Could happy buyers mean happy sellers? Not “happy” that they got a good deal necessarily, but happy with the process (and the property) — less friction, less waiting, less complication, more assurances?
There’s no doubt.
I will pay more for something if the terms of my purchase favor me. Bad terms? I’ll certainly pay less to compensate or maybe not participate at all. In fact, that’s what much of the public armed with better choices does every day.
Want me to buy your expensive ribeye steak but I have to walk 10 miles and climb a mountain to get it? No thanks. Provide me a good experience, treat me well and I’ll pay $79 or even more for that really good meal.
The shortsightedness in the auction business is astonishing to me. Treat bidders terrible — as-is, where-is, no warranties, no guarantees, no return policy, abhorrent shipping, waiting … and you want me to pay full price?
As I have consistently held — treat bidders/buyers better and you’ll have more of them, and higher prices and thus you and your seller realize more. Auctioneers with more bidders/buyers have more and happier sellers than auctioneers with fewer bidders/buyers.
Conversely, protect your seller with one-sided, inequitable terms, conditions, and procedures and you’ll likely “protect” your seller from higher prices as well — not something most sellers are looking for …
Some contend auction buyers get a discount and so the terrible terms are the trade for that privilege. Really? You’re an auctioneer selling at discount prices? Maybe you don’t have the right bidders and/or a sufficient number of bidders — wonder why that would be?
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, an Instructor at the National Auctioneers Association’s Designation Academy and America’s Auction Academy. He is 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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