# Tips on selling fish at an auction.



## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

As I am downsizing and switching from Peacocks and Haps into Tanganyikan species, I am considering selling these fish in an upcoming Cichlid Association Auction.

Has anyone gone this route ? If so any tips/recommendations as to successfully do this ?

Reading the auction rules, fish needs to be bagged. This eliminates me from including the adult Haps I have. Instead I will trade them for fish food at my LFS.

So what I will be bringing to the auction are fish that are less than 5".

Or is it better to just trade them all for fish food....will be trading for frozen krills.

I have tried Craigslist, but not really getting decent offers. I can get more by going to LFS.

Not sure if auction is the correct route either, but I will like to learn more.

Thanks.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

You may want to check with the club to see if they will allow larger size fish to be kept in 5G buckets with lids. This is a common practice at all of my local fish club auctions, especially with larger cichlids, spiny fin fish and huge Plecostomus.

For cichlids over 5" in length, the preferred bag size is either 10" x 22" or 12" x 22", one fish to a bag, with 1/3 water and 2/3 air or added oxygen. Fast any fish for at least 3 days prior to bagging them. I like to do a 50% aquarium water change a few days before I stop feeding the fish.

When it's time to bag the fish, I net them, place them in a bucket of their tank water, fin level deep. This helps to clean out any remaining feces due to the stress of catching them. I then use conditioned tap water of the right temperature, fill the bag with 1/3 water and place the fish in the bag, adding enough water to keep the fish covered whether the bag is upright or laying down.

If you are using room air, hold the bag upright, quickly grasp the open end of the bag to trap as much air as possible but leave enough room to twist the bag closed and secure with a rubber band. Double bag the fish by using another bag, putting the rubber band end into the bottom of the new bag. Tie the 2nd bag with a rubber band.

I like to use oxygen and got my bottle from a local welding shop but needed to buy the regulator, hose and tip nozzle online because the shop didn't have the parts in stock. I also bag my fish the night before and place the bags in some extra fish styro boxes I've acquired at fish auctions.

The first couple times I bagged fish for auctions was stressful for me because I was new at it and worried if the fish would be OK but it gets easier over time.

I find that if you label the fish bag with the proper scientific name (usually required by the club) AND include a picture of the fish you own, you tend to get a better price for it. However, if it is a common fish in your area, you may only get a couple bucks per fish. It's difficult to get a good price every time, it all depends on what the buyers are looking for.

I find fish auctions exciting, so many different species available, many of them just gorgeous and I really enjoy when people get into a bidding war on a certain bag of fish, except when I am bidding on that same bag of fish!!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Find out the auction rules. My club requires double bagging, no buckets and certain info is required on the label.


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

also look into the clubs cut of the sale. for example, some auctions are a 50/50 split, some are 70/30 split, some are $3 a bag regardless of sale price, etc.. i would def stay away from 50/50 as common fish generally go cheap as it is, but then to give the club half is tough. dont get me wrong, the clubs need to make there money too. without them we would be in trouble. i would say if u wanna have some fun and dont care about the money end then go for it. deeda's instructions are right on the money. if its money u want, then i would put them on some forums under for sale sections or trade to lfs


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## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

Thanks much for the tips. But I decided not to participate on this auction.

1. The bigger Haps can not be included as all fish should be bagged.

2. The auction split/fees are a bit steep. There is a $1 fee to include a bag into the auction. Cichlid association will get 20% of selling price for members in good standing. Members not in good standing, association will get 40%.

As a new member, I will be classified as a member not in good standing. To be classified as a member in good standing, I need to have attended a few meetings or work as an errand person during the auction.

Now the fish I can sell at the auction will not be high priced items. I do not really have enough fish to make this worth my time. Not willing to be the errand person just to get the 80% split. I will be getting below minimum wage for these folks. On top of this, I have to pay membership fees, which I do not mind paying if I like the club.

I rather give folks a good deal on fish or just trade these fish to my LFS for credit. They do give me credit for the price I am willing to sell the fish anyways.

Again, thanks for your input.


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

i think that u have made a wise decision based on your position


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

one more thing! on a side note; i beg all of u to support your local fish clubs and mom and pop stores. the hobby is struggling and we need the clubs and lfs to keep it going. the big box stores are running them out of business with there line bred hybrids. go to the auctions, go to the mom and pop pet stores, support your online breeders, and if possible introduce your children to the hobby. lets keep it alive. sry for derail


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

I have been to many fish auctions in Ohio, buying and selling and helping to organize these events. You usually meet Dee there, and unsurprisingly she has good advice to offer! But just some additional points from my view.

*Selling:* Auctions are a great way to dispose of fish that have outgrown your tank, or that you simply no longer want. One of the best things about selling at auction is that the buyers are almost exclusively fellow enthusiasts, so you know the fish are going to a good home, ie somebody who does their research and will look after them well. For me that is worth a lot! Prices are usually better than what you can get from an LFS. I have sold in quantity to LFS mainly to support a particular store. However, high priced fish are usually better sold via club forums to members who really want them. Most local fish clubs have a trading section as part their forum. If you have anything rare or unusual, that is the way to sell it for the best price you can get.

*Buying:* Auctions are a great way to pick up great quality fish for very little. Especially towards the end of an auction, bags often go for $1. This could be because everybody in the audience has exhausted their budget, nobody is left who knows anything about the fish in question, or because the auctioneer mumbled. But don't get carried away buying fish just because they were cheap! Only buy fish you can actually house adequately when you get home. On a different note, people selling at auction are almost exclusively fellow enthusiasts, so you know the fish are coming from a good home, ie somebody who does their research and has looked after them well. Is super rare to see low quality fish in an auction, let alone diseased fish. I found I no longer had a reason to quarantine when I stopped buying from chain stores.

