Moving Iron: How In-Person Auctions Drive Community and Value

I'm doing well. Casey, how are you?

Yeah, we've been melting. We filmed an auction in Illinois actually last Thursday. That was up in Penfield, and uh, kind of a vintage tractor auction by Kerr Auction. Fantastic time there. And then uh, yesterday, so July 14th is on the calendar, we filmed a sale in Mount Pulaski for the TV show. So yeah, it was about 91, 92, and that's hot, hot, hot.

So, well, I asked yesterday, I asked auctioneer Mike Moski, my longtime friend from Mount Pulaski there. I've known Mike forever. And I said, Mike, what would you prefer, like 90 degrees or 10 degrees? And Mike did not hesitate. He's like, well, obviously 10. You could just put another layer on and keep going. But uh, when it's 90, Mike, it was interesting. So it was kind of a retirement sale. Kevin and Kathy Wilham, great folks. Uh, people know Kevin. He restored and painted tractors and all kinds of stuff. In fact, Shirley Muldowney, one of her drag racers, Kevin sandblasted and painted that years ago. But he had tons of antique tractors and had them all in two long, long rows, all in their work clothes, stuff that Kevin's poking around on. But Mike set up big umbrellas like every fifth one so the people when they're going down the row could at least stand under and get a little shade. So that's a little example of how Mike thinks of his customers. So that was a fun day. Fun day.

Yeah, that was last Thursday the 9th, Penfield, Illinois. It was very cool. Alex and Aina Kerr, I think this month actually is just two years for them in the auction business. So what they've built in two years is just crazy. Of course, Alex and Gina Farm, they also have had a used equipment business for years. I think maybe sold seed, just kind of done it all. Alex is super connected. Great guy. But he approached the INI Antique Tractor and Gas Engine Club, who of course puts on the historic farm to annual show there in Penfield, Illinois. They also do a half century half progress in Rennoul. And he said, 'Hey, just a thought. What about if we did a vintage tractor and equipment auction day one of your show in Penfield?' And so Russell Buer, uh, one of the guys on the board, was telling me, 'Yeah, Alex came up and made a presentation to the board.' And the board was like, 'That's a great idea. Let's do it.' And Alex really promotes uh, his auction events. I mean, so there were tons of people there and a great lineup. So people maybe saw the YouTube video I posted, but there was an International 1468 uh, that brought, well, the highest I'd ever seen going into the sale, Casey. It was 63K, and that was on a Mikum collector auction in Davenport, Iowa, five years, I think March of '21, so a little over five years ago. And this 1468 uh, sold for 77 and a quarter.

Now, they had beautiful stands set up there with kind of like a track, then they would drive the tractors through. And Russell Buer from the INI Antique Tractor Club was driving the 1468. So Russell was smart. He looped it around and then he rolled some coal. And as it was selling, I was filming with my iPhone. I walked up and I was like, 'Russell!' And of course he can't really hear when the tractor's running, but I was trying to tell him what it was going for. And I told him almost 80, and his eyes just went...

But uh, then right behind it was the Massey 1155 from Danny Coon's collection in Arthur, Illinois. Of course, Coons Equipment. Danny has like the best vintage Massey tractor collection that I've ever seen. And Alex actually set three records on selling some of Danny's last summer on an 1100, 1130, and 1150. So this 1155, Alex had Sherry Schaefer, and of course our great friend from Heritage Iron. Everyone knows Sherry, a legend in our vintage farm equipment space. She was driving the Massey 1155, and that brought 30K. So those were the two headliners. But they also had a John Deere G, uh, beautifully restored, and that brought I think 14,000. It's getting a little more rare to see those 40s models kind of take off like that. But again, Alex is really smart. He had a video last week that we shared on our social media where he interviewed the guy who was, you know, the owner of that G. And when you see the owner, their passion talking about basically their baby, one of their kids. 'Oh, this is my G and here's how I used it.' And I'm like a scorekeeper on the sideline, and I watch what happens when you do that, and it almost always jumps the price. So again, that was a great day. And just a huge shout out to the people involved in that INI antique tractor and gas engine club. They are great people.

If you're looking for something to do, folks, circle Penfield, Illinois on the map and someday just take a drive up there. And they took the old elementary school in Penfield, Illinois. The club bought it 30 years ago, 1996, and they converted it into a museum. So part of the museum is an old IH dealership. So you go in there. I don't know if you've ever seen one, Casey, but back in the day, the parts counter, there were of course no computers, right? So they would have the parts books would flip up. They'd have like a row of eight slots, and the guy come in, he'd go, 'Well, I need a part for my Farmall 350.' And then he'd go, 'Okay.' They flip out the fourth slot and it comes up. Here's the parts. So to put your hands on that counter and go, 'Oh my god, decades of farmers did business right here in this dealership.' It was really, really cool. Then they've got two or three International refrigerators and freezers on the sidewall. I asked if they...

