When sold is not really sold

I think i will try to avoid the sale ring as much as possible when it comes to my show stock because you never know. I am bad about impulse buys and i want to be able to go out look at the animal, get close up with the seller, get more info/ a little reasurrence about what im buying (may not always be the truth but if not then its my fault for buying) and at that point if im still not sure i can go look at two or three others i like, get comparisons on behavior, build, price, seller gaurentees and if i decide i want the first calf i can go back and she will still be there waiting... usually... and if not then there are a few others waiting. 

I understand having someone bid up to the sellers  minimum.  Especially on heifers on a snowy sale day like we've seen around here.  I think the internet helps that, even allows sellers to make minimum bidders easier.  But when you bid, there are two more "bids", then when it sells, they said you bought it, but it "just got confusing there" when you've quit and gone on down the sale list...

In my case it was a split second decision, raise a fuss with the kid sitting next to you on the boys second choice heifer, or buy it and shut up about the extra $200, not knowing if the 1st choice heifer will sell in our price range.    It is why I don't like auctions and preach about setting your price on an animal whether it is a auction, handshake deal, or pasture phone bid.  I think there is a difference between bidding along to a minimum for "protection" and "running", I let them by with it for my son's benefit, but I would have liked to give them a piece of my mind in front of the whole sale.  As the sale went along it appeared that the prices dropped a little right at that point, I think they got a little scared even though they think they got by with it.

I will tell you we skipped that sale this year, and will not buy from the seller.  Heifer didn't grow either...

Mark

Show Heifer said:

I'm stealing this from BW, but wanted to know everyones thoughts...

You go to an auction and purchase a lot, the auctioneer says sold, announces your number and the auction continues. After the sale you are told the lot didn't sell due to a floor price, but the ringmen, auctioneer knew nothing of the floor.
The seller will not allow you to have the lot you purchased.

Who is legally right? Who is ethically and morally right (we all know that isn't always the same)? What would YOU do if you were the buyer? What would you do if you were the seller? What would you do if you were the sale management?

Click to expand...

I would consult an Auctioneer in the state where the animal sold just to make sure.  However, I previously had an Auctioneer's License in the state of KY, so I am pretty sure I am correct about this.  

The law may be different in other states & it may have changed here, but unless the item being sold is real estaste (which requires a signed contract & a Real Estate Broker), any item that is sold to the highest bidder, immediately becomes a binding legal contract between the buyer & the seller, as soon as the Auctioneer says sold & anounces the winning bidder.  Regardless of who made the mistake, whether it be the seller, the auctioneer, the ringmen, etc., the buyer must allow you to purchase the animal at the price that it sold for, otherwise they are breaking a legal & binding contract with you & you should be able to proceed with legal action.  If that ever happened to me & the seller refused, I would immediately contact the local sheriff & tell them exactly what went had happened.  If that didn't work, I would contact a lawyer & see what type of auction that you should take.    

Obviously, the Auctioneer/Sales Manager would most liable to the seller for making the mistake, if they had a pre-arranged agreement.  

If this actually happened to me, I wouldn't let it rest, because the law is one the side of the buyer!!
   

From what I read on the other board, he didn't know the seller backed out until after the sale was over and he was trying to settle up.  Really a bad deal for the guy.

Let's just put it this way, both the seller and auctioneer/sale management have a mark against them. Now either or both parties could step up and make it right in the eye of the buyer and that would say a lot. And they maybe working things out even as we speak. So there is always a path to redemption. We will just have to wait and see.

There is something to be said for the "Lost Art of CUSTOMER SERVICE" (What's that?)

Word of mouth is usually 80 % of most people's business.  I have done business with one of these in the past.  If they don't treat this customer right, I doubt I will use them again.  Who needs the headaches?  The market on anything is seldom held by one person.  That is what is so great about this world we live in....we can vote with our dollar!

I think ghost (shill) buyers are ethically wrong.  I've also been to auctions where there have been unofficial ghost buyers.  People who just want to run up the price for the fun of it.  If I find out it's happening, I won't do business there again.  If you have a minimum, announce it.  Let people bid, if it doesn't reach the reserve, the seller can then decide to lower their base price.  Most auctions I go to have minimum starting bids on all animals.

I think in this particular situation - from what I gleaned from the other site - that the sale management team should have made this good by paying the difference... just a thought.  I think there is a difference when you put on a sale and you hire a sales management firm vs just hiring the auctioneer. 

  Since I'm a curious person, I wonder if this happened with other lots at the sale but those people haven't gone public. 

As an auctioneer I can tell you that there are some "wild" deals made prior to a sale. From what I have read here it would seem that the seller is strictly at fault "IF" they did not have a discussion with the sale manager prior to the sale. If they did then the sale management would bear part of the responsability as well. Unless the auctioneer was part of the sale management team or had prior knowledge of what was going on, I can't see that he would be responsable in this case. I have had consignors pull a ringman off to the side while there animal entering the sale ring with "floor" instructions that I had no idea of as the auctioneer. Make absolutely no mistake about it - most auctioneers and sale managers keep good notes on every lot that they sell and mistakes are rare, but we are also human. I know when I first started I had to cough up some cash for selling a heifer below the floor. The consignor went home happy, the buyer went home happy and I learned not to hurry so much and read my own notes. Consignment sales are a nightmare if you are on the managment end of things, if there are 25 consignors, there are atleast 25 potential problems.