A smaller yarding saw buyers exercise caution on some of the lines of steers and heifers offered at Pakenham's fortnightly store sale.
Agents yarded 1169 head of steers and heifers and 78x71 cows and calves.
Read more: NSW cattle bolster Pakenham sale
Andy Grant, Landmark, sold the first run of steers and heifers and said he felt buyers were a little cautious.
"Normally you come here a real gung-ho feeling, they feed off one another's confidence, and away the sale goes," Mr Grant said.
"But it took a bit of stoking today, the big cattle made their money, which is good, but some odd sales looked to be a little bit cheaper.
"In the main, a fair sale but certainly not dearer."
He said buyers were a little hesitant, with West Gippsland fatteners' absence noticeable.
"They might be waiting for the grass to pop its head up, and it might be a different story," he said.
"But there are a lot of cattle coming out of drier areas, which is dragging us down a little bit."
He said cattle could be purchased for less than 300 cents a kilogram.
"You haven't been a been able to do that, for a bit," he said.
"If you would say the steers were firm, the heifers would have been cheaper."
Dan Cameron, SEJ Pakenham, said well-bred cattle continued to sell well, but plainer stock was cheaper.
"Going on the trend of a fortnight ago the plainer cattle were harder to sell," Mr Cameron said.
"People can afford to buy well-bred cattle.
"If they are well bred, they are making more than $3 a kilogram."
He said feedlot activity was quieter on SEJ's draft of cattle.
"It was mainly restockers, a bloke out of the Yarra Valley area bought a few off us, they've had a pretty good season," Mr Cameron.
Other cattle went to South and West Gippsland.
Glenn Barwick, Alex Scott & Staff, said he thought the market was brighter on some of the grown cattle.
"It did get sticky in spots, but I was quite happy," Mr Barwick said.
"We got a lot of little cattle, because of the season, and I thought they sold very well."
Local buyers bid up on the smaller, un-weighed cattle.
"I think a lot of agents get told to buy 10-15 little calves, they don't care what weight they are, they give you $600 to buy them," he said.
"The feedlotters were there, but there were a few grass fatteners, running them right up.
"With a bit of sun, and grass starting to grow, we can only hope it keeps going."
He said while it was very wet in parts of Gippsland, confidence was coming back.
"With this sort of weather, everybody feels a bit better, anyway," he said.
Prices for grown, feedlot type cattle, were around 340c/kg.
"I was thinking it wasn't going to be as strong," he said.
"They just kept coming last fortnight, and Nathan Gibbon had a lot from up north, but they backed off a little bit."
Among the sales were G&Y Virgona, Launching Place, who sold 12, 450kg steers, Tibooburra-blood, for $1545, or 343c/kg.
M Bellen, Myrtlebank, sold 16, 370kg steers for $1230, or 332c/kg.
Kareen, French Island, offered 15, 315kg heifers, receiving $880, or 279c/kg.
Pam Ingram, Drouin South, sold 10, 466kg steers for $1200, or 257c/kg.
The first pen of 7 M Phillips, Nar Nar Goon, Angus steers, 462kg, sold for $1490, or 322c/kg.
A second pen of 18, 375c/kg, went for $1210, or 322c/kg.
Eddington Holdings, Jeetho, sold 14, 386kg steers, Banquet, Lawson and Yancowinna-blood, for $1300, or 336c/kg.
A second pen of 18, 315kg steers, sold for $1200, or 341c/kg.
Elabah Park, Orange, NSW, sold 5, 385kg heifers, for $1100, or 285c/kg.
Hank Lenders, South Homestead, sold 8, 453kg Angus/Limousin=cross steers for $1520, or 335c/kg.
D&S Hickmott sold 10 Angus heifers, 409kg, for $1160, or 283c/kg.
Snow Rural, Meerlieu, sold a draft of 52 cattle.
The first pen of Yancowinna-blood steers, 424kg, sold for $1240, or 291c/kg.
The second pen of 12, 398kg, sold for $1110, or 278c/kg.
Smith Graziers, Tambo Crossing, sold 17 heifers, 332kg, for $920, or 277c/kg.
DG Sims sold nine Simangus heifers, 344kg, for $1000, or 290c/kg.