There is a right way and a wrong way to do the annual Vancouver police auction, if you ask police property office manager Ian Wightman.

For nine years he has watched hundreds of bargain hunters overpay for items, from bikes to some of the more bizarre booty the auction is known for, all of them with adrenal glands pumping in time with the rise and fall of the auctioneer’s gavel.

“It’s all about investigating and figuring out how much you can afford and how much you want to pay,” Wightman advised Wednesday.

The auction is this Saturday, but Thursday and Friday the public can preview the recovered swag, including over $11,000 in Tiffany jewelry and more than 400 bikes.

“I recommend everyone come down on Thursday or Friday and walk through and look at all of the items, and if they see something that they’re interested in, as in a bicycle, that they write down whatever information they can — like it’s a 27-speed Kona road bike, and they go home at night and… see what it sells for retail, what it sells for on the Internet, so that when they come back here on Saturday and they’re bidding they don’t get swept up in the excitement of buying a bike and end up paying way too much money,” Wightman said.

Some of the unique items up for grabs this year include a $12,500 Vacheron Constantin ladies’ gold watch, a neon “Tool Bench” sign, and two industrial pineapple presses.

The preview runs Thursday and Friday from 12 to 6 p.m. at 1055 Vernon Dr. in Strathcona.

Some items can also be viewed online at www.ableauctions.ca.

The auction start at 9 a.m. Saturday and is expected to draw between 800 and 1,000 hopeful bidders.