How to run a huge auction?

[verbal]

I read in an old aquarium magazine that the ACA auction in 1990 had 2000 items. Has anyone ever been to an auction that size? How was it done?

The write-up mentioned video displays of the fish as an alternative to runners, so that would speed things up a little. However even if you somehow get through 200 items an hour, it still would be a 10+ hour auction.

 

[Buckcich]

However even if you somehow get through 200 items an hour, it still would be a 10+ hour auction.[/QUOTE]

And that's impossible!! That would be an item, been auction off every 15/20 SECONDS. So it's safe to assume, it took over 12 hours!! WOW

 

[AndyNarwhal]

I don't think the video displays speeds up an auction any faster. It may save some time waiting for bidders to come up and look at a bag but that's not significant since very few bags get the extra inspection. If you have enough runners they don't hold anything up.

The time drag in auctions is the bidding process itself. Having just been an auctioneer at the MAS auction last week there is nothing worse than when you have 2-3 people put their hand up when it gets to " ...going once, going twice". And if they do it consistently it can get aggravating.

Andy

 

[Frank Cowherd]

I agree that the video display does not speed up the auction. I do think it has potential to increase bidding if it is focused on the label and the bag number and written description of the item are readable at the back of the room. The item being auction is only described at the beginning of its auction, so bidders who were not paying attention, distracted or just reentering the room have no idea what is being auctioned. Having the video display show what item is being auction can be a great help in these cases. It would also be great if the fish in the bag could be shown on the video display but technology is not there yet to give a clear picture of fish in bags and besides the fish are moving around or hiding in a corner and cannot be seen well.

 

[verbal]

I think the points about video technology not being a silver bullet are correct.

My interest is more with how do you could have an auction with 2000 items without it being 16 hours(at least) long.

 

[dogofwar]

Back in the day (late '80s, early '90s), I attended several mid-west auctions that were HUGE.

In a nutshell, they moved at about the pace that they currently do, they just took all day (and well into the night). Maybe even slower because of the number of participants.

I remember an auction in Detroit that started first thing in the morning and was still going strong at, say, 8 PM when we left. Probably started with 600-700 buyers and still had more than half of that when we left.

And this was a fish (cichlid) only auction...

It would have been a whole weekend affair had there been plants and supplies...

Matt

 

[dogofwar]

Having a monitor to provide a display of what's being auction, in my perspective, aids in helping the audience know what's being auctioned (and maybe more people will bid more / more intelligently) vs. speeding the pace.

Matt

 

[George]

I am surprised no one has mentioned the ACA auction in Chicago. As with many Chicago things it was actually not in Chicago but out in the burbs and started at the normal 10:00 AM or so and ran till about 1:30 AM the NEXT day I am told. I was in my room asleep by then so you could not prove it by me. It appears that did not even set a record for those Chicago folks. Tough people those midwesterners. They'll sleep when they're dead.

George

 

[rich_one]

Wouldn't a silent auction be a better alternative with THAT many items to auction off? Wow!

-Rich

 

[verbal]

Wouldn't a silent auction be a better alternative with THAT many items to auction off? Wow!

-Rich

A silent auction in general takes a lot more space than a live auction, because items have to be displayed the whole duration.

I think a silent auction does work better than a live auction for some items like tanks and equipment. Another issue with a silent auction is bidders are limited in the bids they can put out in case they win all of them.

 

[rich_one]

A silent auction in general takes a lot more space than a live auction, because items have to be displayed the whole duration.

I think a silent auction does work better than a live auction for some items like tanks and equipment. Another issue with a silent auction is bidders are limited in the bids they can put out in case they win all of them.

Ah... yeah, that makes sense.

-Rich

 

[longstocking]

I am hoping one day ECC's auctions are 1,000 lots+ Maybe this is the one that it happens

Watching auctions for many years I have learned technology does not equal speed. It's the people behind the scenes. What technology does do is help the people after the auction and for the buyers but it doesn't speed up a thing. If you would like to get through more lots faster as buyers.... don't drag out each item for the auctioneer. If they say there is a time limit... that means help the people out and don't play the stupid games A lot of times they only have the room or hall etc for a certain amount of time and have to get through every lot in the alloted time frame.

I remember one ECC auction that we had to ask the hall VERY nicely to extend the time... because there was no way to get through the amount of lots we had in the time we had. It wasn't possible!!! Luckily they did or there would have been about 100 lots not auctioned off!

 

[verbal]

I am hoping one day ECC's auctions are 1,000 lots+ Maybe this is the one that it happens :wink:

I think it might be a little bit of "be careful what you wish for". I think much more than 100 items/hour is pretty much a rushed auction, so that would be a 10+ hour day.

The most recent auction I attended was very well run, but probably would have been a lot better with 200 fewer items. The fish were about right, but there were too many cheap plants(pond plants in the fall) and cheap dry goods.

Watching auctions for many years I have learned technology does not equal speed. It's the people behind the scenes. What technology does do is help the people after the auction and for the buyers but it doesn't speed up a thing. If you would like to get through more lots faster as buyers.... don't drag out each item for the auctioneer. If they say there is a time limit... that means help the people out and don't play the stupid games A lot of times they only have the room or hall etc for a certain amount of time and have to get through every lot in the alloted time frame.

I agree the actions and attitude of the people at the auction are just as important as the process and technology.

I think what technology can do is relieve the burden a little on the people behind the scenes and free up more people to run or work in the corral. It also can help cut down on lines with buyers checking out.

 

[dogofwar]

I'll throw out a couple of ideas for making auctions better:

- Sell tanks and other equipment in a concurrent silent auction...

- Schedule focus times for different types of items (e.g. plants at noon; new world at 10 am; lake tang at 1 pm, etc.). People could still bump lots...and other times would be the regular mix of this and that

- Have a swap meet the day before the auction (in the case of a fish-weekend kind of event vs. standalone auction)

Just some ideas...

Matt

 

[JasonC]

There are several companies that have really streamlined the silent auction process... gone are the days where every item has to have a bid sheet, and a large amount of space that it takes up.

They are now bringing in an ipod with a custom app for each participant for you to borrow for the event to allow you to sign up to follow certain items. If you are outbid on an object, the system will automatically ping your ipod to see if you want to increase your bid. Items usually go on the block and expire on a rolling schedule through the night, to help cut down on being limited on how much you can bid on.

Granted, because of the costs of setting up the infrastructure (they do a fantastic job of making sure every square inch of your venue has a strong wireless signal) this is not a cheep option, but over the past year, I have been seeing more and more events at the hotel I work at start using this process... but these are for fundraisng Galas that easily bring in several hundred thousand dollars in one night just on the silent auctions. Largest auction that I have seen of this type was about 2500 or so participants.

While hiring in one of these companies may not be feasable for a fish auction, maybe there are ideas in their process that can be used on a smaller/less expensive scale?