Cows for sale?

[leanin' H]

If i was at a bull sale and saw the owner bidding up his bulls so didnt "steal" them, i'd sure not buy a bull or go back. I have attended sales where bids came from empty seats, rafters, old mops and imaginary friends. I only attended once. :?

We all gotta do what works for our situation and i do not intend to come off as preachy, but bidding on my own calves doesnt work for me for the above mentioned reasons. I want them to sell on their own merits, my hard work raising and marketing them and my reputation. If the price doesnt meet my expectations, i have more work to do.

 

[mwj]

What would the opinion be on a ''no sale''? I have been to many land and equipment sales that were cancelled after the bidding stopped :shock:

 

[LazyWP]

I have NO problem with someone not selling something do to not getting enough money, but I have been to WAY to many horse sales where a person wanted $3000, and the bid was $2900 and they no saled it. That is just as much BS, as bidding on your own critters.

 

[Justin]

You are a lucky man if your Herefords match black cattle. Here in SWMO they sell as much as .25 back from the blacks especially if they are feather necked.

Up here, buyers love to steal Herefords, especially the good ones. The quicker you learn this and act to prevent it, the more money you will make. Now I will make a point that the buyers do 'prefer' the Horned Herefords, or, if available, exceptional Polled Herefords.

Case-in-point, my calves sold end of October (auction), I stopped the drop at $1.50 and bid them up and let them go at $1.74 on 506 lbs average. Higher price than any blacks (450-550lbs) at the same sale and 20 dollars behind the top buckskin calves (in that category), but they averaged 530 lbs.

And even though I don't raise them, buyers also love to steal Shorthorns, for no reason other than they know they get away with it.

I used to take what I got (within reason) up till a few years ago when I was 'enlightened'. Nowadays, I have no problem keeping buyers honest and walk away from every sale happy.

you bid them up yourself while sittin' ring side or you have someone do it for you?

 

[Aaron]

If i was at a bull sale and saw the owner bidding up his bulls so didnt "steal" them, i'd sure not buy a bull or go back. I have attended sales where bids came from empty seats, rafters, old mops and imaginary friends. I only attended once. :?

We all gotta do what works for our situation and i do not intend to come off as preachy, but bidding on my own calves doesnt work for me for the above mentioned reasons. I want them to sell on their own merits, my hard work raising and marketing them and my reputation. If the price doesnt meet my expectations, i have more work to do.

Breeding cattle are the only cattle allowed to have a reserve at our market. I quit marketing the bulls there because I would set the reserve, have the animal passed due to low bid, pay my fees and then have a bunch of people willing to pay the reserve (or very close to it) after the sale, leaving me with my fees and a bunch of extra hauling. Now I sell the bulls in the yard and I not only get the price I want, but I don't have to go to the extra work of 'making them look pretty'.

 

[Aaron]

I guess if I wanted to own my own calves I could save the trucking and commissions...
We market pretty hard before our calves go and send a thank you note to the buyers through the auction market and the auction when we use that method. Costs about $2 and 1/2 hour of my time.
We also send a presheet about a week before we send the calves to reintroduce our program and the care we take with our product. Again costs about $2 and 1/2 hour of my time.
I don't think bidding on my own calves would be a ticket to long term success. I am fairly certain that it would at best be a one time opportunity, and I am 100% certain that those cattle buyers have been schooled on the way up and I can't afford to learn as much as they already know. :shock:
I actually prefer selling out of the yard where we can negotiate prior to calves ever going up the chute.

I assume your selling direct to repeat buyers and/or actual producers sitting in the seats? Majority of our cattle go to order buyers with between 10 to 30 cards sitting in front of them. Other than the cull cattle buyers (AV papers), the majority don't care about what producer paperwork is sent their way. As one big Ontario order buyer told me a few years ago, 'If it isn't a full potload, don't bother handing paperwork to me'.

 

[Aaron]

You are a lucky man if your Herefords match black cattle. Here in SWMO they sell as much as .25 back from the blacks especially if they are feather necked.

Up here, buyers love to steal Herefords, especially the good ones. The quicker you learn this and act to prevent it, the more money you will make. Now I will make a point that the buyers do 'prefer' the Horned Herefords, or, if available, exceptional Polled Herefords.

Case-in-point, my calves sold end of October (auction), I stopped the drop at $1.50 and bid them up and let them go at $1.74 on 506 lbs average. Higher price than any blacks (450-550lbs) at the same sale and 20 dollars behind the top buckskin calves (in that category), but they averaged 530 lbs.

And even though I don't raise them, buyers also love to steal Shorthorns, for no reason other than they know they get away with it.

