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Where To Get Sets and Parts For discussions about swapmeets, rallies, NVCF and BVWS, car boot sales, antique and charity shops, dealers, newspaper adverts, the local tip and just about any other source of equipment (other than eBay).

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Old 29th Sep 2020, 5:29 pm   #1
G6ONEDave
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Default Skegness auction

Thought that this auction of test gear might be of interest to some forum members. https://www.bidspotter.co.uk/en-gb/a...id-ramco-10247
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Old 29th Sep 2020, 5:59 pm   #2
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Hmm......looks very good, but.......

My experience of these sort of auctions is that you have no idea what state the items are in - and ones I have bought have turned out to be real "dogs" in the past.

And in this particular auction, you cannot visit and take a look because of Covid. And you cannot collect either even if you win an item. And you cannot send in your own courier to collect. And you have to use their Parcelforce service. And you cannot insure the parcels:

"Please note if we are arranging parcel delivery, we can't offer any form of insurance for lost or damaged parcels."

Seems like a pretty grim deal to me. Only worthwhile if these items really do "go for a song".

But there's some really nice stuff here that will be very useful to many people on this forum........(provided they are ready to fix it......)


Richard
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Old 29th Sep 2020, 6:55 pm   #3
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Also, the buyer's premium is 15% before VAT is applied to the hammer price and premium, so you can add 38% to the hammer before adding their compulsory delivery charge, so caveat emptor.
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Old 29th Sep 2020, 7:04 pm   #4
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Default Re: Skegness auction

If the dealers don't descend en masse, and push the prices up, then there might be some bargains to be had.....
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Old 29th Sep 2020, 7:36 pm   #5
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Yes, some good stuff there- but bearing in mind the above plus warnings in previous threads about bid-pumping all serves to dampen the enthusiasm. I agree with the "unknown quantity" aspect, you might be lucky and get something with little use and current cal, or an absolute dog stuffed with the duff cards that no-one could fix and left in the damp outhouse.

Those little Huntron component testers are handy beasties that you quickly get a feel for- but many recent 'scopes (sorry, showing my age, I mean many 'scopes ranging from about 40 years ago....) have a similar component tester function. I can't remember if they have multi-voltage adjustability on the primary but I do remember that they have directly-derived EHT from that little transformer, so a possible weak point. They certainly attract interest on eBay.
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Old 30th Sep 2020, 8:32 am   #6
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Those HP 8560E are very nice spectrum analysers, but note that this series have electrostatic oscilloscope type tubes (not the robust TV style magnetic tubes of the 859x family)

So all the usual comments about not sending oscilloscopes through the post applies to them.... and as the auction house insists on post with out insurance.... I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole, or treat them as spares and assume the irreplaceable tube doesn't make it and bid accordingly.

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Old 30th Sep 2020, 9:02 am   #7
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Default Re: Skegness auction

The last two lots I won from Ramco, as a result of packing along with other gear one of the rear connectors of a Tek plugin was broken. Superglued back together again, but there is also a fault that I have not yet rectified.

The second lot was a Gould J3B audio signal generator received just last week. Intact cal labels, but I measured the distortion as twice what it ought. Pulled the lid off. Nominal 37V rail was at 48V, which was running the oscillator at 17V instead of 12V.

Series pass transistor was hard on. After chasing my tail for quite a while, it was clear that it had been professionally repaired. The only hint was the screw fixing the pass transistor to its heatsink had that rough feel to the head to witness removal.

But - the driver (it was actually a Darlington pair with the series pass) was supposed to be NPN - and the repair clown had fitted a PNP. A BC327 and should have been a BC337. And then "calibrated" it and stickered it.

Once replaced with a BC107 (as per the BOM in the manual; I had spares on hand too) it works perfectly, and has less distortion than spec by a handsome factor on all ranges and outputs.

So buyer beware!

I'd steer clear of the spectrum analyzers too. It is all too easy to blow the input on one of these by shoving DC up it, or massively overloading it. And you have no idea until you plug it in and try to make it work.

Craig

Last edited by Craig Sawyers; 30th Sep 2020 at 9:07 am.
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Old 1st Oct 2020, 12:05 pm   #8
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Default Re: Skegness auction

The last couple of Ramco auctions that I have followed did not have many "bargains" as the decent kit was bid up very high by dealers. Certainly a lot of the stuff went for as much or more than eBay. The packing charge is £16 per box inc. VAT which is not unreasonable & makes small quantities a good deal when compared to the cost of fuel to collect.

As always, if you want a punt on something useful, be prepared for disappointment but hope for the best. The occasional bargain may be exactly what you want.

Phil
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Old 1st Oct 2020, 1:21 pm   #9
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Factor in the risk to what you decide is the limit you'll pay.

If someone else outbids you, well, they've just taken a bigger risk than you were prepared to take. Walk away knowing there's a good chance you've made the right decision.

The more dealers bid, the thinner their margins become. They can ask for more when they come to re-sell, but that risks things hanging around, taking space, earning nothing. They have to be finely tuned to the limits of what they should pay. They may be involved in a specific model to the point of having a steady flow and if they can make three good boxes out of four due to turnover, they have less risk than you'd see buying one box.

Make a sensible bid limit allowing for auction fees and risk factor, then don't lose any sleep.

David
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Old 1st Oct 2020, 7:21 pm   #10
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Moll View Post
Also, the buyer's premium is 15% before VAT is applied to the hammer price and premium, so you can add 38% to the hammer before adding their compulsory delivery charge, so caveat emptor.
Yep, that's a heavy premium and makes me realise that although folk often moan about their charges, eBay are very cheap in comparison.

