Auctions making a comeback

For some it is the chase, for others the competition, but for most it is the sheer pleasure of knowing you have scored a bargain.

The ancient art of the auction is making a comeback. Online and in the bidding pit, many are determined never to pay the asking price, again.

We are getting savvier when it comes to our big and small purchases and auctions are booming because of it.

Since the credit crunch, the auction industry has enjoyed a 50 per cent increase in sales.

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Craig Edwards from Ross' Auctions said a variety of auctions can get people a bargain.

"I think people get a bargain at the police auctions, there's a lot of smiling faces when they leave," he said.

Pensioner Gordon Fish has bought nine bikes for $350. For him, it is a hobby that also turns a small profit.

"I'm going to repair them, check them all out, cut and polish the frame work and then I'll sell them," he said.

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For the last decade, Grays Online has been the market leader in auctions.

CEO Cameron Pullman said its customer base has grown by 20 per cent in a few months.

"At Grays Online consumers are saving up to 70 per cent off the normal retail price buying at auction," he said.

So where to for new auction hunters?

In Brisbane, Brisbane Motor Auctions, every Wednesday at Eagle Farm and for home wares the Cam Brown Auctions, same day same place.

In Melbourne, Breen's Auction Group in West Footscray holds auctions every Wednesday, Young's auctions every Friday in East Hawthorn.

In Sydney, D&D auctions are held every Sunday at 11am in Alexandria. Combined Auctions operate Monday to Thursday in Waterloo. Lawsons in Balmain starts at 9am every Friday.

Nationwide, Pickles Auctions hold its Motor Auctions on Mondays and Wednesdays.

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