auction where they have about 35 of them in the Kansas City area. The Auction closes Sunday. I went through the lots and made a list of the units I might be interested in and what the bids were as of yesterday afternoon. Each item shows a bid history, with the unique number assigned to each bidder. I was fairly hopeful that I could find a reasonably priced unit at this auction because there's lots of inventory and prices haven't run up much yet this far before the auction closes.

Between 8:00 and 9:00 this morning one specific bidder went in and bid $1000 to $1500 higher than the existing bid on EVERY SINGLE ONE of the 35 mini excavators in the auction. Bid increments are $100, so there's no reason to jump a bid that much. These 1 ton mini excavators are imported from China and run between $5000 and $10K, depending on the engine type, size, horsepower, and what options are installed. $1000 to $1500 is a HUGE jump this far before the auction closes.

Buyer ID numbers are issued sequentially on this auction site, and this particular bidder has the absolute lowest/oldest ID number of any bid submitted (and it's not close - looks like it's at least 5-6 years old).

What are the odds that the bidder is the owner of the auction site going through and pumping up the prices on these units. If he ends up being the high bidder, it's not a big deal. He just keeps the unit and lists it at his February or March equipment auction, so there's no downside risk to him.