Summary:

A client recently contacted ICS after his father, who lived on a non-functioning farm, passed away. He wanted to sell the farm and auction all the farm equipment and items in the home. He was not going to be able to attend the on-site auction and wanted ICS to get documentation of all items sold and how much they sold for. He also wanted to know if the auctioneer was doing his best to sell each item at a good price or if he was underselling things.

Conclusion:

An investigator was sent to the auction who was able to photograph each item as it was presented. As an item came up for bidding, the investigator observed that the Auctioneer seemed to do everything possible to get as much for each item as he could. On several of the higher priced items, the investigator observed that the Auctioneer would stop the bidding, recap, and continue the bidding which often yielded several thousand dollars more in the purchase price. Sometimes the Auctioneer would stop and start 2-3 times on a high-ticket item. It served to get the bidders to be motivated and start bidding against each other. As each item was sold the investigator kept track of how much the bidding started at, and how much it sold for. The investigator also noted the Auctioneer allowed bidders to put down 25% of the final price now and the item would be held in the barn until the full amount was paid. Only at the time the item was paid in full would the buyer be allowed to take the item.