Our First On-Line Auction Completed…the verdict is?

We did our first on-line auction July 15^th.

After 23 years of live auctions, this was a big change, but I will not be doing any live auctions for the remainder of this year, so I had to give it a shot!

The verdict?  First auction was a success!  I must admit, I found it more exciting than I expected.  Grabbing a coffee and watching the two hour soft closing… seeing items go into the soft close at a low price, and suddenly they take off!

Overall prices on most items were similar or higher than average live auction prices, but of course there were a few items painfully low.  However, that happens in live auctions as well.

The auctions are smaller than our live auctions.  Working on approx.. 175-200 lots  for future auctions.  However, 98% of the items sold, so obviously we came up with the right stuff!

The online auctions are labour intensive. Every piece has to have several good photos and descriptions, but that is also something I enjoy doing.  Nice comments concerning the overall photo presentation.

The big advantage is, at this point, I can do almost everything myself. No hall to rent, no labour costs, trucking, insurance etc. Obviously, the auction company I am with gets a commission and some other charges, and of course there are credit card fees etc., but still the costs are much lower.

I am currently working out of two storage units, so the overhead is low.  This is temporary until I can find a larger, heated facility, but we are working on that.

I have a huge inventory ready to sell, but when you can only do about 200 lots per sale, it is going to take a few months or more to get through the current inventory. There again, something I am working on.

So overall, I was pleased with the on-line auction and am excited again about the future.

When it is safe to do so, I plan on doing live auctions again, but I can say with certainty, there will not be as many per year as I was doing.

We’ve turned another corner, but it’s all good.

Keep following me on this website, Instagram and Facebook, and I think you will be pleased with what’s coming your way!

I do miss working with my wonderful staff, but we are keeping in touch, and when this is all over, I will be seeing much more of them!  Charlie and Donnie visit me every week. We wear our masks and keep a safe distance. Charlie brings me peanut butter cookies he bakes himself, so as long as he keeps the cookies coming, I will make time for a visit!

Rob
 

Rob