want to minimize your work then turnout a single sourced group of preconditioned black steers over 500# for 3 or 4 months. Life will be fairly simple. The "experts" who publish articles and spreadsheets to explain why there is no profit in grazing stockers usually use this approach.

If you want something interesting in the pasture then buy unusual breeds. Highlanders, belted, and longhorns qualify for this in my area.

If you want a chance to make significant money grazing then you need to buy animals most order buyers do not want... but you able to upgrade. It is hard to bid against a buyer who is using some else's money and focused on filling an order. Some upgrade opportunties are light calves less than 325#, mixed lots, and cutter bulls.

Have fun!

 

[Bucky]

The "experts" who publish articles and spreadsheets to explain why there is no profit in grazing stockers usually use this approach.

Could you direct me to some of these articles, I would be interested in reading them.

Is this grazing idea of ours a setup for disaster? :shock:

 

[Stocker Steve]

Harlan Hughes is one of the better published authors. I think his NPV analysis for adding replacments is usefull, but I have some issues with his grazing yealings conclusions. Start there.

A second source is some of the work Jim Gerrish co authored when he was at the Missouri grazing research center. An Ag economist was usually the other author so there was a fair amount of "figgering" included.

 

[1848]

My husband and I are planning in invest in some 600 lb feeder steers to pasture for the summer and sell in the fall.

Weight gain will have dropped off a little once you get to 600lbs, and just putting them on grass is not going to push their progress. Selling in the fall is typically the worst time to sell. Why don't you buy 350 to 400 wts in the fall when they are cheap, put them on a good winter mix for quick weight gain through the winter, and sell them at 700 wt in the spring when they will bring the most profit?

Are you planning on retaining ownership to slaughter?

 

[Central Fl Cracker]

After wacthing this board for a few months go private treaty unless you take a mentor to the sale barn with you that no's cattle.

 

[Bucky]

Well we got our steer calves. 31 550 pounders (we are young and just getting started). My dad (a rancher) went to the auction with us and we bought the calves of our neighbors, so we knew what we were getting. So far so good. We will see how much of our A** we get handed to us when we sell them! It has been a very good experience so far, I have learned alot.

 

[angie1]

I was at an auction in April when a "punky" looking calf came through the ring. The auctioneer went on about how a couple shots of this and that and the calf would be fine in no time. Well, when the calf sold, the auctioneer looked at the buyer and said, "the ground should be thawed enough in a few days to bury that one." i still laugh when i think about it!

 

[cowspider]

The auctioneer went on about how a couple shots of this and that and the calf would be fine in no time. Well, when the calf sold, the auctioneer looked at the buyer and said, "the ground should be thawed enough in a few days to bury that one." i still laugh when i think about it!
This happened to me once. They loaded it into my trailer with a front loader after the sale, it went down in the pen after I bought it. It died the next day.

 

[Dave]

There are those kind of cattle selling cheap at the sale every day. Unless you are a real good doctor and willing to take a risk it is better to pass them by. On the other hand I know a guy who has done well buying those cheap sick cattle and nursing them back to health. But even he has a 10% death loss.