Clueless Newbie at the A.S. Auction!

[Elspeth]

Elsewhere, I asked about how to find tank-bred bristlenoses, and was directed to check out local aquarium societies. Thanks Barbie, Heart of America it is! When I found the local AS on the web, the first upcoming event I found was an auction, this coming Saturday.

I'm planning to go, of course!

ANY tips on correct (and wise) behavior at these events gladly accepted. Any advice about buying fish at such auctions gladly read. Anything I should watch out for (aside from overspending and impulse buying, I figured those out all by myself)?

I much prefer the idea of picking fish up to the idea of having them shipped. But will fish at auction be bagged or in tanks? How soon will I need to get my picks home? Remember, I'm a clueless newbie and when buying fish at the store, I've always rushed straight home.

[Barbie]

When I'm heading to an auction, I always take a few supplies Extra bags, in case one of your new purchases leaks, and rubber bands are a good idea. I purchased a soft sided cooler or two (ok, 4 in varying sizes, but I use them all! Wait, I'm not sure that makes it any better ) and then I buy hand warmer heat packs. The temperature can vary where you're having the auction, although I don't remember ever feeling cold at the ones in KC. I usually warm one heat pack and tape it to the lid of the cooler, as soon as I get to the auction. That way, the bag is nice and ready for new purchases.

Take a notepad, and wander around the tables and look at the fish. Jot down any bag number that you might be interested in, and how much you think is a fair market value for those fish. When it comes time to bid, you may go ahead and pay more for them if you've always wanted them, but you can't later berate yourself for not thinking about how much they were worth that way, hehe. Value is all comparative, if you're happy with them, they were a good value, IMO. If at all possible, do NOT leave the auction before the fat lady sings, eerrrrr, wait, before its over.... those last few deals of the day can be real bargains.

And if you do decide to make the trek to St. Louis, you can try calling and convincing my mother to ride along. They'll hate to see her. She won two raffles in a row a few years ago and has a very nice matched pair of 29 gallon tanks to show for it!

Barbie

[Andrew]

You're going to have a lot of fun... and spend some money too.

Here's a few tips to round out Barbie's suggestions:

If you can, go to a local fish store and try to get a large styrofoam box with a lid. You can keep your winnings in these and they will stay warm, cool, whatever is called for.

When you're bidding, hold your number high in the air and wave it around and even call out if the auctioneer doesn't see you. For best visibility sit in the front and center of the room. Sometimes bids on the side or in the back are missed because the auctioneer can't see them.

There will probably be breaks in which you are allowed to look at the lots for sale. Take advantage of these. Write down the lot numbers if you can and try to pay good attention as they are being auctioned. If the auctioneer simply holds up a bag and says "group of six Corydoras aeneus!" you won't have the opportunity to look at them and make sure that they are properly identified, see how big they are, etc. If you take the time to look carefully at the lots you won't be surprised when you get the bag in your possession.

In my experience auctioneering for my club, the prices go down drastically as the auction goes on. The best deals may be found right at the end of the auction. Stay until the end to take advantage of the deals.

Keep track of how much you bid on the lots that you win! You don't want any unpleasant surprises when it's time to cash out.

Remember that it's an auction. The person willing to pay the highest price takes the lot home. Once in a while I see one bidder shoot another a nasty look when they're being outbid, but that's how it goes. Don't be afraid to overbid someone if you think the lot is worth the price.

Finally, take the time periodically to talk to the folks at the auction, especially the organizers (if they aren't busy working on the auction). There are a lot of great folks at club auctions and you'll have the chance to meet and talk to as many as you want. One of the best things to do is introduce yourself to an organizer and ask them who you might talk to about your particular interest in the hobby. You might feel a little silly but I've met some incredible hobbyists this way at auctions and had great conversations with them.

Have fun,

Andrew

[Elspeth]

Thanks so much to both of you!

