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The primary object of an auction is to make a quick sale.
The vendors don't want to wait weeks, months or possibly even years to dispose of their goods. Nor do they want to waste time while "tyre kickers" decide whether they are genuinely interested or not. So before anything is put into auction you can be certain that the person selling it is willing to take a lower price for it than they know it might otherwise fetch.
There are, however, other reasons why auction prices are lower. Auctions are frequented almost entirely by dealers and are used as a clearing house by all sorts of individuals, businesses and organisations, for unwanted goods. This may be because the vendors want the money quickly or it may be because they want to get rid of whatever it is they are selling so that they don't have to worry about it any more. In the case of government bodies what they are selling may be too old for their use (though perfectly good), surplus to requirements, or in some other way redundant. Indeed, government bodies are extremely wasteful and therefore inclined to dispose of things for even less than anyone else.
As already explained, prices can be further deflated where a "no-reserve" sale basis is established. This means that the auctioneer has been instructed to sell at any price. If very few people turn up at the auction (one reason why better bargains are to be had during the winter when the weather is bad, or during the summer when people are on holiday) then the no-reserve sale prices may be ridiculously cheap.
Note that because prices are low the amount of money made by the auctioneers is far from substantial. This means that they don't have a lot of money to spend on advertising. For instance, a typical country auction might take £10,000. The auctioneer will make between £1,000 and £1,500 by way of commission. Hardly a fortune when you consider the effort and expenses involved in selling 200 or 300 lots. Furthermore, since auctions are traditionally the preserve of tradespeople and dealers, the emphasis has always been on attracting the "professionals" who will buy several lots, rather than people just looking for the odd one-off bargains. It is for this reason that you need Government Auction News to guide you to the really good auctions.
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