[MailmAn]

I have registered with this local auction site to bid on items in the past. They have quite the variety of auctions - from real estate to estate sales to business liquidations, etc... I bought a bunch of commercial restaurant equipment at their last auction fairly cheap to try to turn around and sell. But their latest auction has a lot of interesting stuff and quite a mixed bag of items. The first item that came up was this Gravely walk-behind mower that I thought someone on this site might be interested in:

http://www.collarcityauctionsonline.com/servlet/List.do?auctionId=184&page=info&lotId=1&startLotId=1&direction=next&categoryId=&filter=&showThumbNails=true#maincontent

There is not much information about this walk-behind tractor (as is usually the case with this company's auctions), but it looks to be complete at least. There is no way to know if it is in running condition though until you buy it and bring it home. It is located in Gloversville, NY (about 45 minutes from Albany). I have no idea how old it is or what it is worth, but the starting bid on it is only $5 (as is the case with all of their auctions...), so I figure it is worth at least $5 to someone on here. I myself have no real interest in this machine, but if no one else bids on it, I might pick it up for $5 just to try to resell it myself.

FYI - You need to register in order to bid on their site. It is quick and easy to register though and it doesn't cost anything. You will get tons of E-mail from them on every upcoming auction after you register though. Also, before thinking of bidding on this, please be aware of the removal time for any items that you buy - REMOVAL: Monday, November 16, from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. If you cannot make it on Monday between 9am and 1pm, you will NOT be able to pick up your auction items and you will forfeit them. That is the only downside to this auction company in that I think they need to be a LOT more flexible with when you can pick up your items if they want to get more people to bid on their auctions. I think this scares away a lot of potential bidders. I myself can't really afford to take time off of work to pick stuff up as I just started a new job here in October. So, this may keep me out as a potential bidder anyways.

Well, anyways, good luck to anyone who is thinking of going after this old beast!

 

[tiretrx]

Looks like a Commercial 10A, 30" deck. I've had a couple. Solid machines. I'd gamble a C note on that if I had the opportunity. I won't in this case though, bit far. Thanks for posting, always interesting to see what pops up in auctions, etc.

 

[MailmAn]

Wow, really? This monster has a 30" deck on it? That's pretty good sized, I've seen a lot of riding mowers with smaller decks than that! I wasn't sure how big this thing was from the pictures. I was thinking maybe it was about the same size as a standard push mower. This thing looks more like a brush-hog kind of mower to me though than a nice finish mower, but am I wrong in my assessment? I notice it doesn't have any wheels on the front and it just uses skis on the front mower deck, which makes it seem like it would be a pain to maneuver. It does seem like a solid hunk of cast iron though and probably weighs a ton. I'm sure there were tons of other attachments that you could get for this machine though, right? (Like tillers, snow blowers, etc.)

 

[tiretrx]

Attachments? Yup, shingle strippers to ice makers(for real) and everything in between. The 30" deck can do some HEAVY work, although some folks use it to mow. There are 40" finish decks more suited to lawn work, etc. Gravely's are legendary for good reason. Both riders and walk behinds alike. When you've operated one, it's a habit tough to kick.

 

[PaulL]

I'm planning to take a shot at the auction. I have registered and am waiting to see how the bidding goes. I'm debating whether to preview it (1 1/2 hrs drive from home) or just bid based on the photos. I hope to replace my '69 C8 with this C10a.

 

[devans]

Holy cow an 18% buyers premium!

 

[tiretrx]

I'm planning to take a shot at the auction. I have registered and am waiting to see how the bidding goes. I'm debating whether to preview it (1 1/2 hrs drive from home) or just bid based on the photos. I hope to replace my '69 C8 with this C10a.

Good luck, Paul :thumbs:

 

[MailmAn]

I'm planning to take a shot at the auction. I have registered and am waiting to see how the bidding goes. I'm debating whether to preview it (1 1/2 hrs drive from home) or just bid based on the photos. I hope to replace my '69 C8 with this C10a.

Cool, good luck! I hope you win it for a cheap price and are able to add it to your stable! This is why I wanted to list it on here, at least I know it will be going to a good home if someone on this forum ends up winning it. (BTW - Are you 1942Ford, then?)

Holy cow an 18% buyers premium!

Yes, I know... I think this auction company is a bit ridiculous with their buyer's premium. But, all you need to do is keep this in mind and bid accordingly. If you know what you want to pay for it, subtract about 20-25% (to include sales tax, as you will be charged sales tax on everything as well, including the buyer's premium...) off of your target price and that is the max you bid. Personally, I think the high buyer's premium limits the bids they get on their auctions, but then again I have already participated in a few of their auctions (both online and in-person) and amazingly enough, it doesn't limit people's bids as much as it probably should. It always seems like a lot of people end up overpaying on items anyways and then on top of that they really get screwed when they have to pay the buyer's premium and tax on top of that. So, a lot of times you need to know when to step away and let it go, unfortunately.

But, with any luck, maybe no one registered for this auction will be interested in this Gravely or just see it as a rusted old hunk of junk that isn't worth buying, so you can pick it up cheap and restore it and have something really nice that will last another lifetime, lol...

 

[devans]

Well I hope PaulL gets it at any rate. I used to go to auctions a lot, then the buyers premiums started kicking in. I stopped going to the ones that do that. I didn't mind paying the small registration fee but to pay the bid, tax, and buyers premium too, nope. They're getting a fee from the seller too. Crazy.

 

[PaulL]

I am neither 1942ford nor adksurplus. I'm just waiting to see where they run the bidding before I drop in with mine. I have adjusted what I will bid to account for the buyers premium and sales tax. I would like to have it to use with my 44" power broom as it looks to be a quicker path to a 10 or 12 hp tractor than my non-running 5665 or non-running C10a. Since I have 2 L's and 2 C8's running at present I won't be completely dead in the water if I don't win the auction. Its just a little G.A,.S. attack that I am feeling.

 

[PaulL]

The auction was won by someone with a screen name trump for $270. More than I wanted to pay. I'll use my money for getting my 5665 and C10a running, which I need to do regardless of whether I won the auction or not. I'll keep my eye on CL and eB to see if it is being flipped for a profit.

 

[MailmAn]

Yeah, I saw that too. I was surprised at how much it went for! I figured maybe it would have stayed under $100 at least. Oh well, sorry to hear you didn't get it. Like you said though, it would be interesting to see if Donald Trump there (or whomever ended up buying it...) ends up trying to throw it on Craigslist or eBay in a couple of weeks for $500 trying to flip it...

 

[PaulL]

Figuring in the buyers premium and sales tax it would come to about $340. Add to that any cost to fix it up and he would need to charge $500 to make it worthwhile.

 

[devans]

If he's here in New England those are listed well above $500 all the time.