I used to take what I got (within reason) up till a few years ago when I was 'enlightened'. Nowadays, I have no problem keeping buyers honest and walk away from every sale happy.

you bid them up yourself while sittin' ring side or you have someone do it for you?

No, I do it myself. Our market has the 'buyback' option in which your only charged about 1/2 the fees ($10/head) when you buy them back yourself. Basically charged for feed, insurance and a small fee for the mart.

While the mart doesn't like buybacks, they know they will lose about 1/2 their consignors if they didn't have it. It's amazing at times how many do bid their cattle up.

 

[3words]

This year i didn't have time to go watch one bunch of calves sell at the stockyards,so i asked my Dad if he would go and watch them sell for me.His response to me was,good calves need no help selling and you will do fine.He was right,that bunch of steers averaged $988.

 

[3words]

If i was at a bull sale and saw the owner bidding up his bulls so didnt "steal" them, i'd sure not buy a bull or go back. I have attended sales where bids came from empty seats, rafters, old mops and imaginary friends. I only attended once. :?

We all gotta do what works for our situation and i do not intend to come off as preachy, but bidding on my own calves doesnt work for me for the above mentioned reasons. I want them to sell on their own merits, my hard work raising and marketing them and my reputation. If the price doesnt meet my expectations, i have more work to do.

I have no problem if bulls don't sell,because they haven't met there reserve bid.Now if i actually seen the seller bidding up his bulls,that would be the last time i ever attended one of his bull sales also,and i would be letting everyone know to.

 

[Anonymous]

I like to be at the sale when the calves sell because once in awhile you will have one come in droopy eared and the buyers will cut it back and try and steal it... Same way with short eared/tailed heifers... Sales manager will usually protect us and no sale them-- but I like being there to make the decision... Just as soon take the droopy ones home and give a shot- and I have several short eared cows that I kept rather than give away....

 

[Aaron]

This year i didn't have time to go watch one bunch of calves sell at the stockyards,so i asked my Dad if he would go and watch them sell for me.His response to me was,good calves need no help selling and you will do fine.He was right,that bunch of steers averaged $988.

Must be a culture issue. You must have very honest buyers. More than one time I have seen (and bid) cattle up over 30 cents of what would have been the final price. I watch one guy bid his 900 lb+ Galloway steers (very nice steers) from .95 to 1.30, just this fall.

Now you can't tell me that if the steers had ended at .95 cents that the producer 'just has to work a little bit harder' to make them worth 1.30. That's BS and pure blindness on an astronomical scale.

 

[littlejoe]

This year i didn't have time to go watch one bunch of calves sell at the stockyards,so i asked my Dad if he would go and watch them sell for me.His response to me was,good calves need no help selling and you will do fine.He was right,that bunch of steers averaged $988.

Must be a culture issue. You must have very honest buyers. More than one time I have seen (and bid) cattle up over 30 cents of what would have been the final price. I watch one guy bid his 900 lb+ Galloway steers (very nice steers) from .95 to 1.30, just this fall.

Now you can't tell me that if the steers had ended at .95 cents that the producer 'just has to work a little bit harder' to make them worth 1.30. That's BS and pure blindness on an astronomical scale.

sounds to me like it's working for you and keeping them honest--good on ya!

what are your fees and commish? local here is at least 2 1/2%, plus fees.

 

[3words]

This year i didn't have time to go watch one bunch of calves sell at the stockyards,so i asked my Dad if he would go and watch them sell for me.His response to me was,good calves need no help selling and you will do fine.He was right,that bunch of steers averaged $988.

Must be a culture issue. You must have very honest buyers. More than one time I have seen (and bid) cattle up over 30 cents of what would have been the final price. I watch one guy bid his 900 lb+ Galloway steers (very nice steers) from .95 to 1.30, just this fall.

Now you can't tell me that if the steers had ended at .95 cents that the producer 'just has to work a little bit harder' to make them worth 1.30. That's BS and pure blindness on an astronomical scale.

I wouldn't say our order buyers are anymore honest then anywhere else,they treat us fairly for the quality of our animals.Our order buyers don't have us bidding up the cattle,they are trying to buy though.Do they try to steal everyones calves,or just the calves that the owners have a previous past of bidding up there own calves?

 

[Aaron]

This year i didn't have time to go watch one bunch of calves sell at the stockyards,so i asked my Dad if he would go and watch them sell for me.His response to me was,good calves need no help selling and you will do fine.He was right,that bunch of steers averaged $988.

Must be a culture issue. You must have very honest buyers. More than one time I have seen (and bid) cattle up over 30 cents of what would have been the final price. I watch one guy bid his 900 lb+ Galloway steers (very nice steers) from .95 to 1.30, just this fall.

