The dark side: auctioneer driving in marts

defadman

it has come to my attention over the last year or so the issue of dodgy auctioneers. In my area marts are full of trickery and auctioneers are playing a large part of it. It is well known in our area if an auctioneer gets the right man he will push him on without anyone else going. does anybody have exoerience or ever hear about it and what is your experiences

reilig

defadman wrote: »

it has come to my attention over the last year or so the issue of dodgy auctioneers. In my area marts are full of trickery and auctioneers are playing a large part of it. It is well known in our area if an auctioneer gets the right man he will push him on without anyone else going. does anybody have exoerience or ever hear about it and what is your experiences

I'd consider him a bad auctioneer if he wasn't able to push an animal on without enough bidders. It takes a good auctioneer to be able to do it and a better one to know when to stop pushing. Auctioneering is all about trickery. An experienced man's game. Nothing worse than an auctioneer with no experience - not knowing the value of an animal and not able to push it on when he knows he has a buyer.

Bizzum

defadman wrote: »

it has come to my attention over the last year or so the issue of dodgy auctioneer

This is going on years. Before electronic boards it was worse.
Phanthom bidders, and dealers cattle 'making' top dollar, though poor quality.
Your eyes would want to be wide open in the mart!
When your in the sellers box though it can work in your favour.
What annoys me most at marts is other farmers in a little clique putting bidders off certain lots as if they have a unique right to bid unopposed for them.

johngalway

Not sure if they're in with the auctioneer or not, but there's a bunch of regular vultures in my local mart that'd want to be cleared off to the factory. They have a meeting before the bidding and split up the mart, you bid on that pen, I'll bid on this other pen and so forth, but they never bid against each other.

Great when an outsider buyer comes in, talk about cat amongst the pigeons

Tipp Man

Been going on since marts began

We were selling a bunch of Herefords at a mart last autumn - good cattle but we were getting very poor money for them - I think it was 800 or something like that. so no sale we'll try them again. Back into the ring after a few lots - going better this time - up to 840. Still not great money but said I'd take it as couldn't be bothered bringing them home again. Told auctioneer to sell em - can't said auctioneer it's my own bid - home with the cattle

Out of curiousity do your marts put the cattle on the market immediately they enter the ring or does the autioneer take bids, ask you if you want to sell and then put them on the market??

We buy and sell mainly in 3 marts and 2 of them have them on the market immediately - a much better system for all in my opinion

pakalasa

I know in Ennis mart, they take them to the highest bidder. The auctioneer will then turn around and ask you if you are happy with that price. It's a case then of sell or take them home. It gives the bidders a short time too to decide if they want to put in another bid as the auctioneer will turn around then and look again for any extra bids. It speeds things up for the mart.
There's nothing wrong with you having a friend, bidding on your cattle either. Beat the dealers at their own game. Make sure ye both know the top limit or he could get stuck with them.
If you dont like how business is done in a mart, go somewhere else or complain to management.

Phantom bids are one thing, but phantom bids from the auctioneer is another. Happened to me more than once. he comes back to you and if you hesitate a little, he knocks them down to himself. Stopped going to the place after that. No wonder the place closed.:D