I asked if they had any Coors Light in there and they didn't at the time, but we were filming. So, but no, you're right. Those old fridges and freezers tell a story, and it was fun to watch people just congregate. And they also in the museum, they have an area that kind of replicates farm homes with things that were around the farm. So, it's just fantastic. But, shout out to Alicia Whitcomb. She's a secretary for the club, and uh, we were interviewing Alicia, and that was interesting because, you know, women involved in collecting, I'm always interested in their story. And a lot of times it's their husband or whatever, but in Alicia's case, she said her brother passed away like 10 years ago or something, and she wanted to get closer to her dad Denny, who was part of the club for years. So Alicia joins the club, and now you're kind of under the hood, and like it's just guys, you know, you're talking tractors and stuff, and now she's the treasurer of the club. And this is why when you go to events, farm shows or auctions, you know, the equipment is awesome. I mean, hey, watching a 1468 sell for 77 and a quarter. I mean, fantastic. I hope people enjoy the YouTube video. But as we were leaving, I wanted to thank Alicia. So I went to find her in the office, and there was another gal in the office, Tracy...

Tracy Bosch. And I had with me, I think you know Alan Hoskins, right? The national sales manager with American Farm Mortgage. Alan shows up at these auctions, and Alan and I have been talking tractors forever. So, Alan and I are walking and talking, and Alicia goes, 'Oh, come into the office,' because it was air conditioned. It was so hot. And Tracy was there, and we got visiting. And Tracy, just when you talk to people for five or 10 minutes, stuff comes out. This is why I still love in-person auctions. And Tracy said, 'Well, my husband Dave was a member. He passed away 18 months ago from a sudden heart attack.' And Alan and I, of course, were like, 'Oh, Tracy, you know, we're so sorry.' But she said what happened was he just had heartburn for three or four nights. And the fourth night woke up and it was really bad. And then boom, he was gone. And I asked Tracy...

As respectfully as I could, I was like, 'Tracy, for old stubborn guys like me who are 60 years old, 60 guys, you know, we don't want to be a bother.' So healthwise, I said, I can relate to your husband Dave there. Would you share that story with our audience? So we did a little video, and Tracy was great. So, a little Machinery Pete public service announcement for stubborn old dudes and gals like me. Listen to your body. And if something seems off, it's okay. It's okay. We don't want to be a bother. But, you know, like I have, me and Mrs. Pete have three young grandkids, and we want to invest in our future, be around for our grandkids. So, if something's a little off, go see your doctor, and take it from Tracy. And uh, Tracy did say Dave, her late husband Dave, loved watching Machinery Pete TV. So I think Dave, she was like, Dave must be orchestrating this interview, and I was like, I'm sure Dave is smiling down at you, Tracy. You're helping, you're saving lives right now is what you're doing. So it was a great day.

Yeah. If you're passionate about the space, you know, and you understand what's going on there, you know, most of my time are spent at consignment sales and those kind of things on the equipment side of it.

It absolutely is, you know, and it was everyone got a chance, you know, family got a chance to talk about each piece or how much the community meant to you and those kind of things, but it was always...

Yeah, it's really interesting right now. We, you know, we work with 1500 auction companies across the US and Canada. And what we're seeing now is just some folks like Mike Moski, who we covered his auction yesterday for Kevin and Kathy Wilham, Mount Pulaski, they just, that's the way they do it, and they'll just continue having them. Of course, you can have the online bidding. It's kind of the best of both worlds. I certainly understand the people go up for the efficiency of the online, and everyone's busy, but like you say, the auctions are powerful people events. So yesterday, we're in Mount Pulaski filming for our Machinery Pete TV show. And again, there's the business element. So I could tell you that uh, Kevin had a sharp 2018 model John Deere S770 combine, 1800, 18 engine hours, 1271 SE. And coming into the sale, I could tell you, you know, the average of the last four 18 models that I had seen was 147,400 bucks. And now, if people follow Moving Iron, they've been listening to you and I talk since the middle of June about auction prices bumping up. Well, good example of that, I get looking in our Machinery Pete auction price data, and back end of April, an 18 model, which of course is the first year of that 700 series. So, there was a sale, a farm auction in Cash, Arkansas. Now, you might argue and say, 'Well, Arkansas tends to be a little south, maybe a little cheaper.' Okay, fine. But 2004 engine hours, 18 model, nice shape, 120. Okay, that was end of April. Now, four days before the auction yesterday, July 10th, our good friend Ed there with Ed's Machinery in Memphis, Missouri, is a big consignment sale. He sold an 18 model S770, I think 2250 engine hours, went 171. Okay. So I thought that was benchmark. I was guessing yesterday on the auction Kevin's would maybe go a little, you know, maybe 180. Well, it brought 194, and was very, very competitive bidding. I hope to post a YouTube video of it so we can talk the business part of that at the auction.

