Windows and Doors - Legal Stealing at the Auction

She'll clean up nicely!

2 days ago my bride and I woke before the sun and prepared to do battle at the monthly auction.  We suited up in thermal boots, layers of socks, pants and jackets.  The thermometer said 29 but so did the wind gusts which made for a long, cold morning.  I had hoped to find a nice exterior door and 6 windows with screens.  We set our budget (well, she set our budget and I never really confirmed or denied that I heard her) and we set off.  Now, keep in mind that I love the auction more than just about anything else involving money.  Come to think of it, it's the only time I will really spend money freely simply because it is the most clear example of supply and demand economics I have ever found.  The market really does set the rates on those wind swept fields.  If the crowd thinks something is worth $100, it sell for $100.  If they think it's worthless, it is.

I never intended to purchase windows from a 'real' store but I had checked their prices and knew nothing was happening under $150 a piece for a window or $300 for a door.  That's not happening...not after a man learns the auction way, my friends.

The first item to enter my cross hairs was the door.  We picked up a solid wood exterior door with inlaid glass, partially frosted, for $20.  I've priced this same door since then at over $400.  Sold!

Next up were the windows.  There were
6 aluminum windows in 1 lot.  I needed 6 but these were not my first choice.  The auctioneer stepped over, announced that they were selling all 6 for 'one money' and started the bidding at $10.  No one moved.  I waited for a moment and offered $2.  No one moved.  He looked at the windows and tried to rally more bids but folks has already started moving on.  It was cold, the crowd was irritated and I just bought 6 windows for $2.

About 50 feet further down the line was another set of 8 windows of a slightly higher quality.  I stepped up as the auctioneer started the bidding at $10.  Bids came in at 2, 3, 4...I capped the bidding at $7.50 each and collected 6 of the 8.  At this point I have 12 windows under my belt $47.  There were 2 more lots of windows to go.  I picked up 6 more in the next 30 minutes never paying more than $10 for any single unit.  When the dust settled...well, let's be honest, the dust never really settled, it howled all day long.  But when the bidding was done I was loading up 18 windows and a lovely exterior door for $125.

Frosted Privacy Windows

Thanks to the help of a good buddy to help me load and another good buddy that loaned me a trailer we were able to get them all home safely...almost.  I turned out that someone took exception to my bidding success and opted to deposit some tobacco spit and a large rock in 2 of the windows.  Granted, they were kind enough to do so on the lot of 6 that cost me $2 but the gesture was classy regardless of the economic impact.  The only other loss was more attributed to our less than OSHA approved tie down methods.  We we so careful.  We drove so cautiously.  We stuck to roads with minimal pot holes.  We kept it under 60 the whole way.  We were home free.  I could see the turn off to my street.  Then, casually, my buddy announces 'yup, we lost
one'.  I looked up in time to see a frame exploding into the grass along the side of the highway.  What do you do in a situation like that?  Well, we stopped to adjust the tie downs and make sure there were no police in the area.  Then we boogied home without further incident.

Crescent Accent Windows

I'll have more auction tales to regale you with down the road but I just wanted to take a minute to remind those of you thinking about taking the plunge to build your own dream cabin.  First, paying retail is for suckers and folks spending tax payers' money.  If you work hard to get your green then learn how to roll at the auction.  Even at conservative estimates I have $2,000 worth of supplies in my shed now for $120.  But the number is probably closer to $3,500.  And secondly, tie that stuff down well.  Or at least make sure no one is behind you when it decides to launch itself into the air.  Windows do not respond well to highway surfaces at 50 mph.  Who knew?