I've used bidspotter a bit here and there. It's basically a listing and bidding service, auction houses can run their auctions through bidspotter. Sometimes live auction, sometimes timed bidding. The timed online bidding ones are easier to follow and participate in from a distance, in my experience. Shipping is handled by the auctioneer not bidspotter itself, and varies a lot. Recently, I won a few things on a US auction and had to organize picking and packing with a 3rd party rigger. In the end it was fine, just a little slow and somewhat costly -- but there were times where I felt I was putting a lot of money out into the world on somewhat questionable faith.
I once won an air compressor and some bench grinders at an auction 4 hours' drive away. The compressor was a bit of a shot in the dark, as there was no picture, but it was listed as '5hp compressor and tank'. When I went to pick it up, we had to walk around the yard for half an hour to try and find it. I was hoping it was a standard upright 60 gallon job with the motor on top, but no such luck. It was a huge 120 gallon tank plumbed to a sizeable 20hp motor in the shed out back. Had to leave it there as there was no way it would fit in my shop, let alone my suv. Luckily I didn't pay too much for it, but you gamble and sometimes you lose... But not counting the lovely drive to Penticton I still came out of there with 2 bench grinders for less than $200 (a sweet baldor 6" bench grinder and a beefy 8"), so kind of a win...
Read the terms and conditions on the auction and if you're looking to buy a big item, make sure you read it twice! Many auctions will specify that certain lots need to be picked up by a specific rigging company, which can add significantly to the cost. Most of the timed auctions will automatically extend the bidding time if someone gets outbid near the closing time. Usually if I'm interested in something, I pick a max bid and stick to it. Factor in the taxes and hammer fees.
Pretty neat metal shop stuff in that auction considering it's a soap manufacturer!
www.bidspotter.com
