Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I'm going to the local Deere dealer's annual consignment auction tomorrow in Bangor PA. I don't want to post the actual website as it is an active Deere dealer and might conflict with sponsors of this site. I was there last year and saw some real bargains on some old Deere tractors. There were well over 1000 pieces of equipment for sale, as it gives everyone in the area a chance to sell off their OPE they no longer want and several of the various local dealers to clean out unwanted equipment also. At one point, there were 3 auctioneers working at the same time, so I had to be carefull to keep track of where the ityems were I was interested in. The food is good, and lots of interesting folks to meet. The weather man is predicting severe rain all day with flood warnings, so there might be a chance for some bargains if the crowd is small. I don't have anything specific in mind that I am looking for, just hope to possibly catch a deal on any attachments for my tractors.

Well, I got there, to find out that it is postponed until April 16, 2005. This one is quite a ways off route 33, actually south of Bangor PA on Falcone road. I did do a walk around in the rain to see what was there. I saw around 35 used Deere tractors, over a dozen vintage IH Cubs, a couple of Gravelys, some Wheelhorses including a diesel D200, a Pennsylvania Panzer, a Case VC, and also a big selection of Sears, MTD, Murray, Simplicity tractors....... PLUS walk behind snowblowers, push mowers, hand tools, carts, mower decks, tillers (including an older Troy-Bilt horse). I don't know what they might be adding to the collection in the next 2 weeks.

Well I as there with around 1,000 other people and they had 2 auctioneers going at the same time. Started at 9:00 am and was still going strong at 12:30 when I had to leave. I saw running Deere 200 series tractors sell for between $275 to $350. A Deere 140 H3 with rear sleeve hitch and box scraper reportedly sold for $700. Some 1970's-1980's vintage Cub Cadet tractors sell for $200-300 in running condition. A Deere 332 diesel in excellent condition went for around $3000 (I didn't catch the year, but the last one was made in 1992, I think) I bid on a few items, but in the end, didn't win anything. So I went home , but had a good time anyway. There had to be well over 100 used tractors that were sold, and at least 200 push mowers, some of which went for a dollar. It was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed going.

Joe,

Glad you enjoyed yourself! Sounds like a man could get some good buys at the auctions, sounds like the place to go to be around older equipment you may want to restore too. What did you have your eye on?

I bid on a Brinly plow set up for the sleeve hitch, and a Deere 214, and Deere 824? walk behind snowblower, some odd tools here and there. Th Brinly plow went for $50, but was well worn, The Deere 214 went for $275 (I had $150 in my pocket  ). The snowblower went for around $400 (too high!) and the tools were not really high on my want list so I would start at $1 and if they went higher, they went to someone else. If I had more money, I would have brought home a 200 series Deere for sure. There were probably 700 items sold off, including restored Farmall Cubs, a Case VC, snowmobiles, wood working tools, like a table saw, and a joiner (that had been in the rain for 2 weeks sitting outside), a couple of trucks, some fencing, pressure washers, pumps, compressors, and more. Anyone in the area can bring their stuff to the site prior to the auction and have it added to the list. The local Deere dealer holds this every year, as it allows him to clean out the abandoned machines he collects at the shop and brings in customers. They had a complete open house and factory reps there with trailers from Stihl, Deere, Exmark and some others. I got to meet some folks from other forums I hang out at. The one real bargain I missed out on was a Haban 6 foot sickle mower attachment for a Deere 400 tractor that sold for $60 in very good condition. With 2 auctioneers going at the same time, it was sometimes hard to keep track of what was being sold where. This was my second year going tothis sale. I think I recently posted here about a Deere dealer relocation auction in Nebraska, so these events happen all around, just have to read the local newspapers and scan the internet. Another decent source of OPE is municiple auctions, where the road dept sells off it's old stuff. For most folks, the local newspaper is probably the best source of info on auctions, or get on some of your local auctioneers' websites to get e-mail notification. Sometimes "John Doe's" estate is being auctioned off and the focus is the 200 year old antiques in the house, so at the bottom of the ad, there will be a casual mention of  "3 mowers"....... could be junk, could be treasure, so sometimes you go just to see what the "3 mowers" are.