RB Auction Issue

[stars&bars44]

So, in looking for a service truck which are tough to find for some reason, we found a few at RB auctions around the US.
Had my eyes on one at Atlanta auction. When the time came to bid the auctioneer called out for 70k, (Trucks similar have been selling for 45-60k) nobody hit. He got a 30k bid, I hit at 40k, went to 50k, I hit at 60k, went to 70k, then 80k, he asked for 90k, nobody hit. I had my phone in my palm at a table with 4 guys around me watching. I stopped at 60k mind you. Auctioneer said he had 80 on it and my phone showed I had it. Nobody else bid and it was sold to me for 80k. I called RB talked to several people, the Auction site manager called, super nice guy btw...and even sent me a video and some tracking software printouts showing the times someone "hit" bid. I explained I could not have "hit" bid without touching the screen but basically, they say all bids final and I have to take the truck. I did bid through the app for the first time there, Ive bid through my phone for years at RB and never had any issues. Any suggestions? Truck is a 2018 Ram 4500, 11ft service bed with 90k miles. New one is 90k here if you could find one.

 

[chidog]

And that is number one reason I only use a computer for this sort of thing here. And maybe amazon the wife has. If I can't call and talk to some one to order something I don't do it.
And I only use a phone to text or talk on no banking no business of any sort. And I really hate it when someone wants a signature on one of those phones or a pad, that is pure forgery of your signature IMOP.
You have no idea if that signature is being used for something other than what your signing for. Just too much trust in this electronic crap. I guess not many know what a key logger is.

 

[Welder Dave]

Wouldn't the tracking show who you were bidding against? Typically on higher priced stuff there are only 2 or 3 people actually interested in something when it gets near the limit of what it's worth. I wonder if somehow your bid automatically bid again after you were out bid? I know you can put in a max. bid on some items and increase it if your original limit is exceeded. When I bought tires online the guy bidding against me tried to out bid me at literally the last minute. I do like that if that happens the time is automatically extended. They were 2 sets of the same tires/rims. The idiot could have saved saved us both a good chunk of money if stopped bidding on 1 of the lots.. I'm pretty sure it was a used equipment dealer. You should definately be on RB's case if they somehow upped your bid automatically.

 

[OzDozer]

As an auction bidder of over 50 years auction buying experience, it's all too easy for bidding to be shonky in todays electronic bidding age. You have no idea who is bidding against you electronically.
RB's are quite backward with their technology and processes, I've found.
If any auction house tries to make you pay a price for something, where you claim you didn't bid that amount, you will have no choice but to say you're refusing to pay, as you have evidence you did not bid that amount.

Practically all auction houses will back down when this happens. They still have possession of the item, and they can still sell it again. They may try to claim the difference from you, between what it finally sells for, and what they claim you bid, but you still have the right to reject that claim, and pay a visit to a good lawyer.

Sometimes just a bit of correspondence from your lawyer stating you're going to defend your position will make them give up. But don't expect to be welcome at any RB auction in the future - unless you bid in your wifes or friends name!

I'm with chidog on the "using a phone to bid with" opinion. I also refuse to bid via phone, it's too shonky. The bidding apps on phones work far differently to bidding from your desktop computer. The apps compress a lot of info and often a lot of information is not readily viewable on a phone screen, you have to scroll down to see the vital "further information" - and communication glitches via cell tower interference can be common.

There's nothing like a big computer screen, to have all the information right in front of you, rather than trying to find it all, by scrolling down a small phone screen.

 

[Welder Dave]

In person is the best but I'm sure RB sometimes buys items if they are cheap and either sends them to another auction or resells them at a later date. Maybe a case of someone backing out but have seen it a few times.

 

[Bumpsteer]

Live auction, the auctioneer tried to up my winning bid by 500. Nice try, I walked up to him, sorry pal, you said sold at 1200. He got a little red faced and backed down.
Guess he figured he could scam 20 something yo kid

Ed

 

[Welder Dave]

There are definitely some shady auctioneers but not usually at RB auctions.

 

[cfherrman]

I have zero experience on the issue but you will largely pay 20 grand if lawyers get involved.

My guess is to lean on them real hard and try to get them to back down. Giving you info on bids is going to be computer mumbo jumbo

 

[jonno634]

Next time screen capture your bid , that would have date/time amount, etc. not sure it would help, but couldn’t hurt.

 

[masterwelder]

It’s seems like you might be stuck either way. Agreeing to bid on RB site is legally binding and you will more than likely need to go to court in the jurisdiction they specified in the fine print you may or may not have read. You will need an attorney licensed in that state should it not be the same state you're in.

You could just pay what RB says or hire a lawyer to pay what you claim and then pay the lawyer likely what might add up to what you would just pay RB in the first place. At least you may still have a good standing with RB if you work it out without getting an attorney involved.

I would try to negotiate with RB. Asking first to remove any of the buyer's and seller's premium. Then I would ask to split the difference between what they paid the seller and what you say you bid.

