Archive for the Category ◊ Basic Auctions ◊

Boost Your Sales and Make Money at Auctions
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 | Author:

Boost Your Sales and Make Money at Auctions

By Ferry Suwantoro

Whether you are planning to make a living on selling items at an auction or just want to maximize your profit from an item you have entered, take note of the following tips on how to boost your sales and make money at auctions.

1. List item(s) on auction houses that sell similar products as yours in similar price ranges. There are auction companies that accept and sell anything. This is okay but your first choice should always be the ones that are selling similar products as yours.



Why? Bidders and shoppers look for a particular item to buy and they want to buy it where they have several choices. The more choices the auction offers, the more people they attract. The same reason people go to a department store rather than a small outlet. Placing your item among other similar items at similar price range increases its chance of selling.

2. Make your item stand out. Buying the rights to become a feature auction can cost you money. Unless you are selling something that can yield to a big sale, refrain from paying for extra exposure. What is meant a good advertisement is by making sure that the item you are selling attracts positive impression and interest.

If it is property you are selling, do some improvements. Refaced kitchen doors, newly painted walls, and a clean front porch may not boost the cost of your house significantly but they can be the factors that will help potential buyers decide to buy your house. This also applies to any products you want to sell at an auction.

3. Answer to the buyers’ wants and needs. Bidders want to buy something worth their money. So the item(s) you sell should be well in the range of the buyer’s budget. If you follow #1, you’re doing it right. Bidders need to buy items that they can take home as simple and as quickly as possible. Your shipping and handling terms must coincide with their requirements.

4. Be realistic in setting your ‘reserve’ price. Most bidders do their homework and search for the current market value of the items they see on auction listings. Try not to take this for granted as you will likely not get any sale if plan to rip off your buyers by setting unreasonable prices. Take note, most people go to auctions because they want to save. Don’t attempt to sell your item(s) higher than what they are worth.

Category: Basic Auctions, Real Estate Auctions  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | One Comment
Guideline to Auctions for Bidder
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 | Author:

Guideline to Auctions for Bidder

By Ferry Suwantoro

This is a compilation of helpful tricks that could improve your bidding power.



How not to overbid.

Overbidding is a common problem among people participating at auctions. In sealed and silent bidding, it is easy to overbid since nobody else knows exactly how high or low the bids are. To ensure that someone wins the bids, he should give it his highest estimated value. On the other hand, the behavior of the crowd and the excitement encouraged by the auctioneer over the properties or items are enough to make people bid excessively. The easiest way to counter this is to do your research.

How to establish your price limit.

Realistic price limits could be made through critically listening to people’s advice, from searching the same items online and through researching some information regarding the property or the item being auctioned. With enough information, you could come up with an estimated value of the merchandise. You don’t have to be an auction guru to know how much an item is worth though.

It all boils down to research. Knowing something about the item could help you decide on how much you should be willing to bid on it. Doing your homework, getting hold of the actual auction catalogue or inspecting the items during their viewing period could help a lot not only on deciding which item to get but also the price limit you give to each item.

Maximize your time

Some auctions will give you sufficient time to inspect the item, some provide the catalogues. Whichever method is being used in the auction you are interested in, you should try to maximize your time by coming in the auction site early. By doing so you might get a chance to talk to the auction organizers and inquire about the items. This also gives you the advantage of getting a comfortable seat.

Attend some auctions beforehand

People who are serious about auctions try to find as much information about them as they can. One good way is to witness live auctions personally. There is so much going on, the hype, the excitement and the wars that normally happen. All these could give you reliable information once you decide to participate yourself. Initially, you should not place any bid- no matter how small the amount. Your intention is to get the feel of the auction process, nothing else.

Observe the crowd.

Bidders have different personalities- each of which work for their buying styles. Work out the differences and similarities among bidders and develop a style of your own. Take note of the style of the more successful ones.

Category: Basic Auctions  | Tags: , ,  | 3 Comments
« Previous Entries