All auctioneers who accept bids online for chattels should provide for shipping. In fact, all auctioneers should offer shipping options for buyers — no matter live, simulcast, or online. https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2021/04/08/youre-selling-online-and-you-dont-ship/.
Equally crucial for bidders is the cost of shipping. If I’m bidding on a $500 item, and I don’t know the shipping, how high can I bid? Is the shipping $10 or $100 or $1,000? It’s reasonable for the auctioneer to provide — at a minimum — approximate shipping costs upon request.
I’m not suggesting every auctioneer actually ship everything, and instead either ship or provide other options for buyers. If you won’t ship, arrange shipping, or let me arrange shipping, you lose me as a bidder — and you deserve to lose me as you’re not servicing your client’s needs either.
Even if you don’t know the exact shipping, at least be sure to denote the size and weight of material items that will likely be shipped separately. Bidders then can check various providers to get shipping quotes. Otherwise, answer the phone, texts, and emails inquiring about shipping … before bidding is over.
To possibly rephrase, it is completely hypocritical to facilitate the sale of personal property “all over the world” without helping those buyers receive their items shipped to their desired location. Many bidders won’t bid if shipping is not offered in any way, and as such your “worldwide” marketing and bidding is not.
If you accept shipping as a given, then the shipping cost should be as well. Virtually every other company — especially with online shopping — offers shipping and details the costs up-front.
If shipping costs can’t be exactly calculated precisely, or even approximately, then inform your buyer of your policy — in that items will be weighed, boxed, etc., and shipped at actual cost (or whatever.) In other words, no response to the cost of shipping is completely unacceptable.
Lastly, auctions don’t need yet another reason for bidders to shop elsewhere — most of us are already selling as-is, where-is, with no returns, no exchanges, and no guarantees … so no shipping either, and we won’t provide any idea of the cost? Really?
Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, CAS, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years. His company’s auctions are located at Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, Brandly Real Estate & Auction, and formally at Goodwill Columbus Car Auction. He serves as Distinguished Faculty at Hondros College, Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School, and an Instructor at the National Auctioneers Association’s Designation Academy and Western College of Auctioneering. He has served as faculty at the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University and is approved by The Supreme Court of Ohio for attorney education.
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