I’m hearing it every day — pretty much all day — from auctioneers all over the country, and certainly from online platforms which do not maintain a marketplace. “Create your own marketplace …” Is that the right decision for most auctioneers?
I’m not necessarily convinced. It seems possible the “create your own marketplace” crusade is structured to benefit the auctioneer, and not necessarily the seller/client. Of course, we want policies that benefit the auctioneer, but agency duty requires we are loyal to our seller.
Say I put a lot on a prominent online auction marketplace with 5,000,000 bidders and you put a similar lot on a non-marketplace platform. Naturally, you’ll have to market otherwise but so could I. For that matter, let’s say a third auctioneer puts a similar lot on a marketplace platform and advertises otherwise.
Who is taking better care of his or her seller? (1) Marketplace auctioneer, (2) Non-Marketplace auctioneer with additional advertising, or (3) Marketplace auctioneer with additional advertising? I think we all know the answer to that question.
Further, let’s say Marketplace auctioneer moves his business to a Non-Marketplace auctioneer. What about that next seller who doesn’t have the benefit of 5,000,000 potential bidders for that subsequent auction? Would it be prudent for auctioneers feeling the need to create their own marketplace to do that first, before abandoning the third-party marketplace platform?
Still, when does Not-someone-else’s-Marketplace auctioneer’s marketplace substitute adequately for our aforementioned 5,000,000 potential bidders? We ask again, why is it better to avoid these 5,000,000 bidders — is that better for you, your seller, and/or those bidders?
All auctioneers tend to agree that marketplaces are good things, but what I’m seeing is that my marketplace is a good thing and any third-party marketplace is a bad thing. I would offer that for maybe dozens of auctioneers in the United States, building a marketplace to become marketable (salable) to a bigger [take-over] entity may have merit, but for most, there are other serious considerations.
Quite frankly, most auctioneers are not terribly good at marketing — and herein lies the danger. If an auctioneer lacks marketing skills and is convinced that third-party online marketplace platforms are all evil (?) then how does he or she service his or her seller? Not very well. https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2020/10/05/youre-not-marketing-your-auction/.
As well, if an auctioneer is skilled at marketing and thinks all third-party online marketplace platforms are evil, what is the cost to the seller for all this additional marketing? Would 5,000,000 potential bidders — for example — mitigate some of that marketing need and related expense?
It’s important to note that not just “prior bidders” are needed for a beneficial marketplace. Ideal marketplaces are constantly being updated with new bidders as a database of only past bidders tends to produce far more resellers than consumers. We wrote about that here: https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2021/01/05/you-have-a-database-of-what/.
Create your own marketplace? Okay, but be sure to consider all the factors including that you work for your seller and have to advocate for your client even to your own detriment. Sellers without bidders — or the right bidders — are not happy sellers, and bidders/buyers who can’t find (or don’t find) your auction are not bidders nor buyers.
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, RES Auction Services, and 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 is faculty at the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University and is approved by The Supreme Court of Ohio for attorney education.
Comments