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Stronghold Equipment Hamilton, ON Timed Online Bidspotter Auction: Not A True Auction

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Ciszewski

Hot Rolled
Joined
May 9, 2011
Location
Sandy Hook, MB Canada
Hello All
Just a heads up. A couple of months back, a few items on their timed online auction caught my eye. I registered to bid, but didn't buy anything. I now see that those exact, same items that I was interested in are listed again. I read in the sales terms that they are allowed to bid on their own items. So I guess that they list them on an auction & keep bidding them up until they get their price. If they out bid you, oh well, they'll just list them again next sale.

:angry::angry::angry:STRONGHOLD EQUIPMENT, DON'T WASTE MY TIME!!!:angry::angry::angry:
 
Hello All
Just a heads up. A couple of months back, a few items on their timed online auction caught my eye. I registered to bid, but didn't buy anything. I now see that those exact, same items that I was interested in are listed again. I read in the sales terms that they are allowed to bid on their own items. So I guess that they list them on an auction & keep bidding them up until they get their price. If they out bid you, oh well, they'll just list them again next sale.

:angry::angry::angry:STRONGHOLD EQUIPMENT, DON'T WASTE MY TIME!!!:angry::angry::angry:

Gee you figured out auctions are scams. I'm shocked:willy_nilly:
 
I picked up a few things from Stronghold a couple of years back, the transaction went smoothly despite having to pay and ship over the border.

However, they clearly sold my contact info as well, as I immediately started getting flooded with announcements for other auctions, equipment sales and surplus sales. To this day I still have to "unsubscribe" from a couple announcements a week.

Doc.
 
My hunch for awhile is that Stronghold is not a true auction, i.e. they are a distributor / dealer type enterprise using the auction platform. Different from true auctions , like those hosted by: CIA,Asset-Sales,Myron-Bowling and many more.

Stronghold lists a lot of Bernardo branded equipment that looks brand new. I never seen Bernardo stuff anywhere else. The Bernardo website is cagey with their contact/location info.
Products

The background in above website looks the same as the background in Stronghold's auction adds.
Bernardo Macchina 95 Ton Capacity Hydraulic Ironworker - complete with dies and punches - Dual op

Guessing Bernardo is a just a name slapped onto some Eastern Euro or Far Eastern stuff ?
 
Yup, purchased some small stuff recently across a couple of their "auctions" with the view that these would be supplemental to what I was really after and bidding on. Didn't get those quest items...of course they went for just over my top bid, and left me with the scraps.

Now that I reached the same conclusion as the OP entirely on my own I will not be bothered to browse their future offerings either.
 
It would help if people regarded bidspotter as a machinery dealer where you set a maximum you want to pay for something, and be happy for any amount under that maximum that you get to pay.

I don't get all the anger directed at auctioneers. They are like doctors, lawyers and used car salesmen. Just another poor sap just tryin to make a living and everyone gets all stereotypical that they are worms, snakes and parasites.

In all seriousness, about 1/4 of bidspotter consignment "auctions" are just machinery dealers trying to sell their wares and using another method to get hits. I'm personally a bigger fan of hiring guys that know how to work their sign out by the road, at least it's interesting to watch.
 
I don't get all the anger directed at auctioneers. . .

because they are sleaze balls with unsavory business practices?

Its a long list, mostly rooted subtle to overt trickery.....not illegal or fraud necessarily but intended to trick and dupe. Like the secret shill bidding. (in the OP's case they might disclose in the fine print, but its not above board - posting the F'ing minimum in the catalogue would have be above board). THE value proposition, implicitly offered to the buyer, is the excitement and chance of a great deal - that's what gets you to the auction. Then they secretively take that the off the table? Its awfully bloody underhanded and wrong imo.

They also frequently play in the near-usury loan to own market adding to the stereo type of the shady persona on the wrong side of the tracks.

I boycott all of them and buy from reputable businesses. I have no issues buying from a dealer - the goods and the price and there in front of you and add some value (carrying inventory for example).

If we all stopped going to these machinery auctions the stuff would end up being sold direct to dealers and we'd be better off imo.

The old days were good. Country auctions. No premium, no must use riggers, no BS. You bought it, paid for it and left with it.
 
because they are sleaze balls with unsavory business practices?

