Лоты

The warehouse auction is going on blindly. There are two or three things in plain sight, the rest is closed: we only know about each box whether it is heavy and how it sounds if you knock on it. From this we have to calculate how much the lot is worth. There are three people bidding against you, and each has his own weaknesses. Zinaida warms up and overpays, Mikhalych fights for tools, Arkady leaves early. It's easy to win trades — it's hard to win them cheaply. The winner takes the whole lot, opens it and disassembles it. Something goes to the buyer with a profit, something turns out to be junk that you have already paid for. A flashlight, an appraiser, and a second opinion narrow down the unknown, but they cost money: information doesn't pay off on a cheap lot, and it pays off with a margin on an expensive one. The more items of the same category are sold, the more accurately you read the hints: a closed box ceases to be just heavy and becomes "like dishes." The earnings are invested in the business — the warehouse, the speed of delivery of lots, the discount on tools.