The evenet announcement said the auction was open for viewing at noon, and started at one; so I'm planning to be there early! I would not have expected the lower prices to be near the end of the auction. I really appreciate that tip because it's the other way around at the science fiction convention art auction I attend every year -- the last pieces to go fetch the highest prices, I suppose because they are the "last chance" to get something nice this year. I expect my experience there will help with the mechanics once the auction gets underway. I'm not shy about singing out my bid (and bidder number when called for) loud and clear, and I receive dirty looks the same way I give them out, as all part of the game. (At the art auction, we tend to exchange overly-dramatic dirty looks which are rather obviously jokes; I'm probably conditioned to ignore the real ones, since I'm apt to assume they're not seriously meant...)

Keeping to a budget, that's the hard part. And in all seriousness the budget will be a lot tighter than I'd like, but it's still going to be fun!

I will definitely bring a small and a large cooler, and some heating packs if I can find them this time of year. So the "shelf time" isn't all that important? My concern is that if fish are offered in bags they've been there for some time before I get them. As I said, I always rush straight home from the lfs. The longest fish trip I've been on was about hald an hour, maybe 45 minutes and I insisted they use oxygen in the bags.

Introducing myself around will be difficult. I know I don't seem shy in print, but I am, let's say "easily intimidated" in person.

Cross your fingers for me Saturday afternoon, okay?

[Elspeth]

Wow, that was fun!

My triumph of the afternoon was an L260 (Queen Arabesque; Hypancistrus, erm, somethingorotherus) for $18. It's not one of the "fancy plecos" I've seen offered in lfs, so I just had to decide what it's worth to me. I think I got a good deal, as I'd have gone to $20 and possibly higher just on the basis of "I don't know what it's worth but I must have it!" A strapping specimen about half as long as my hand. Someone tell me now if I paid too much, I still won't regret it but it's nice to know...

The ancistrus kittens I was hoping for were there with bells on. I got two ickle A. claris for $10, then gave in to temptation and got a large bag of very small albino bristlenoses (I'm trying to find the bag... I think 9 little ones for $11 or $12). I like them but hadn't planned to have this many bristlenoses; some of the albinos can go back to the same auction next year, when they have grown large and fat and sassy! Three upside-down cats (S. nigriventris, and I'm pretty sure they were correctly identified) for aoubt $5 each (three separate offerings). One S. eupterus because I do rather like them, and because no-one was bidding at $2. Possibly because they announced this one as "a featherfin squeaker?" One clown plec, for similar reasons (what's not to like? And I got him for $4). One gibbiceps, $4, apparently I can't resist ONE large suckermouth. Still quite small now but will be the Big Fish in his (or her) tank, in time.

Cories: $7 for a mixed group of 5, one is probably C. arcuatus (sp?) and the others are speckeldy corydoras (and so might be idenfiable if I'd taken good pictures before turning them loose, but otherwise the description covers a lot of ground). And later picked up a group of 3 "albino cories" (I assume a variant of C. aeneus?) for $2 or $3, I don't recall which. Sure, if I planned to breed cories I would want to have a single-species group and know exactly what they were... but the mixed group (three bags were offered) was really great for those of us who just want to see a nice herd of fish snuffling along the substrate. I'm so happy with them!

Several plants, all labelled "plant" or "plants" and described as "Terry doesn't know what this is and neither do I (the auctioneer), but if it'll grow for him, it'll grow for anyone." And my only impulse purchase of the evening, a pair of some sort of betta which I am going to have to look up! I'd been rather admiring them (one person had brought a whole lot of what I consider "little fish" including bettas wonderfully un-like the ones in whatever-Mart and some incredibly beautiful guppies) and, well, last five minutes of the auction.

I usually feel kind of sorry for those of you who write that your spouses are not really into your hobby. Seldom seen in the fish room and so forth. I am glad that my husband shares my enthusiasm for fishkeeping, if not always for the same fish. However, today I discovered that there is a down side to this harmony.

According to schedule he was expecting to have to work on Saturday. As it turned out, he was free, so of course he came to the auction with me.

We now have angelfish. I can't complain that much, we do have a few more 55 gallon tanks to bring back into operation, and it's churlish to complain since "I got mine!" And they are lovely fish... Just... not what I thought we were going into next!