Bottom line is they don’t want to have to resell this truck, that will cost them money. They have to pay the seller the bid price less the sellers commission no matter what, that’s done already. Sellers commission could be something like 10%, I have never listed with RB but I would not be surprised at something close to that.

If my math is close, 80k - 10% sellers premium equals $72,727.27 they possibly paid the seller. You say you stopped at 60k. Meet in the middle at 66~67k? Worth a try.

There is always room to negotiate with a good company. And lawyering up sounds tough, and is needed sometimes, but it’s only ever tough on the wallet- yours.

 

[chidog]

Does it have a boom? I would have looked for something older and way cheaper and spent that extra cash on outfitting it and major overhaul of everything, new paint etc.

 

[oarwhat]

I was watching an auction on my phone in a holder in my pickup. When I pulled it out somehow I bid $30,000 on an excavator I had no interest in. I immediately called and explained it was an accident and thankfully they dropped my bid. Close call never used the phone again

 

[Welder Dave]

Most lawyers have a free consultation. Just getting a letter from a lawyer wouldn't cost too much and might convince RB there was an issue with the bidding. To just pay the extra 20K is like admitting there was no mistake. Talking about looking at another truck is kind of pointless at this point. You're interested in the truck for what you believe was your high bid of 60K.

 

[suladas]

There are definitely some shady auctioneers but not usually at RB auctions.

Ritchie's is *the* worst of them all. I don't trust them crooks further then I can throw them.

If you're a big customer of theirs you'll love em, if you are just regular joe blow you hate them because they are out to screw you.

 

[suladas]

I would offer to buy it at the most you are comfortable with, otherwise tell them to pound sand. 99% chance they will back down and accept or throw it back through next auction. Even if they are right in their paperwork about being liable, they won't bother with the hassle of trying to do anything about it. The worst you have to worry about is not being able to buy under that name/company again.

 

[Welder Dave]

RB have so much money they don't need play games. It is way better in person though. If there is a question of who has high bid, they will go back to the last known bid and start the process over. I've never had an issue bidding on items.

 

[OzDozer]

One of the problems with computer bidding is the "confirmation" part of your bid. I've known people who swore on a stack of Bibles that they didn't press the "confirm" button on a bid - but they won the item.
The problem there is, it takes so little to accidentally confirm a bid electronically.
Essentially, if this occurs, and you won something you believe you didn't actually bid on, is to call the company immediately, and sort out the issue. Leaving it to sort out much later is only adding confirmation to accidental confirmation.

 

[masterwelder]

RB is so big they most likely have lawyers on retainer along with a collection agency or two. Enforcing their terms and conditions is probably something they need to be prepared to do given the number and amount of their transactions.

I’ve dealt with some auction companies that have your credit card information on file and will charge your card in the event that you don’t fulfill your bid requirements. Not sure if that’s something you have to consider in this situation?

If RB are truly bums and unethical it’s an expensive lesson to learn and unfortunate. But from my experience if a individual or company is legitimate and cares about maintaining their reputation they will do what they can to work with a customer in the event of a miss understanding.

If your able to try and negotiate this yourself, is definitely worth a try. I know you said you talked to them already and they were willing to listen to your concerns, that’s a good start. I say make an offer to try to bring us to a resolution, all they can say is no. Demanding that they accept what you say is your maximum bid you entered probably is not going to work. You’re going to have to give up some ground here.
There is no doubt one way or the other this will cost you more than you expected, so knowing that going in, try to get out of this with as minimal exposure possible. I say that would be a win given the situation.

Hiring attorneys costs money and will put the other party in defensive mode immediately. That will shut down any of your ability to talk to them further yourself. Then you will be just paying an attorney to negotiate on your behalf with the RB attorneys. Even if it gets to court the first thing the judge is going to suggest is that the two parties sit down and try to work this out before they hold a trial. Trials take up time and resources of the court and are avoided if possible. The court may even suggest a neutral third-party moderator to try and work this out first before a trial.

It sounds like if you get to trial RB is holding most of the cards as they have from what it sounds like to me, a lot of documentation about how the bid process played out. I can tell you almost every time the party with the most credible evidence will typically come out victorious in court. Furthermore if you initiate a suit RB will most likely counter sue for their legal fees to defend their position.

I am not trying to be negative towards your situation at all. But I do have a fair amount of experience when it comes to lawyers, judges and courts. No matter who is involved and how you slice it’s all a negotiation right from you and RB trying to handle it a mono a mono up until you get to court. If you feel you have solid evidence to refute what RB is saying, I say go for it. If they are the ones with all the proof, I would do everything I could myself to bring this to the best resolution possible without spending a dime more than I had to.

Just my 2c.

 

[excavator]

Ritchie Bros is a good company to deal with until something doesn't go right, then they're a big company who like to push their weight around. I've seen it several times.

There are definitely some shady auctioneers but not usually at RB auctions.

 

[Welder Dave]

Double post