I've never understood the logic of an auction for people in business. The stuff is there because the owner no longer wants it. There is no recourse after you buy it. You have to pay full price before you can pick it up. In most cases the gavel price has a buyer's premium attached to it. No one verifies hour meter or odometer readings. You are supposed to compete for the assets with people who don't know which end is forward. No retail company can generate such mass stupidity.
Maybe you have had better luck dealing with salesmen and retailers than I have. Personally, based on my own experiences, I think it's plain stupid to trust or believe salesmen. They always tell me what they think I want to hear before I buy, then after the sale it's tough luck. I don't have the means to verify hour meter/odometer readings on used dealer equipment and have been lied to several times about the same.
Anything new is DEF and anything used is buyer beware and the owner no longer wants it, no matter who sells, at least to me, as I don't have the deep pockets to develop a trusting relationship with a dealer.
The buyers premium is always known before bidding.
I agree there are lots of idiotic eager bidders, but I choose not to be one of them and have left a few auctions disgusted. I decide on max price before bidding.
You buy from a dealer, the salesman salary is added to the sales price, as is all the other overhead they have.
The kind of iron I buy, which is used on my own property and not for a living, is purchased at less than 20% of new (with the exception of attachments). Auctions and private sellers are usually the only ones who have iron in that range.
Although I despise auctioneers as much as dealers, I will likely continue to make most of my purchases there.