Steve.
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Old 1st Oct 2020, 7:29 pm   #11
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Quote:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Moll View Post
Also, the buyer's premium is 15% before VAT is applied to the hammer price and premium, so you can add 38% to the hammer before adding their compulsory delivery charge, so caveat emptor.
Yep, that's a heavy premium and makes me realise that although folk often moan about their charges, eBay are very cheap in comparison.

Steve.
Styeve,

actually they are very similar, because the "hidden cost" with ebay is Paypal.


Richard
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Old 1st Oct 2020, 7:34 pm   #12
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig Sawyers View Post

I'd steer clear of the spectrum analyzers too. It is all too easy to blow the input on one of these by shoving DC up it, or massively overloading it. And you have no idea until you plug it in and try to make it work.

Craig

Yes, I am sure the HP8560Es will tempt quite a few buyers. Very nice - and I know because I have one. However I think it was Radio Wrangler who has previously warned that the CRT is unobtainium should it fail......(or even worse, be broken when it arrives from the auction!)


Richard
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Old 1st Oct 2020, 7:44 pm   #13
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Quote:
Originally Posted by trh01uk View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by fetteler View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Moll View Post
Also, the buyer's premium is 15% before VAT is applied to the hammer price and premium, so you can add 38% to the hammer before adding their compulsory delivery charge, so caveat emptor.
Yep, that's a heavy premium and makes me realise that although folk often moan about their charges, eBay are very cheap in comparison.

Steve.
Styeve,

actually they are very similar, because the "hidden cost" with ebay is Paypal.


Richard
Good point but I've just checked the cost of eBay fees and Paypal fees for a £100 sale and combined they come to £13.20 so that's just 13.2% which compared to 38% is a huge difference.

I fear I am drifting OT so I shall say no more

Steve.
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Last edited by fetteler; 1st Oct 2020 at 7:45 pm. Reason: typo
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Old 1st Oct 2020, 7:45 pm   #14
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Yes please (or should that be no, thankyou)
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Old 2nd Oct 2020, 11:00 am   #15
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Just a bit more information that may help anyone intending to bid. I rang Ramco and asked about the "no insurance" clause - particularly if I have to trust someone else to do the packing!

It turns out that Parcelforce who will be handling the courier side, will be providing their own standard in-transit insurance. Not sure what the value of that is "as standard" since the guy at Ramco didn't know. When I check with Parcelforce's standard services in UK, their standard cover is for up to £100 - but that can be increased to £2,500.

I asked the guy what happened if I bid £500 on something (very unlikely ) - would they allow me to increase the in transit insurance? He said yes, for an extra charge.

So it sounds like there is some insurance in place. Wise to check though if you win something. Caveat Emptor - as always!


Richard
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Old 2nd Oct 2020, 11:55 am   #16
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Not wishing to put a dampener on it, but I think that Royal Mail (yes i know it is a different business group) will only insure glass and china when special delivery is used.

If it were me I would check parcelforce t & c VERY carefully. If a scope was bought, as an example, they don't understand what an oscilloscope is. "Oh, it's like a television set"!

https://www.parcelforce.com/help-and...e-compensation

Rob
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Old 2nd Oct 2020, 12:02 pm   #17
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Moll View Post
Also, the buyer's premium is 15% before VAT is applied to the hammer price and premium, so you can add 38% to the hammer before adding their compulsory delivery charge, so caveat emptor.
The hammer price is actually normally VAT free because that's not part of the value added by the auction house. Commissions, however, do have VAT added to them, so in calculating costs, add 20% only to the commission charge, not to the total sale price. This site is pretty authoritative and echoes my own experience:

http://www.exploreauctions.co.uk/Auc...mmissions.html

"The commission the buyer pays, known as the buyer’s premium, is also charged on that price. To make matters worse, you’re also charged VAT at 20% on the commission (but generally speaking, not on the price paid at auction)."

A while ago I bought an antique microscope online at a Dugglebys Scarborough auction and I must say that I found the whole process reassuringly straightforward. I did blanch somewhat at the price of packing and carriage, but the standard of packing was extremely high, with accessories carefully wrapped separately by someone clearly experienced in packing delicate instruments. Overall, the package was much better protected than I've found with the average eBay purchase where we're typically dependent on those packing materials that the vendor happens to have to hand.

Martin
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Old 2nd Oct 2020, 12:17 pm   #18
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Default Re: Skegness auction

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The hammer price is actually normally VAT free because that's not part of the value added by the auction house.
In this case the terms and conditions state that "VAT is charged on all hammer prices, buyers premiums and lot charges." This is not the only instance where I have encountered this, so it is always advisable to checks the Ts&Cs before bidding.
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Old 2nd Oct 2020, 1:00 pm   #19
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Default Re: Skegness auction

Ramco is a disposer of commercial lots. Quite a bit of government items as well.
VAT will always be added to the hammer price, buyers premium and shipping.
Auctions selling non- business items, house clearance etc. will only have VAT added to buyers premium and shipping.
I don't know how Ramco work now, but when I last visited their outlet store, maybe 20 years ago it was full of fixed price items. They had some sort of business partnership for selling the ex- government items. I must admit I didn't fully understand the information I was given. It seemed (then) to be on some sort of % split between them and the government.
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Old 2nd Oct 2020, 1:05 pm   #20
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Default Re: Skegness auction

My local auction house when selling items that have come from a non private seller who would presumably have been VAT registered in many cases, have to by law charge VAT on the actual hammer price too, but this is always announced by the auctioneer.
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