But like you were saying, auctions are people events. So about four items before the combine was an 88 model 4450 two-wheel drive, 3576 original hours. Now, it was in his work clothes. It wasn't like, oh my god, parade tractor. But remember Kevin Wilham, who is fighting some very difficult health issues, and again, Mike Moski, the auctioneer, had me do a video interview with Kevin and his wife Kathy like a month before the sale. It was about the most fun video interview I've ever done. Kevin, despite his health challenges, so positive and full of stories. And he has been restoring and painting tractors for like 40 years. And not just tractors, but all kinds of equipment. So Kevin, uh, let's see, this would have been almost 20 years ago, a guy came to him and wanted to restore a John Deere 3020, a one-owner, I think '67 model 3020 from by Springfield, Illinois. So they get horse trading, and the guy trades Kevin this 4450 on the restoration job. And so in the sale bill for the sale yesterday, Mike Moski says, '1988 John Deere 4450 two-wheel drive, 3576 original hours, bought from Bob Paulie in Springfield, Illinois.' Okay. Now, that's an example of how when you personalize anything that you're selling, I mean, it doesn't matter if you personalize it. The reason Mike did that was because again, this 4450 with low original hours, it was work clothes. It didn't look like people would think $3,500. So, he puts 'bought from Bob Paulie.' Well, a guy sees that and calls up Andy Paulie. Now, Andy is Bob's grandson. Bob Paulie passed away a number of years ago. And this guy goes, 'Hey, Andy, do you know Bob Paulie?' And Andy goes, 'Oh, that's my late grandpa.' Goes, 'What? Why are you calling me about my late grandpa?' And he goes, 'Well, I just saw the sale bill. It said this John Deere 4450 owned by Bob Paulie.' So Andy, young farmer, he's stopped in his tracks. So he and his dad and mom drive up to Mount Pulaski last week before the auction, visit with Kevin Wilham and Mike Moski, take pictures, buy the 4450, which was Andy's grandpa. And so I'm filming at the auction yesterday the 4450 selling. And I get kind of, you know, I'm not too focused on particular things, just recording it. Sold for 44,000 bucks. I thought that was actually not a bad buy really with those hours. But Andy bought it. So, we're filming for TV, so we got to do all this TV stuff. But out of the corner of my eye, Andy had an orange shirt on. I saw him walk across. I go, I got to catch him. So, I run over and I say, 'Andy, Machinery Pete, congrats on buying the tractor, man. Could I interview you with my iPhone?' And he's like, 'Oh, that'd be great.' So, he didn't even know that back in 2006, his grandpa Bob traded in the 4450 on the 3020 restoration. Now Andy owns the 3020, the '67 model 3020 that his grandpa bought, one owner in the family. And Andy has a hay business. And a young farmer running a hay business, and his tractor is an open-station '67 3020, and it just looks beautiful. And Andy in the interview said, 'My brother liked air conditioning.' He goes, 'I never liked air conditioning. I like to be out and smell the dirt, smell the grass, smell the hay.' So Andy sends me a picture of the 3020. So here he is at the auction. He meets the guy that restored his 3020, and he buys back his late grandpa's tractor. And then he texted me last night and he goes, 'Pete, I can't believe it happened. I can't believe this is real. I'm sitting in the cab of the 4450 that my grandpa used to sing us songs in, me and my brother.' I'm getting emotional talking about it, but that's the power of this mix of farmers and equipment and our dads and grandpas, and it's just such a powerful mix. You know, an honor for us to share that on the TV show. And again, I can sit here and say, 'Oh, it brought 44,000,' and we could have a big long conversation about that. But to me, it's the people.

The economy is great, you feel it when it's there. You don't have to watch the numbers. You can just feel the way people are, you know.

I mean, it's 100% exactly it. And I, you know, I've had the last two years now, I've had people my age and up as I travel the country will come up, and there's a real sadness about, you know, so much of the live in-person auction has gone away to the online. It's just a sadness, and you know, I understand it because it's what we knew growing up. I mean, auctions were, I mean, you had to go to the auction or, you know, have a buddy there and call on the phone or whatever, but yeah, I think there's definitely a place for auction companies that want to carve a niche and make that, it's kind of like, this is kind of how we do it. And the smart auction companies are, you know, can be flexible, you know, because some of your clients prefer online, and that's cool, very efficient, uh, nice and clean. But there's room for both, for sure. And uh, I think our numbers, the auction numbers we compile particularly on farm auctions, would still at this point, as far as we are along with the online auctions, I would still tend to say the optimal result would be an in-person sale with multiple online bidding platforms.

