Lots of test equipment for sale on UK auction

[V_King]

Hi, was scouring auctions for some equipment for work and found this - lots of test equipment for the Dave and co test equipment nerds.

I have no affiliation with the auction house, just sharing the findings

Link - https://www2.ppauctions.com/auction/410/september-collective-sale

[armandine2]

... good find

oooh, a brief look but I'd have the HP3400A and Keithley 228A  and much more 

[Hydron]

Some nice stuff - shame pickup would be a huge hassle coming from south of London without owning a car

Already have a 228A so wouldn't be in competition for that (that was it's own hassle to get though, given ebay inexplicably decided it was an export restricted item after I'd won the auction ). If you do get it I can suggest some mods to make it quieter and burn less idle power.

[iJoseph2]

Some nice stuff

Indeed .. you've always got to pinch yourself whenever you see auctions like that

[factory]

Hi, was scouring auctions for some equipment for work and found this - lots of test equipment for the Dave and co test equipment nerds.

I have no affiliation with the auction house, just sharing the findings

Link - https://www2.ppauctions.com/auction/410/september-collective-sale

Beware of bidding too much on the lots, they often use a hidden reserve, they use random bidder names/alias to do this, the name(s) change for each auction and the items won by the reserve alias bidder then appear in the next auction. Quite annoying, but within the rules they have, being a business to business auction house.

David

[veedub565]

And of course don't forget +20% VAT and then +15% fees on top of that for whatever you bid.

I think the hidden reserve price is rather unrealistic in many cases.

And always remember its condition unknown. It could be a total loss as I've found in the past. Which is annoying when you end up paying more than a decent working one from ebay, just to beat the reserve.

[V_King]

To the doom and gloom lot, nobody is forcing you to buy anything. Our company bought a number of high quality tools at auctions at a very good price over the years. You need to use your thinking head though, which sounds to be rare nowadays.

[tggzzz]

PPAuctions has very variable quality items. Some are fine, some are only worth instant disassembly into component parts. (One such item yeilded only a decent OCXO and a piece of metalwork that enabled me to have a Christmas dinner; long story, not repeating it!)

It is located at a farm, and storage can be a barn. Look carefully at the pictures to see which items are in the barn.

I notice that they are now marking some items "spares or repairs". I haven't seen that before, and I'm not sure what to think about items not marked that way.

[veedub565]

PPAuctions has very variable quality items. Some are fine, some are only worth instant disassembly into component parts. (One such item yeilded only a decent OCXO and a piece of metalwork that enabled me to have a Christmas dinner; long story, not repeating it!)

It is located at a farm, and storage can be a barn. Look carefully at the pictures to see which items are in the barn.

I notice that they are now marking some items "spares or repairs". I haven't seen that before, and I'm not sure what to think about items not marked that way.

To be fair the last lot of items I had from them was pretty decent.

[tggzzz]

PPAuctions has very variable quality items. Some are fine, some are only worth instant disassembly into component parts. (One such item yeilded only a decent OCXO and a piece of metalwork that enabled me to have a Christmas dinner; long story, not repeating it!)

It is located at a farm, and storage can be a barn. Look carefully at the pictures to see which items are in the barn.

I notice that they are now marking some items "spares or repairs". I haven't seen that before, and I'm not sure what to think about items not marked that way.

To be fair the last lot of items I had from them was pretty decent.

Many items I have bought there have been pretty decent too. However, it is wise to presume anything electronic will need to be repaired, and some will be unrepairable.

I class PPAuctions as one step below Ramco. Ramco's prices tend to be higher, partly because Ramco will pack and send stuff.

Anyone why buys something there will probably stop off in Stamford, a pretty town nearby. Aunby itself is a deserted medieval village with a couple of farms attached
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Aunby,+Stamford+PE9+4EE/@52.7251085,-0.4939694,16.75z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x487820b4adb15d2d:0xa8709b20f20a9940!8m2!3d52.725201!4d-0.491058!16s%2Fm%2F02x5cz3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDkyMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
The ?only? roadsign to Aunby is ~40cm*15cm, and easily hidden in a hedgerow

[armandine2]

If you do get it I can suggest some mods to make it quieter and burn less idle power.

