Martin Donnelly Tool Auction

[Stevie Hicks]

Has anyone been to the Donnelly Tool Auction in Indianapolis in Sept? I went to the auction in April of 2007 mainly for the Parking lot vendors but it was so cold that only 2 or 3 showed up.I did get a couple of things but was wondering if anyone had been there in September.Can expect the same or could there be more? Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Mark Stutz]

I've been to the fall auction in Indy once...last year. If your going for the tailgating...you will probably be dissappointed. Only 6 or 7 people were in the parking lot, and there wasn't much. I picked up a couple of chisels but that was it. It was very discouraging, since I had been expecting something like Nahua, where the lot is overflowing!

OTOH, most things seemed to go a little lower than what I would have expected, compared to Nashua. Last year about a third of the lots were old wrenches...and the OHIO VALLEY WRENCH SOCIETY was having thier annual meeting. I couldn't believe that some of these were upwards of $300.

Mark

[Dave Anderson NH]

I've never been to Indy, but I almost always go to the auctions in Nashua, on occasion with Mark when I can convince him to come and visit.:D If you go to the Friday auction, you will find mostly user grade stuff while the Saturday auctions are more collector oriented and priced accordingly. You can preview what is being offered by going to www.mjdtools.com (http://www.mjdtools.com) and looking over the individual pictures and descriptions.

WARNING/CAVEAT As an absentee bidder for Donelley auctions be extremely wary of basing your estimate of the condition of a tool on the photo. The photos are heavily brightened and the pix are shot in a heavily lit pro studio which washes out things like rust. I've inspected hundreds of tools over the years in person and they bore little resemblance to the condition shown in the photo. Also be careful about placing your bid based on the condition rating of the tool (eg Good+, Fine, etc.). In one auction lot a couple of years ago, I took the catalog and out of almost 1000 lots on a Friday over 85% were rated at Good or better. It was patently not true if you are comparing things to the Fine Tool Journal rating system. Remember, the catalog and website is a sales tool and must be viewed as such.

Please understand, I'm not complaining about deception, but rather offering advice. I have bought many things over the years at Donelley LFOD Auctions and have been very satisfied. I still continue to go. It is just that you need to understand the rules of the game. My #1 rule is that I would never bid absentee based on the photo or description with its " estimated selling price".

[Stevie Hicks]

Thanks for the info Mark and Dave. I didn't realise that the Friday sale leaned more towards "User Grade".When I went to the Spring 2007 sale it was my 1st tool auction and on one hand it was great to be able to see and preview a lot of tools I had only seen pictures of ,but on the other hand I really felt like a fish out of water with the prices on Saturdays sale. We got there after lunch on Friday so I missed out on that. Then Saturday morning it was probably Thirty degrees. Only 2 or 3 vendors. What a disappointment. I might try again in Sept. Maybe the bad weather deterred some people from the lot. Thanks again!!