WHAT OUR READERS SAY...

“A brand new bathroom for just £120.” Joanne Lee, Wales ‘Where else could you buy a brand new bath, sink, W.C., heated towel rails, bathroom cabinet and Amtico floor tiles for £120? The director’s of a fashion company purchased all these items (in tasteful white) for a bathroom they planned to add to their offices and showroom but before they could get it installed, they went bust. I went to an auction held by the receivers hoping to pick up some clothes, but came away with a brand new bathroom instead. I reckon I saved well over £2,000 thanks to Government Auction News.”

“I paid just £23,000 for a cottage” William Bisley, East Anglia “Getting a real property bargain at auction does mean work – but it is worth it. For two years I followed the advice of Government Auction News and ordered up auction catalogues, visited likely properties and attended sales. Time and again the properties I was interested in went for about 20% -30% below market value – which was still far more than I was willing to pay. But in January 2003 – at a commercial property auction – I was in the right place at the right time. No one else bid for this country cottage I’d set my heart on and I snapped it up for just £23,000 – a discount of about two thirds. I’ve since spent around £20,000 on improvements and the property is now valued at around £150,000.”

“I’ve gone into the property rental business thanks to Government Auction News” Steve Brown, Kent. Every month I scour Government Auction News for details of forthcoming residential property sales. I am on the look out for one thing: studio flats. I pick these up for between £20,000 and £40,000 using buy-to-let mortgages, spend a few pounds decorating them, and rent them out to students and DHS tenants at yields of up to 30%. I now own eleven such properties all thanks to the advice of Government Auction News.”

“I paid £32 for this chair and sold it two weeks later for £270.” Patwant Singh, Leicestershire “Thanks to Government Auction News I have become a part-time dealer earning a nice second income doing something I enjoy. Every week I attend at least one sale. I never come away empty handed and I never spend more than £100 on a single item. I sell everything I buy at auction via classified advertisements to other dealers. This chair is a typical purchase. £32 out, £270 back, about £20 of expenses and some £218 profit.”

“An Omega watch for £270, a Mont Blanc pen for £40, Dunhill solid gold cufflinks for £120 – all at about quarter the retail price thanks to Government Auction News.” Winston Okafor, London “Friends think I must be earning much more than I do. Why? Because I possess all the trappings of a much wealthier man. My watch is an Omega Speedmaster – as worn on the first flight to the moon – and it cost me £270 against a list price of £1,190. My pen is a Mont Blanc Classique 145 Chopin - £205 in the shops but just £40 at auction. My 18 carat gold Dunhill cufflinks were £120 at auction but I’ve seen them in an antique dealer’s window for a staggering £1,120. Only a fool would pay retail prices when you can save thousands by buying at auction.”

“Last year I bought a Porsche  a Porsche 911 for £5,200, a Mercedes 500SEL for £3,500 and a Range Rover Vogue for £7,800 – and I’ve sold them all on at a profit” John Barnes, Sussex. “Last year I started to buy cars at auction, drive them for a few weeks and then sell them on privately. Oddly enough, I find the best bargains not at car auctions but at receiver and even farm sales – details of which I get from Government Auction News. I don’t really know that much about cars but at the prices I pay if I make a mistake one day it won’t be the end of the world. I average about £1,000 profit per car and so far I have bought and sold eight of them! A lot of fun and £8,000 profit…not bad for a hobby!”

“I equipped my entire office – including a computer and printer for just £620.” Mike Roper, Hertfordshire “Thanks to Government Auction News I bought all my office furniture and equipment at auction. I purchased everything I needed – Apple computer, HP printer, desk, chair, filing cabinets, fax machine and several potted plants – for the grand total of £620. If I had bought it new I would have had to spend over £5,000. I’ve bought other things for my business at auction too, including a van.”