I didn't get it (this time) - it went for a £200 bid, which is inexpensive for this type of thing (even with the extra costs).
 I think the size of the instrument went against it for me.

Anyhow, looking forward to collecting the HP3400A 

[Hydron]

Yeah 200 quid isn't bad, my one from the US cost 300 USD including shipping/tax to California, which I though was a good deal for what turned out to be a spotless unit with ZERO dust inside a 30yo instrument (would have been a much better deal if eBay had allowed the seller to ship to the UK and not made me use my whole suitcase for it ).
Gotta say that other than some of the tempting boat anchors (which I realistically don't have room for) nothing that I'm super unhappy about missing out on, though there's a few nice-to-haves that I would have bid on if logistics were easier.

Enjoy the 3400A!

[armandine2]

Given this was my first online auction I'm reasonably happy, after my bids.

It was quite well behaved compared to eBay countdowns - I've learnt that lesson, emotionally 

So, with diesel day out and all the items about £450.00 total, for stuff which has yet to be seen and used.

... other than the HP3400A, 3No. Beckman HD110 industrial multimeters, a couple of bench PSUs, a Robin insulation/continuity tester, and some torque wrenches 

narrow Lincolnshire roads to look forward to too 

[tggzzz]

Given this was my first online auction I'm reasonably happy, after my bids.

It was quite well behaved compared to eBay countdowns - I've learnt that lesson, emotionally 

So, with diesel day out and all the items about £450.00, total for stuff which has yet to be seen and used.

... other than the HP3400A, 3No. Beckman HD110 industrial multimeters, a couple of bench PSUs, a Robin insulation/continuity tester, and some torque wrenches 

narrow Lincolnshire roads to look forward too 

Many online auctions have the "bids in the last X minutes extend the deadline by X minutes" mechanism. I prefer that to the fleabay sniper's paradise, but it can become interesting if you are simultaneously bidding on several items in the last X minutes.

Have fun, and let us know how you get on (possibly in the TEA thread )

[armandine2]

Some nice stuff - shame pickup would be a huge hassle coming from south of London without owning a car

Removal terms are fairly restrictive: 24 hour notice - weekday only collection - in a 12 day window

[veedub565]

Some nice stuff - shame pickup would be a huge hassle coming from south of London without owning a car

Removal terms are fairly restrictive: 24 hour notice - weekday only collection - in a 12 day window

Yeah it's a bit of a pain, especially if you only end up winning one item. Plus for me it's a 180 mile round trip and time off work. Them's the T&C's though, and I guess they are mainly focussed on B2B. I don't really mind a day out though if I have lots of interesting new toys to collect

Nice score on the 3400A, I looked at that seems in decent condition.


Quite a few items I was interested in... but they ended up going for more than I wanted to spend.  I was bidding on the 8510C VNA rig till it got to £1,000 still a good price even at that money, but more than I could justify spending.

[armandine2]

... I find my bidding style to be kind of autonomous - and self revealing.

I didn't bid too much on equipment I liked that was overly bulky and expensive. I guess, may be that would change if there was a pressing need for something (or a plan).

[tggzzz]

Some nice stuff - shame pickup would be a huge hassle coming from south of London without owning a car

Removal terms are fairly restrictive: 24 hour notice - weekday only collection - in a 12 day window

I wouldn't panic about giving them notice for a few small items. Their interest is mainly to gather the stuff into a pile and/or forklift big stuff nearer the barn doors.

You could always get a pack/send company to send it to you. I've never used one, but ISTR starting prices are ~£40

[factory]

Do they really charge a minimum of £40 to pack & send a item? if they do I'm glad I didn't win the lot of HP handles.

David

[tggzzz]

Do they really charge a minimum of £40 to pack & send a item? if they do I'm glad I didn't win the lot of HP handles.

David

Sorry, that was for dedicated companies that visit <where ever> in order toi pack and send. AFAIK PPAuctions (unlike Ramco) won't do shipping themselves.

