Been running my live auction house for 3 years now. The auction floor is a blast, I love the energy. But the behind-the-scenes stuff? Inventory management, consignment contracts, bidder disputes, shipping logistics... it's a never-ending headache. Any other auction biz owners here? How do you handle the chaos?
Auction Business
Live auctions are fun. Running the company is another story
No experience but I've watched a lot of Storage Wars. Does that count? 😂
I run a small estate auction company. The biggest thing for us was getting a solid consignment management software. Before that, we were using spreadsheets and it was a nightmare. Now we use AuctionFlex and it handles a lot of the repetitive stuff. Still, the people part is always tricky
How do you deal with non-paying bidders? That's my biggest frustration. We've had people win items and then just disappear.
Non-payers are the worst. We started requiring a credit card on file for online bidders, and we ban them after two strikes. It's cut down on a lot of nonsense.
Consider hiring a part-time admin person. I know it sounds like an extra cost but freeing up your time to focus on sourcing and client relationships might be worth it. We did that last year and it was a game changer.
I don't run an auction but I sell vintage jewelry online. Shipping is my Achilles heel. How do you handle shipping for large or fragile auction items? Do you outsource?
We partner with a local packing and shipping store. They give our customers a discount and handle all the logistics. Takes a lot off our plate. For big items, we just say local pickup only.
This is all fascinating. I had no idea running an auction was so complicated. I just thought you shout nu mbers and bang a gavel.
As a frequent auction attendee, I appreciate when the auction house is organized. Nothing worsve than waiting 20 minutes for them to find a lost item. Keep up the good work!
TidePoolThinker, do you use AuctionFlex for live onsite auctions too or just online? We're looking to upgrade our system.
Both. It handles clerking, cashiering, and online bidding. Took some training but worth it.
Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm going to look into AuctionFlex and maybe consider hiring some help. The shipping partnership idea is smart too.
One more thing: document eveerything. Every consignment, every bidder interaction. It'll save you in disputes.