'Should've seen the look on [his] face when he realized I outsmarted him;' Vintage toy collector devises tag-team plan to defeat leeching bidder

Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor

Jun 24, 2023 1:00 PM EDT

If you have ever been to a real auction, then you know how intense things can get. It's energetic and prices all depend on the crowd and how much they want an item. Something that only one person wants can sell for way under its actual value. And something that isn't really worth a lot can go for way more than it's actual price, all depending on the people in a bidding war for it. It can be fun, stressful, and lucrative for everyone involved.

A Redditor recently posted a story about one of his experiences during an auction and how he needed to seek revenge. He is a vintage toy collector and is known for his expertise in the subject. He went to an auction with the intent of getting a specific toy work over $2k, but ended up getting outbid. He found out later that he got outbid because the man bidding against him knew about his reputation and knew that he could follow him around and get the best stuff for its best value.

Annoyed and defeated that day, he devised a plan to outsmart the leech. So the next auction he attended he had a friend's son come along and sign up. He would bid on the item he wanted to get the leech to start bidding as well, but then he'd stop way before its actual value. This made the leech think that this item wasn't worth anymore than that, so then the friend's son would swoop in and get the item for an amazing deal.

He never fully revealed his plan to the leech, but he did tell him that his friend's son was able to get that piece for less than half of what it's actually worth and the face of pure shock was enough satisfaction for the OP. From then on, the man never knew if he could trust him for bidding, so the plan worked like a charm. Read the whole story below!