So, last night, the Pipers went to Canadian Western Agribition, one of the biggest farm and ranch shows in western Canada. We decided to sit in on the auction of the Black Angus cattle (bulls, cows and semen all up for sale).
Piper Cub was most intrigued, watching the cattle come and go with a careful eye, and following the auctioneer and his spotters. It was a fairly discreet auction, mainly hand signals by bidders and the spotters; no loud “Yups” like on Storage Wars.
Part way through, when the bidding on a particular cow was around $10,000, the Piper Cub starts waving enthusiastically. Having no desire to have $10,000 of Black Angus living in our back yard, I grabbed his hands.
He protested vociferously. “But Daddy, they’re all waving their hands!”
I told him that once he starts getting an allowance, maybe then he can start waving his hands, too.
When I was a kid, my parents brought us to a couple of estate auctions. My experience with this stuff was old Abbott and Costello movies, in which Lou Costello would accidentally bid on something when he scratched his nose, or whatever. So I literally sat on my hands to avoid doing this.
Now that I’m an adult, I’ve thought more about it. I would assume that your particular signal (nose scratch, or whatever) would have to be agreed upon with the auctioneer ahead of time.
Nothing like that in my experience at many farm auctions as a kid. Your first bid on an item needs to be pretty unambiguous, eye contact with the auctioneer or a spotter and an obvious signal. Once you’re bidding on an item, then you can go to a small nod or whatever tiny gesture you like.
If Piper Cub accidentally purchases a bison, I can probably hook you up with some pasture space.
If you accidently bid on something, and then win it (which I’ve personally never known to actually happen), you can deal with the auction house afterward. It is NOT a good thing and you may not be completely happy with the resolution.
Generally, a reputable auction is conducted by professionals who’ve had just about anything you can imagine come up. They have procedures for dealing with snafus.
Still makes for an exciting/terrifying few moments though!
I once bought a lot at an auction by waving a fly away from my face - luckily it was only about $5. I thought it was an urban legend - I was wrong. I am also a lot more careful at auctions now.
