“Did you see the camcorder, still new in the box?” my auction buddy Janet asked me as we awaited the start of the auction at this new place we were checking out this week. I had seen the box inside a glass case but had just ignored it, focusing more on the old – not the new – stuff.
She had overheared the auctioneer/owner tell a bidder that the camcorder had never been used and usually sold for $600. She watched as the bidder checked out the camcorder on his smart phone and then called over his own auction buddy. Told him that he was going to get it.
That’s before Sherry stepped in. I have a camcorder, bought it about five years ago. It records on tape and I rarely use it. I needed a new HD camcorder.
I don’t usually buy new items at auction, but I couldn’t pass this one up. So I walked over to the glass case, asked an assistant to allow me to look it over and took it out of the box. I always examine anything I’m interested in buying – old, new, in-box or not.
It was a Canon Vixia HG20 camcorder, with a 60 GB hard disk drive, 12x optical zoom, 3.1 pixel still camera. It was much smaller than the one I had at home and fit snugly in my hand with very little bulk. All the accessories – including the packing materials – were still in the box: wireless controller, power adapter, AC cable, battery pack, stereo video cable, USB cable, software on a (CD-ROM), manual.
As I stood there examining it, I suddenly turned to my left to glance over my shoulder. From a short distance away, the other bidder and his friend were staring directly at me, shooting imaginary bullets, I’m sure, into my back. The bidder knew that he had competition and he was not liking that idea.
I replaced the camcorder neatly in the box, handed it to the assistant and made my way back to my chair near the heater (it was cold in that place.) Janet and I were seated just behind the other bidder, to the right. I pulled out my Droid and started researching to find out the retail price for myself.
The HG20 was selling new on amazon.com for $950, and it got excellent reviews both there and on other sites. On eBay, it sold for up to $600. I found that you could also buy lenses, filters and other accessories for it.
This was “the” buy of the night. The trick, though, was to get it for as little as I could.
The auction started with the sale of several other items, including jewelry, guitars, watches and stereo equipment. I was very careful about not buying anything I really didn’t need, because I wasn’t sure how high I’d have to bid to get the camcorder. In my mind, I set my max at $200.
It seemed to take forever to get to it. Finally, the auctioneer started the bidding at $500, then lowered it until he got to $100 and said he could go no lower.
The first bidder went for the initial bid. He and I went at it past $150, then $175. He hesitated but the auctioneer egged him on. I didn’t flinch, though, but I was desperately hoping that he’d stop. The bidding went to $200. A man sitting up ahead of us turned to see who were making such outrageous bids. Compared to what most items were selling for ($5 or less), ours were in the stratosphere.
The bidding had reached my limit, but I couldn’t stop. I was too close. Then it went past $200. Fortunately, my opponent stopped bidding when I took the $230 bid. He didn’t know it, but it was my last.
Janet was convinced that the bidder was disgusted with me. So be it; there are no friends at auctions. Besides, I believe that he had walked away with a steal in cameras a week ago.
Sometimes you get lucky at auction and sometimes you don’t. I would’ve loved to have gotten the camcorder for less, but I think I got a very good deal. Now, all I have to do is take it out to some lovely place like Longwood Gardens just outside Philadelphia and shoot some fantastic video.
