Auctions By Design

One thing that sets Auction Nation apart from other auction companies is that we design our auctions.  From start to finish, every aspect of our auction is thoroughly planned.  If you ask most auction companies, they will tell you that bidders will pay what they are willing to pay and that amount will be reached no matter what.  That is false. 

Time after time you can study auctions and see why certain auctions fail and others succeed.  It all boils down to planning, and poor planning can kill an auction.  Here are a few examples:

Date of Auction:  Setting the date of the auction is extremely important, especially in a live auction.   Not only do you not want to schedule an auction on a holiday weekend or a special event but scheduling a smaller auction, on the same day as a large auction, forces the bidders to choose which to attend.  More often then not, they will choose the larger auction.

Auction Set-Up:  The set up of the auction is extremely important and presentation is everything!  I have seen average assets sell for ridiculous prices just because it was presented well.  On the other hand, I have seen assets that should have sold for alot more than they did, but they sold for practically nothing because they were not set up well and did not look good live and in-person.  Displaying all assets correctly and making sure everything is clean and presentable is key to a successful auction.

Descriptions:  Accurate descriptions are also key!  Every auction company is hired to do their due diligence and represent the assets in a way that not only benefits them, but benefits the consigner and the bidder.  Leaving out important information can hurt the bidder and/or the consigner and make an item sell for more or less than what it should have, which is always to the detriment for one or the other.

Photos:  Photos tend to be the first thing that people look at, especially in an internet auction.  Using a top of the line camera and an experienced photographer increases the first impression of the bidders, which in turn increases auction results.  When hired to do a job, the Auction Nation motto is “Exceed All Expectations”.  There should never be blurry photos, and taking just one photo of an item is just plain laziness!

Lot Order:  Most auction companies will dictate when 10 or so key items will sell and the rest tend to be in random order.  This is poor practice not only in a live auction but in an internet auction as well.  It is beneficial to bidders and consigners alike for the lot order to be logical.  Putting the same type of product in the same area and category helps buyers find what they are looking for and entices competitive bids.

Advertising: Another key to a successful auction is Marketing. Unlike most companies that just rely on their bidder base, we seek out potential buyers for all assets we sell. We design a marketing campaign for every auction based on assets we are selling.