COMPUTERS and AUCTIONS

One of the things I love to do on a Friday, is going down to our local Auction rooms and check out the computer hardware and software on offer. So far I have bought a Dell 486 plus 14" monitor for under £100 pounds, sound cards, hard drives and more software than you can shake a stick at. And all at ridiculously low prices.

You have to know what you are doing of course, and be prepared to take a risk. You are bound to pick up the odd dud, but you might also hit the mother load, which is I suppose what the attraction is.

For example, I put in a bid for a large box containing books, software and 3.5" disks and got it for ten pounds. When I got home and had a thorough look, to my suprise I found Flight Sim 98, Windows update 95, Doom, manuals on everything from Office Pro97 to Sim City 2000. Plus well over seventy blank disks! Not bad for a tenner.

Well worth an investigation if you have an auction near you, and a bit of cash to spare. A word of caution though. It is very easy to get carried away with the bidding. Either set yourself a target and STOP when the bidding reaches that figure, or do what I do, and put in a sealed bid by paper. You decide on the maximum amount to bid, and that figure is then bid on your behalf at the auction. If the bid only reaches half your maximum figure, then you get the item at the last price bid.

Good hunting.

31/12/98