We have written before about an online auction provider called Youragentbid.com, who provides auctioneers an online auction platform.
This platform allows auctioneers to list property on their site, and allows bidders to bid two ways.
Bidders can either bid during the live auction from a remote location and/or leave a “proxy” bid and have the software bid for them in their absence.
Devin Jones is Youragentbid’s CEO.
We previously spoke to Devin about various issues with his software, including that Youragentbid requires auctioneers to promote Youragentbid on their site if using the software. Too, it appears Youragentbid is interested in getting into the auction business themselves at some point.
Those articles are here:
Nevertheless, our topic today deals with the idea that when an auctioneer uses Youragentbid’s software, the bidders register with Youragentbid, and are then shared with other auctioneers using the Youragentbid platform.
Devin explained the benefits of this policy in a telephone conversation just today:“Mike, I appreciate your question about our policy, but this is actually a win-win for our auctioneers. When auctioneer “A” has an auction with us, those bidders become our property.Then, when auctioneer “B” has an auction with us, auctioneer “B’s” bidders also become our property and auctioneer “B” benefits with the ability to use auctioneer “A’s” bidders.Too, when auctioneer “A” has a second auction with us, auctioneer “B’s” bidders are now available for auctioneer “A.” You see … auctioneer “A” wins and auctioneer “B” wins.”
My telephone conversation with Devin continued. I asked him if, in his scenario, auctioneer “A” decided to no longer utilize Youragentbid — would auctioneer “A’s” bidders be returned to him or deleted from Youragentbid’s database?
Further, I asked Devin if auctioneer “A’s” bidders found other auctioneers they preferred, such as auctioneer “C” or auctioneer “D,” then would this in fact be a win for auctioneer “A?”
Devin responded:“Mike, we don’t return bidders to auctioneers nor delete them; on the contrary, those bidders belong to us. If auctioneer “A” leaves us, then he would have to procure his own bidders for his next event without our involvement.And, yes, if our bidders found they liked bidding at auctioneer “Z’s” auction better, then that would hurt auctioneer “A” but that’s not our problem. We’re here to serve our bidders, not the auctioneers.”
I hung up the phone with Devin Jones, and thought … the bidders belong to them? And, Youragentbid shares those bidders that any particular auctioneer drives to their site with other auctioneers?
Coincidentally, I remember just getting into the auction business in the late 1970’s, and talking with Jim Kottyan, an auctioneer in Richmond, Indiana. He had been asked by another auctioneer in Connersville, Indiana if he would share his past bidder list (upwards of 1,000 names and addresses) with this other auctioneer so he could mail out a flyer to them about his auction.
Jim laughed as he told the story:“Yea, I’ve worked for 25 years gathering names and addresses of people I can tell about my auctions and he wants to tell them about his auction. Are you kidding me? Maybe I’ll just have him stand up at the start of our auction, and introduce himself, and tell our bidders to get in their cars, and leave our auction, and go to his …?”
* 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 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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