Biggest club Auction surprise?

[Melody]

It always amazes me - what a person thinks will sell for a lot, sells for pennies. What one would think would sell for pennies, goes for big bucks. Location plays a part too. Overall, there seems to be little rhyme nor reason to it.

I've had Applesnails go from one end of the spectrum to the other depending on which year they were there. Even the number available doesn't seem to impact it.

What have been the big surprises in club auctions that you've attended?

[Pamelajo]

We were just discussing this at a executive meeting. Bags of mutt guppies going for top dollar and bns, and cichlids going for pennies.

The big auction I went to Swords were going for big dollars.

[Melody]

What is up with that? I guess it depends on who goes and what they're looking for. Maybe more new hobbyists are finding out about auctions due to the Internet or something. Healthy common livestock is in big demand too now that hobbyists can find out in record time that the cheap big box fish are often weak and/or sick. The Internet has benefitted this hobby in so many ways.

Yet you could take a bag of show-stopper Guppies to an auction next year and they'll go for $2 - there's just no logic. It makes it fun in a way I suppose, but I hate to see breeders discouraged if their stock doesn't get what it's worth.

[fishykisses]

i couldn't get over the high prices of the plants last year. smallish anubias going for $18+
All the plants were really expensive.

[Melody]

Wow... I paid around that for big Anubias and several aren't commonly seen. :eek:

[OldMan]

I went to an auction in late summer that had a 55 gallon tank and stand go for about $30 and almost everything was dirt cheap. I ended up spending over $100 but came home with enough stock that it took 2 days to get everything settled in. The heterandria, that I couldn't actually see in the bag but just trusted they were there, were probably my most expensive buy at about $6. Very nice endlers were going for $2 to $3 for a bag of 6. Adult cichlids went for $1 or failed to sell at all. We brought home a bag of duckweed that entirely covered the top of my 120 for a single dollar but as my wife said, it was cheap food for my rainbow cichlids. I am not a big fan of BNPs but they were bringing a better price than most fish at $5 to $10 each. There were enough live plants going cheap enough that I took a chance on lots of plants that were new to me but looked nice so I spent a couple of bucks and tried them out. Not all worked out but I think I would do it again.

[Melody]

Those are amazingly low prices! I'm going to your auction next year! :laugh: Disappointing for the sellers though, I'm sure.

[OldMan]

I know that Mel, I was selling the endlers. :yes: This was at the Indy club sale.