One year ago today: July 26, 2014, Moscow camouflage.
Five years ago today: July 26, 2010, this music business.
Six years ago today: July 26, 2009, sample family conversation.
MORNING
It was agreed, this trip was worth every effort and dollar put into it. That auction was an education in itself. On-line or not, we do not know of anyone who has participated in one. And JZ has learned not to tell anyone (except close relatives) much. We hammered out the things that went wrong and have a strategy for next spring. I warned the world, we will become very skillful opponents. We'll be as fair with the world as the world is with us. To those who disagree, all I can say is that your complacency is hardly the same as neutrality.
Here is JZ watching the horses. We stopped to check the oil and saw these thoroughbreds. It also prompted a security truck from the ranch to drive up and videotape us. Obviously, there are still horse thieves in the area. We decided against a huge local breakfast, instead returning to the river to feed the critters. Where we systematically scrutinized every aspect of the last days event. That’s while drinking thermos coffee, eating Russian biscuits, and chomping chicken chowder as only I can make on a motel microwave.
One major item agreed on is we will put a stop to banks doing credit checks on us merely because they know our identities. We will incorporate or hire an agent. A target sum of money is agreed for ten months from now, the traditional late spring buying season. By now, JZ trusts my ability to find excellent scenic country back roads without a GPS. We took the byways to Port Charlotte. And smacked into one of those all-day summer rainstorms of the Florida west coast.
It is also agreed that these trips are among the most economical of pursuits we’ve got. Seriously, staying a weekend at home can easily cost more than one of my planned holidays. I’ve learned the economies by motorcycle and it is easy enough to apply to a trip to Sebring. This entire trip, including drinks, food, accommodation, gas, toll, everything, was $181.00.
NOON
By now, we were passing the beach at Ft. Myers. So we parked at the Lanai Kai. Where else? We had homemade corn dogs and iced tea. The Gulf was choppy enough to have real breakers (rare) and there were surfers. Not me, I staying under the canopy and read. Shown here in the distance is JZ strolling out for a swim. I know how the water seems warmer in the rain, but I am not a beach and ocean person.
It must have been housewives day out at Ft. Myers. I don’t do housewives. We took the coast road down to the Naples turnoff and decided on Alligator Alley back. I do believe I have seen that road more often than JZ who has lived here his entire life. I read more Cussler, this book is about water supply privatization, “Blue Gold”. He uses the Clancey formula of many sub-plots. And has mention our hero, Paul Trout” as being 6-foot-8 four times already. I guess we are all supposed to go “Ooooooooooooh”.
What I’m getting is accuracy, since by coincidence, the plot is placed in Baja California and Venezuela (so far). Both places I know quite well. And the writing is somewhat far-fetched. There are no unexplored waterfalls or secret laboratories in either place. The accuracy is otherwise good, it jogs my memories.
NIGHT
Taking Alligator Alley back, a most boring trip, gave us time to go (yet again) what we’ve learned. Don’t think all went fine, there were fifty things that went wrong. But that’s better than everything going wrong like the first time. And we are undoubtedly already far too well known in the area already. Take Arcadia, population 8,000. Several people told me it was 32,000. Attending auction sales is not the chosen approach to keeping a low profile.
We found the one dry location on the deck for our meal. The conversation was the events of yesterday. And the two hussies at the bar. Until they started chumming with some army types. I don’t do women who date soldiers or sailors.
It is clear that the on-line auction is quite differently run. The auctioneers appear to prefer the on-line bidding, although those said bidders were evidently bottom-fishing. They drop off rapidly when the price goes above $20,000. There is even a different set of rules for on-line, of which I kept a copy. And there is an underlying psychological profile to the entire affair, which I will of course now scrutinize down to the atomic level.
What did we see? First, the best bidders (physically present) were insiders to the process and what appeared to be husband-wife teams. Well, I mean, we noticed (with one exception) everybody in the room was also fatter than us, but let’s stick to business. Only one of each team would bid, while JZ and I tended to act in unison. Remind us to split that up and appear to be the two richest men in the room bidding against each other.
When I say insiders, I mean they are professional bidders representing some other party. They make a living at this--but they can’t be everywhere at once. We need to learn what criteria they use to take aim. That shouldn’t be hard. They behave like trained monkeys. Makes you wonder what is really being sold.
We also noticed the auctioneers have little patience for low-scale competitive bidding. Like our lady bidding up in $100 increments. There’s a mistake, letting us know that. That confirms (to me) they (the auctioneers) are working on commission. They also add a $3,000 premium to each house sold, another incentive for them to push for speed. The winning bid must give a check (no credit cards) for 10% of that bid or $5,000, whichever is greater. So make sure you have $5,000 before you show up. There are also other fees, which is a rip-off by the system.
The balance is due within 14 days after the seller “accepts” the bid, another contortion of true auction protocol. This normally takes 14 days, so it seems you have 30 days to come up with the money. But I would not push those parameters. And if the people in that room learned the ropes, so can we. But if the highest bid can be rejected, calling it an auction is a farce.
There is a secret base price. It would be interesting to learn how often that is enacted. Every “rule” we’ve encountered so far favors the seller. The wrong thing to do is to “learn the ropes”. You will not win, no matter how good you think you are. Be careful, mind you, for exploiting weakness can be more expensive than compliance. The bidder has to have ID and although nobody checked it too closely, you can bet the registration cards are not thrown out afterward. The property must go to the name on the card.
Beyond that, I’m not saying how much deeper things get. No sense telling the world any new-found trade secrets we come up with. My overall conclusion is we need more information, not more experience. Attend more auctions, find that pattern. It’s there, because the general behavior in the room was one of unquestioning compliance to some unspoken norm. These auctions are essentially playing the crowd. And that presents me an opportunity for the crowd to play back.
For instance, when more than a certain number of bidder’s show up, I would like two minutes to talk to them before we start. The Bluetooth connection? It’s radio, and we all know how unreliable radio can be. I’m not suggesting a thing except that all of this desperately needs looking into. In the worst way.
Last Laugh
The New Bicycle Seat
Return Home
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