Yes, in many parts of the United States it’s cold outside.
For instance, today in much of the United States, it’s below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Just over 40 years ago, it was -80 degrees Fahrenheit on January 23, 1971 at Prospect Creek Camp, located near the Arctic Circle.
AuctionCode.com started many years ago with a modest goal — to list live auctions in their database so that those looking for live auctions could find them via one centralized source.
For years, AuctionCode.com succeeded in helping the live auctioneer and auction buyers and sellers in the United States and elsewhere.
AuctionCode.com continues to provide this service.
However, AuctionCode.com was taken over by a online auction company and ever since, AuctionCode’s emphasis has been on encouraging auctioneers to sell via their online system, and encouraging buyers to use its online-only platform.
So, on AuctionCode’s Facebook page, AuctionCode.com notes that it’s cold outside, and that we should, “Stay inside and bid online!”
There are indeed opportunities to bid online via AuctionCode’s online platform — to be exact, 130 opportunities which are currently listed on their site from today through February 20, 2013.
Yet, for this same time frame, there are 10,129 live auctions listed on their site. From AuctionCode’s Facebook page, it seems their message is equally … “Don’t go to any of these 10,129 auctions we list for our live auctioneers!”
In other words, stay home and bid at one of the 1% of our auctions, and don’t venture outside to attend any of the other 99% of the auctions listed on our site?
I don’t begrudge AuctionCode for wanting (and needing) to make money. They certainly make more money from the online auctions they host. Yet, as we’ve noted before, generally the 10,129 auctions aforementioned drive the traffic to AuctionCode’s site, thus benefiting the 130 online auctions.
What is disconcerting, however, is that AuctionCode continues to tell the public to ignore auctions without online bidding. They did so before on Black Friday, announcing that:
“We’ve said it before… and we’re going to say it again! No need to deal with the crowds during Black Friday! — check into any of AuctionCode.com’s online auctions and stay at home … and find deals, steals, and fabulous finds!”
AuctionCode.com, as a private company, can certainly tell their potential customers to patronize only their online offerings. But, to ask live auctioneers to “highlight” their auction listings, and/or purchase additional advertising on AuctionCode’s site, is disingenuous … as at the same time AuctionCode tells the public not to attend those auctions.
* The above account including company names, events, etc. are purely fictional. This scenario has been created solely for educational purposes.
Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years. His company’s auctions are located at: Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, Keller Williams Auctions and Goodwill Columbus Car Auction. His Facebook page is: www.facebook.com/mbauctioneer. He serves as Adjunct Faculty at Columbus State Community College and is Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School.
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