So yesterday, for example, Mike is behind the mic, and I love Mike. I love watching him do a sale. His pace is very crisp and aggressive, which we appreciated yesterday because it was 92 degrees. So boom, boom, boom. But you know why auctioneers do that, the smart ones, is because I'm training the people at the sale. Like, get your hands out of your freaking pockets. You got to bid on this thing. But one of his ringmen was, of course, another great legendary auctioneer, Dan Nton. Dan came over. We were talking, and Dan's son was helping out in the ring, and he said, 'Dan's son is going to auction school like next month or something.' So, generational people in the auction business. They all have their own style. It's fun to travel the country. My favorite auctioneers are the ones... and all the great ones do it. They engage with the people at the sale. 'Hey Fred. Hi. Great to see you. Thanks for coming out. Better get that second hot dog.' Whatever. Yesterday there was a husband and wife bidding on the combine, that S770, and one other item. I can't remember what it was. Maybe the 7810. But you know how the bidding goes. It gets you're like, 'Well, okay. I think I have my limit.' And Mike gently teases and says, 'Well, ask Veronica. You know, Veronica knows she's got the checkbook.' And everyone kind of chuckles and stuff, but guess what? He bid again. And he bid again twice. And so that's just Mike being Mike. But I tell you, Casey, it was interesting. So when I interviewed the young guy Andy who bought the 4450 back, his late grandfather's, and he paid 44,000 for it, and he said, 'Pete, I was really, really nervous coming up here today. Super nervous.' Understandable, grandpa's tractor, you got one shot at it, right? And he said, 'But you know, this is business. So I had a number in my head.' And I was like, oh, we talked about the number, and I told Andy, I said, 'I think you got a great deal there.' But his bidding style that he talked about, Andy Py is a sharp young guy who learned from his late grandpa and his dad. Learned very well because he said, 'Pete, when I come to an auction, I know my number and I bid quick.' And I nodded. I said, 'Yeah, because you want to tell the other bidders that it's yours, right?' He goes, 'Exactly.' The hemming and hawing people like, 'I don't know. Okay, I'll bid again.' And then Andy just instantly, bang, here's my bid. And that would be a Machinery Pete auction buying tip going forward. I mean, you can't do it because...

Wow. Why did he do that? Well, I always call that the jump bid. And when you do that, that's the 105% way you tell everyone in the crowd and online like, you can just forget it. This thing's mine.

Now, you have to know the number in your head. So if you did that jump in to 45, you'd have to be comfortable. Like, I'll go to 52 on this thing.

Yeah.

So they're fascinating to watch.

Andy yesterday, he also told me he doesn't watch the other bidders, which again I think is kind of a high-level, instinctive in-person auction strategy. I think the psychological thing works both ways, you know. Yep. I know my number and I'm going up to it aggressively. And he, you know, he said, 'You have to be willing to let it go by.' Now, I did tease Andy and I said, 'Well, you weren't going to let your grandpa's tractor go by.' And he kind of smiled. I think he would have gone past his number, but we understand his theory. But yeah, there's so much. I had fun a couple years ago with our good friend Zach Johnson, a millennial farmer, of course, neighbor of mine up in Lowry, Minnesota. I grew up just south of there in Benson. But Zach wanted to do, and his wife Becky wanted to do a fun little piece on auction bidding strategies. So, and we were at a Steffes auction. So, the Steffes people are great, great people, great crew. So, we kind of manufactured this little thing. But I relay that one of the truths that I have seen is in an in-person auction, like if I'm bidding on it, and whenever I say no, like no, no, that's, I'm done. Okay, for all these years I stand off to the side and film it, and I watch that guy who said no, and you probably about 70% of the time they're not done. They'll bid again, but it takes a while. So the smart ringmen and the auctioneer, they know that guy might, he's probably going to bid again. So you kind of back off a little bit, and then you come back to him. And a lot of times when people say no, they're done. They will turn and walk kind of kitty-corner. They'll kind of go, and I'm a data guy. So they go five to seven steps. Boom, boom, boom, boom, stop. And then the ringman comes back, puts his arm, 'Hey John, you know it's really hard to find them this good.' And my data shows they don't just bid once more, they bid about two and a half times more. But that's the auction. So that's, you're there to buy an asset, but we're humans. And I think we get invested, and we're also very competitive people in ag country. So if I got my head around and heart, I'm going to buy that thing. And I don't care who this other jackwagon is that thinks he's going to get it, I'm going to get that thing. I'm guilty of that. I hate to lose more than I like to win.

So, I'm a... I'm...

Right.

Yeah. Well, we have to give ourselves some grace. It's good to have a hard, firm number. But...

And the older I get, that anything that you can buy that makes you halfway smile, I don't care what it is. If it's a... well, I shouldn't stop at Dairy Queen. I'm on a diet, but I'm going to stop and get a Buster Bar. If...

Just get the mini. That's all you got to do. Just get the mini.