Now you can't tell me that if the steers had ended at .95 cents that the producer 'just has to work a little bit harder' to make them worth 1.30. That's BS and pure blindness on an astronomical scale.

sounds to me like it's working for you and keeping them honest--good on ya!

what are your fees and commish? local here is at least 2 1/2%, plus fees.

Commission would be 16.00 or so with about 5.50 in fees.

 

[Aaron]

This year i didn't have time to go watch one bunch of calves sell at the stockyards,so i asked my Dad if he would go and watch them sell for me.His response to me was,good calves need no help selling and you will do fine.He was right,that bunch of steers averaged $988.

Must be a culture issue. You must have very honest buyers. More than one time I have seen (and bid) cattle up over 30 cents of what would have been the final price. I watch one guy bid his 900 lb+ Galloway steers (very nice steers) from .95 to 1.30, just this fall.

Now you can't tell me that if the steers had ended at .95 cents that the producer 'just has to work a little bit harder' to make them worth 1.30. That's BS and pure blindness on an astronomical scale.

I wouldn't say our order buyers are anymore honest then anywhere else,they treat us fairly for the quality of our animals.Our order buyers don't have us bidding up the cattle,they are trying to buy though.Do they try to steal everyones calves,or just the calves that the owners have a previous past of bidding up there own calves?

They'll pretty much steal anything they can. The only competition is when two different order buyers have a call for the same type, weight, sex and breed of cattle. And that's only if they don't work together/like each other. Sometimes locals buy feeders, which supports the prices a lot. But a good 60%+ of the cattle are paid below market value, whether it be 10, 30 or 50 cents. But most of the consignors have off-farm jobs, so a dip in the hobby-check won't bankrupt them.

 

[4Diamond]

A good barn will set good cattle in at a fair price therefore nothing gets stolen.. Or that's how it works here.....

 

[RSL]

I guess if I wanted to own my own calves I could save the trucking and commissions...
We market pretty hard before our calves go and send a thank you note to the buyers through the auction market and the auction when we use that method. Costs about $2 and 1/2 hour of my time.
We also send a presheet about a week before we send the calves to reintroduce our program and the care we take with our product. Again costs about $2 and 1/2 hour of my time.
I don't think bidding on my own calves would be a ticket to long term success. I am fairly certain that it would at best be a one time opportunity, and I am 100% certain that those cattle buyers have been schooled on the way up and I can't afford to learn as much as they already know. :shock:
I actually prefer selling out of the yard where we can negotiate prior to calves ever going up the chute.

I assume your selling direct to repeat buyers and/or actual producers sitting in the seats? Majority of our cattle go to order buyers with between 10 to 30 cards sitting in front of them. Other than the cull cattle buyers (AV papers), the majority don't care about what producer paperwork is sent their way. As one big Ontario order buyer told me a few years ago, 'If it isn't a full potload, don't bother handing paperwork to me'.

We do often have repeat buyers on our cattle. Is this why I send a prelisting and a thank you, or do I have repeat buyers in part because we send a thank you and a listing? I guess the way I figure it here is that it is worth my effort to be greatful (even if the price is below my expectation sometimes). No different than a car dealer sending a thank you note afterwards. Heifers that are sold privately are usually followed up with a gift. We do have a couple of markets around that have stories about frigging around bidding, but we just deal elsewhere. Also most of these stories if true, were on people that earned the privilege.
It's great if your market and buyers know/need and expect sellers to keep them honest. I can see how it could certainly be an issue in a market with lower volumes, smaller lot loads and fewer buyers.

 

[PATB]

What is your opinion of the auctioner having someone in the crowd buying for him? These are real purchases of animals.

 

[Anonymous]

What is your opinion of the auctioner having someone in the crowd buying for him? These are real purchases of animals.

No problem-- if its real money and not funny money purchases/no sales.... Most the seedstock bulls/heifer sales I go to have a lot of call in/early bids... Either handled by the sale management (auctioneer/sale manager) or by the seller... I've done it often- both with the management and with the owner... Sellerss we trust (Cole Creek Angus/Whitney Creek Angus/Galpin Angus) we've called and put in a top bid... Sometimes I've told the local sales yard manager my top bid...
And they have never mistreated me...
Just like our local sale manager (Glasgow Stockyards Inc.) protects us on sick/droopy cattle- they have been great to work with by many for buying cattle....

 

[Faster horses]

There are a lot of breeders you can trust. Usually we have Roger Jacobs
buy for us and he's an auctioneer. A very trusted auctioneer.