Its a long list, mostly rooted subtle to overt trickery.....not illegal or fraud necessarily but intended to trick and dupe. Like the secret shill bidding. (in the OP's case they might disclose in the fine print, but its not above board - posting the F'ing minimum in the catalogue would have be above board). THE value proposition, implicitly offered to the buyer, is the excitement and chance of a great deal - that's what gets you to the auction. Then they secretively take that the off the table? Its awfully bloody underhanded and wrong imo.

The old days were good. Country auctions. No premium, no must use riggers, no BS. You bought it, paid for it and left with it.

Hello Mcgyver
100%!!!
We all go to auctions with the hope of getting "a deal".:) If they have a reserve on an item, advertise it as such. If it's more than I'm willing to pay for it, I move on.
 
If we all stopped going to these machinery auctions the stuff would end up being sold direct to dealers and we'd be better off imo.

The old days were good. Country auctions. No premium, no must use riggers, no BS. You bought it, paid for it and left with it.

I don't disagree with you, but I also don't see it happening. The company liquidations that tend to attract the sleezeballs have one thing in common, they've been run in to the ground. The equipment was obsolete ten years ago, and all of the good tools have been replaced with harbor freight equivalent junk. I see it over and over again. So it's really not much more than bottom feeders fighting against bottom feeders. I've learned which auctioneers I can put a $500 bid on something from the start, and which I need to sit there and do it in $5 increments until I hit *my* maximum.
 
Hello everyone. This is Dan from Stronghold Equipment.:D

We have a 40,000 square foot warehouse in Stoney Creek, ON. Everyone is invited to come down and take a look at our inventory.
We have multiples of lots of items, including beetle track torches which were the item of interest that started this thread.

Ciszewski from Sandy Hook, MB, if you still have interest in 1, 2 or even 5 track torches, we can help you out:nutter:. We are not selling items we don’t have and all are invited to inspect before buying.

We actually pride ourselves in taking care of our bidders including handling all rigging, shipping and customs compliance needs. And, to top it off, if a bidder is unsatisfied, we have been known to break the terms of our auctions and offer a credit, an exchange or even a refund.

Any questions, feel free to reach out to us directly! I'm happy to setup a facetime to walk you through our warehouse as well.

Many scamming auctioneers out there….WE ARE NOT ONE OF THEM!:nono:
 
Round 2, ding ding :popcorn:

The spammer has not answered the Op's concern directly.

Typical used car salesman (or politician, lot's of talk, chest thumping
"we are the greatest, we are different") yet no answer to the "relisting"
question.

Unfortunately, they are now a "member" and I predict a flood of spamming.
 
Answered directly - we have multiple items of many units in stock. If 1 units sells, we will of course list the other units available.

Please feel free to come down to inspect in person to feel comfortable....and we are different. Which auctioneers handle customs compliance and provide shipping quotes for each bidder?

No spamming from me :)...let alone a flood
 
Answered directly - we have multiple items of many units in stock. If 1 units sells, we will of course list the other units available.

Please feel free to come down to inspect in person to feel comfortable....and we are different. Which auctioneers handle customs compliance and provide shipping quotes for each bidder?

No spamming from me :)...let alone a flood

Nope, looks like your playing around with the listings.

The OP stated he saw the exact same items re-listed.
"I now see that those exact, same items that I was interested in are listed again."

Are you saying the OP is wrong ?
 
What OP saw is that we have multiples of items. We're not denying it, or playing around. We're inviting anyone to come see in person :)
 
I don't get all the anger directed at auctioneers.

There is a large So Cal Auctioneer who also is a machinery dealer.

They send in people to bid at live auctions. After the auction ends the "bidder" dissapears, obviously loosing his cash deposit. Then this (large So Cal) auctioneer will contact the auctioneer/shop and enquire if any of the sales fell thru. Typically they end up with the tooling/machinery at a large discount.
 
What OP saw is that we have multiples of items. We're not denying it, or playing around. We're inviting anyone to come see in person :)

Maybe it isn't actually shady, but it sure looks shady. The way you list the auctions with what appears to be your "regular inventory" mixed with the other items that appear to be an actual shop liquidation makes it a pain to see what is new to the auction.

I buy stuff from the auction site that you list on. I'll see the title of your auctions and think "hmm, interesting". Then I go to click the link to look at the catalog and see that it is from Stronghold, and I think "F that, waste of time sorting through repeated listings".

Maybe its working for you, but for sure the way you advertise turns off (some) potential buyers.
 
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