Howard County Police recovered 18,600 stolen construction tools this year that were caught up in a massive theft scheme. This weekend, many of them will be sold at an auction.

So, grab your wallet and warmest coat, and make sure to do your research on what tools you want to snag at Saturday’s auction.

Associated Auctioneers & Appraisers will host 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 brand new and gently used construction tools — and this is just the first auction of potentially multiple, he said.

Gregory expects to sell at least 10,000 lots this weekend — which means one item or multiple items, depending on how they will be auctioned — and said the second auction will feature the same number.

When and where is the auction?

The auction will be 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. in the same location the auction will take place, and people will be able to take a look at the items and scout what they want to buy.

What to expect as a first-time auction-goer?

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

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

Everything in the sale is pretty straightforward, Gregory said. But it’s important to try to not get caught up in wanting to win, which he said is what happens in the auction world.

That “winning” mentality can lead to people overpaying for items, “which as auction companies, we love it,” 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 wraps up within eight hours, Gregory said, adding that he thinks people will get 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 — different from other auctions where there are multiple auctioneers selling items at the same time at different locations within the auction.

“I have four auctioneers coming, so we’re going to give everybody a taste of auctioneers around the state of Maryland,” Gregory said. “We’ll get one up for an hour, he’ll come down, another one to go up for an hour, and he’ll come down. So we kind of get the crowd a break from one person’s voice and keep everybody fresh so it keeps moving at a good pace.”

Everything will be sold in lots, he said, which means all of the same items will be grouped together, or it could be one individual item.

For example, all the brand-new chain saws might be sold in a lot, but an individual can purchase just one out of the lot or the entire lot. The older chain saws that might have some damage 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, staple guns, tool bags, saws and chain saws, paint sprayers and welding supplies.

Many of the items are brand new and still in a box. Other items are used, but are like brand new, so things aren’t in terrible shape, Gregory said.

The money from the tools sold at the auction will be used to cover the county’s costs for leasing the warehouse space and overtime pay to move and inventory all the items, said Lori Boone, a public information officer for the Police Department. Any leftover money would likely go to the county’s general fund, but that will be determined at the time.

How did these tools end up at an auction?

In late January, county police began recovering the construction tools after a tracking device 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 on 12 storage units, 11 of which were in Howard County.

While many of the stolen tools are being returned to 155 victims, thousands remained unclaimed and will be auctioned Saturday.

Police initially allowed people who believed they may have been a victim in this theft to fill out an online form to recover their tools, but that period has now closed. The remaining tools can no longer be claimed outside of the coming auction, Hoffman said.

When will the next auction be?

Possibly mid-December, but that’s still to be determined. Because of the number of items, Gregory said his company has been sorting through the tools for about two weeks, and they’re continuing to do so.

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

The items that don’t get sold in the first auction, and the items that never had a chance to get auctioned off, will have their chance at future auctions, Gregory said.