[factory]

Do they really charge a minimum of £40 to pack & send a item? if they do I'm glad I didn't win the lot of HP handles.

David

Sorry, that was for dedicated companies that visit <where ever> in order toi pack and send. AFAIK PPAuctions (unlike Ramco) won't do shipping themselves.

Not sure I've seen any companies doing that when I've visited, I did see someone palletising some items (for a forum member) when I collected items, I'm sure they were from PP, but I can't remember.
I've noticed you said you have never used this service anyway.

The PP collective auction had some annoying long/slow scrolling message crap at the top of the page, including a reference to packing small items only, this is the message, which I couldn't see anywhere else;

Please Note: Postage & / or Packaging services may be available if required for most small lots (hand portable) in this Auction sale - please contact the Auctioneers if you require further information - quotes including insurance cost can only be provided after the auction sale is closed.

Maybe I should ask next time, to confirm what they mean & possible costs for small items, but really they should put something on there website about parcel sizes/weights & limits & typical costs, we pay enough for the lots after all. 

David

[factory]

Some nice stuff - shame pickup would be a huge hassle coming from south of London without owning a car

Removal terms are fairly restrictive: 24 hour notice - weekday only collection - in a 12 day window

Yes their collection times are almost the same as my working hours, even down to the half day Friday, this puts me off bidding too much, unless it's something I really want, as it not only means wasting a days holiday and driving a fair distance + fuel costs etc.
I've no idea why they only offer an approx two week collection window either, as unsold/hidden-reserve-not-met items just sit there for months, till the next sale.
For a regular auction house having a sale every week, I understand why they would need stuff cleared quickly.

David

[tggzzz]

PPAuctions has very variable quality items. Some are fine, some are only worth instant disassembly into component parts. (One such item yeilded only a decent OCXO and a piece of metalwork that enabled me to have a Christmas dinner; long story, not repeating it!)

It is located at a farm, and storage can be a barn. Look carefully at the pictures to see which items are in the barn.

I notice that they are now marking some items "spares or repairs". I haven't seen that before, and I'm not sure what to think about items not marked that way.

To be fair the last lot of items I had from them was pretty decent.

Many items I have bought there have been pretty decent too. However, it is wise to presume anything electronic will need to be repaired, and some will be unrepairable.

Slight necropost, but I've bumbled across a list of my good/bad purchases from PPAuctions...
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/pp-november-auction/msg4524029/#msg4524029

[armandine2]

Just picked my lots up this morning - sunny drive, three and half hours round trip.

Very pleasant on the phone and on site - paying was awkward my end, but I guess that's down to me and my bank  .

This evening I'll know a bit more of what it is I got.

[armandine2]

So .. the first analysis is:

... have I over paid, and if so where? - I feel very little, if any, buyer regret - yet I'm not entirely satisfied with my lots.

The prices, which I've indicated below, includes my travel expense to collect the lots and a small bank travel expense - no personal time, which I would not have added to an account of this personal purchase.

.... the HP3400A came in at £159.17 - that feels high - it turns out that the item is not the sexy classic version - I'd missed the lack of a zero dial adjuster on the lot photograph. So it looks like I have a late version - not sure yet what else it needs to be fully operational.

... the Kikusui PMC 18V 2A came in at £95.50 - no bargain, but not so pricey for this type of power supply - the fuse has blown, may be by me powering on with the power button left on 

... the three small torque wrenches came in at £57.60 - they're used but look and feel quite functional - in quarter inch square and hexagonal drive - no obvious complaints or worries there.

... the Robin 3131 insulation and continuity tester came in at £50.02 - that's on reflection a bit more than I'd've liked - but the Digimess DP3005 linear PSU was just £40.93, a probable bargain.

... the three Beckman Industrial HD110 multimeters came in at £48.51 - so about £16 each. I'm now warming to these "Egon Spengler" possibly Ghostbuster DMMs- after various Ali Baba [Aladdin] cleaning treatments. One of the three is missing a 10A (?) big fuse, but one of the other ones tried with a fresh battery was quite impressive.