Stuart Bain with AuctionServices.com couldn’t have said it any better.
Stuart was teaching a class at the West Virginia Auctioneers Association Convention last month.
He suggested that there were good ways for auctioneers to advertise their auctions, and there were some not-so-good ways.
One such not-so-good way is for an auctioneer to direct his prospective bidders to www.auctionzip.com giving those bidders an “iD number” to reference.
What an auctioneer does by advertising in this fashion is two-fold:
Direct prospective bidders to a site with 1,000’s of other auctions, inviting bidders to look at those.
Not enhance brand awareness of the auctioneer’s own website; a missed opportunity.
Of course, it is exceedingly prudent to advertise auctions on any number of auction calendars. We discussed such calendars here:http://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2011/02/08/internet-auction-calendars/
The point is, although the auction is advertised on a particular calendar, and people can (and do) find that auction via the calendar, each auctioneer should have a website with that auction advertised there.
As such, auctioneers advertise those auctions and should direct people to their website, and not the calendar.
www.auctionzip.com is one calendar which provides HTML code for auctioneers to embed just their listings on their website. Given that configuration, as the auctions are updated on the calendar, the auctioneer’s website is updated concurrently.
Prior to the Internet, auctioneers advertised in newspapers. If someone said, “Hey, how do I find out about your auction next Saturday?” an auctioneer might have replied, “Take a look at Sunday’s paper … I’ll have it listed in the ‘auction section.'” However, there would be other auctioneers’ advertisements there too.
With the Internet, and auctioneers having their own websites, they could direct that same inquirer: “Here’s my card, go to my website as all our auctions are listed there.”
Yet, when auction calendars appeared, some auctioneers reverted to the old “newspaper model,” directing inquirers to a place where their auction, and other auctions were listed — even though they had a website listing just their auctions.
Lastly, such directing potential bidders to an auction calendar not only takes away from an auctioneer’s potential crowd, but injures the auctioneer’s client more so. Why didn’t that good buyer of costume jewelry come to your auction? Because he went to the auction calendar and found an auction with even more, better costume jewelry …
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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