*From a club perspective:* To run an auction you need A LOT of people: auctioneers, check-in, security, handling the money and paperwork, and generally keeping the whole thing running smoothly. Everybody on the club board usually works their behind off on an auction day, and those folks are all volunteers with no other reason to donate their time than the wish to further the aquaristic hobby. In addition the club needs plenty of runners throughout the day, and will usually ask for volunteers from the audience. Runners are people who bring the fish to the auctioneer, hold them up during the bidding, take them to the buyer, collect the money, and give change if required. Being a runner keeps you entertained during the auction, allows you to have a really good look at fish you might be interested in, and is a great way to get to know other members of the club. In my view it's a win-win, and it's how I - and many others - got started in local clubs before joining the board and taking on other tasks.

The split is usually 70% to the seller, 30% to the club or thereabouts. In my view that's very fair, keeping in mind that the money going to the club supports a good cause. In my club in addition the 1st dollar made from every sale went to the club. I am particularly fond of that rule, because it convinced people not to bring items to the auction that nobody really wants to buy anyhow. You get no money for any bag that sells for the opening bid of $1, so you might as well leave that bag at home. Hard-goods selling for $1 should have gone in the trash anyhow, and nobody wants to sit there watching dozens of bags of convict fry being auctioned, with the auctioneer begging for mercy bids. This might be harsh to the newcomer wanting to sell their first ever batch of convict fry, but we all have to face reality at some stage 









_For more pictures of club auctions and other club events, click here._


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## MeCasa (Apr 5, 2014)

Good post. I'm not in the market for more fish due to the difficulty in adding cichlids to established tanks and a set but oft waning determination to limit the number of tanks I run but I would love to see what the market has to offer and auctions seem like the perfect venue for looking a fish that are specifically bred for quality.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Fmeuller covers the auction very well. It is a long day for club volunteers, who start a few hours before the auction starts. If there is also a show, it's even more work. 
our club tried something different a few years ago when we went to a "buck a bag" instead of the usual 75/25 split. The idea was to get sellers to bring their best stuff out. In that respect it worked. However, the number of items in the auction got out of hand so we removed used dry goods, from the auction, and offered sales tables to individuals. We still had 1200 or more items in the auction. Show participation dropped to the point that we dropped that a few years ago and offered that space to vendors. We also added a modest entry fee of $2, per adult, and cut the admin fee to sellers from $3, per lot of 20, to 0$. A lot of people didn't like the idea of an admittance fee, but with the buck a bag we weren't making any money on what was one of the highlights of the auction season. The vendors now cover the rent, and we know how many people attended. This has allowed the club to start the day in the black, and we still get around 1200 items.
As already mentioned, the majority of attendees are enthusiasts, and they will pay a fair price for quality fish. Sometimes fish go for more than retail, other times there are bargains to be had. Regardless, it is a good way to spend a day and meet other hobbyists, and make some connections with people from outside your immediate area.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I usually donate fish to the club (forego getting paid for my fish) when I have extra fish at auction time. It helps the club and my fish go to a good home.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

One of the clubs I used to belong to ran the numbers over many years, and they found auctions of about 800 bags optimal in many ways. That number makes it possible for everybody to get home at a reasonable time without burning the midnight oil. This is appreciated by club members, buyers, and last but not least the fish. Also prices stay reasonably high till the end, meaning there is good demand and you don't end up with disgruntled sellers whose high value fish had to be given away at the end of a long night for $1 per bag.

A possible explanation is that you have a fairly fixed crowd of people who show up for these events in a given area. These folks bring a certain amount of money, and they will spend that regardless if you auction 800, 1000, or 1200 bags. A larger auction will only push down prices, but prices are pretty low at these events anyhow compared to what you would pay in stores, let alone mail ordering. So this is appreciated only by a small number of hard-core bargain hunters. Everybody else tends to run out of patience at the end of a long day.

A 70:30 split plus 1st buck to the club seemed to bring us in pretty consistently around 800 bags per event. Without the 1st buck to the club rule, we could easily run up to 1200. Of course I have also belonged to clubs who pride themselves for the size of their auction, and consider a 1200 bag auction far superior to a 800 bag one, no matter what :lol:


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Indeed, there are disadvantages to an auction that goes on too long. We also offer a bump option to anyone who doesn't want to wait around. I can't imagine paying a buck on top of the 70/30 split. As for the vendors, their items were often less costly than similar items in the auction. It has been a challenge to streamline the entire operation, and get through as quickly as possible. Of course, we have no idea ahead of time how many items there will be.Good auctioneers can really speed up the sale, and once you have an idea how much stuff you have, they can set the pace. The experienced ones soon gauge which items to move quickly rather than trying to squeeze every last penny. The crowd soon gets used to the pace and realize, if they want something, to bid.


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## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

Great information given !!

I am plan I g to attend the aiction, not as a seller though. A few folks I have met via selling and buying in this hobby have been inviting me to go.

BTW, if anyone is interested with Haps and Peacocks in the Denver area, shoot me a PM. Selling it at what the LFS will buy it from me.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

+1 on everything Bill said, except that I gladly pay a dollar on top of the 70:30 split for the vastly improved auction experience it brings!

In Ohio the 'bump option' is called 'express'. For $3 anybody in the audience can move any bag in the auction to the front of the line, meaning it will be auctioned ASAP. It's used by buyers who want to leave early, as well as sellers who have sensitive or expensive fish they don't want to risk being in a bag all day long. Initially I thought people would find $3 too expensive, but it's incredibly popular, and makes a ton of money for the club!

Now I only have to introduce fish auctions to my new home, New Zealand!


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