Howard County Police recovered 18,600 stolen construction tools this year, they were victims of a massive theft scheme. This weekend, many of them will be auctioned off.

So grab your wallet and your warmest coat, and be sure to do your research on the tools you want to acquire at Saturday’s auction.

Associated Auctioneers & Appraisers will hold the auction at West Friendship Park to help the county liquidate the tools, owner Roy Gregory said. The auction will feature more than 10,000 new and gently used construction tools – and it’s just the first potentially multiple auction, he said.

Gregory expects to sell at least 10,000 lots this weekend — meaning one or more items, depending on how they are auctioned — and said the second auction will feature the same number.

When and where do the auctions take place?

The auction will take place at 12985 Frederick Road in West Friendship. It starts at 9 a.m.

There will be a preview day on Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the same location where the auction will take place, and people will be able to take a look at the items and see what they want to buy.

What to expect if you come to an auction for the first time?

Gregory said he thinks at least 1,000 people will show up for the auction, but he won’t know until it happens.

“We sell something every man wants,” he said. “There are a lot of brand new items, and those items are very expensive, so they’re going to come out just to get a deal.”

Everything about selling is pretty simple, Gregory said. But it’s important to try not to get caught up in the desire to win, which he says is what happens in the auction world.

This “winner” mentality can lead people to overpay for items, “which we love as auction companies,” he said.

But Gregory’s No. 1 tip for a new buyer? Knowledge is king.

“Do your homework and know what you’re buying,” he said.

How long will the auction last?

Hopefully the auction will end within eight hours, Gregory said, adding that he thinks people will be tired around 5 p.m.

Typical auctions last less than eight hours, but this is an extreme circumstance, he said. There will be one auctioneer at a time all day, which is different from other auctions where multiple auctioneers sell items at the same time at different locations in the auction.

“I have four auctioneers coming, so we’re going to give everyone a taste of the auctioneers in the state of Maryland,” Gregory said. “We’ll have one go up for an hour, he’ll go down, another one will go up for an hour and he’ll go down. So we allow the crowd to move away from one person’s voice and keep everyone cool so it keeps moving at a good pace.

Everything will be sold in bundles, he said, meaning all of the same items will be grouped together, or it could be just one item.

For example, all new chainsaws may be sold as a set, but an individual may purchase just one in the set or the entire lot. Older chainsaws that may be damaged will be in a different lot.

What types of tools are available?

Some of the tools that will be up for grabs are drills of all kinds, such as hammer drills and impact drills, flashlights, leveling kits, air compressors and air purifiers, staplers, tool bags, saws and chainsaws, paint sprayers and welding tools. supplies.

Most items are new and still in their box. Other items are used, but are like new, so things aren’t in very bad shape, Gregory said.

Money from the auctioned tools will be used to cover the county’s costs for renting warehouse space and paying overtime to move and inventory all items, said Lori Boone, public information officer. public of the police department. Any remaining money would likely go to the county’s general fund, but that will be determined at that time.

How did these tools end up at auction?

In late January, county police began recovering construction tools after a tracking device embedded in a stolen tool led police to a storage unit in Elkridge.

Since then, Seth Hoffman, public information officer for the police department, said police have conducted searches of 12 storage units, including 11 in Howard County.

While many of the stolen tools have been returned to 155 victims, thousands have gone unclaimed and will be auctioned off on Saturday.

Police initially allowed people who believe they were victims of the theft to fill out an online form to get their tools back, but that time has now expired. The remaining tools cannot be claimed outside of the next auction, Hoffman said.

When will the next auction take place?

Maybe mid-December, but that remains to be determined. Due to the number of items, Gregory said his company has been sorting tools for about two weeks and continues to do so.

He said the challenge is trying to present the items in a way that people want to buy them.

Items that didn’t sell in the first auction and those that never had a chance to be auctioned off will get their chance in future auctions, Gregory said.