Why Online Auctions Are Such a Powerful Tool
Nowadays, we use technology in so many different aspects of our lives. It’s everywhere we go, and it makes our lives easier. This being said, why wouldn’t we utilize it when it comes to selling farmland? We have found some resistance to this evolution within the industry as some see online auctions as the death of traditional land auctions. However, this simply just isn’t the case. We can use this newfound technology to our benefit to enhance the farmland auction seller and bidder experience. In this blog, we will delve into why online auctions, or the addition of online bidding to a live auction, can be such a powerful tool.
Access to a Plethora of Bidders
Opting to include online bidding expands your potential bidder reach. A lot of people can participate in your auction online, exposing it to a large, diverse audience. We have active, registered bidders all over the county, with more registering every day. With most in-person auctions, the attendees tend to be local to the county or state, whereas, with online auctions, anyone anywhere in the world can attend and even bid.
Lengthened Exposure Times
Traditional, in-person auctions are typically only an hour-long for a single day, whereas an online auction can be live for 30-45 days, providing maximum exposure for your auction. There will be a thorough marketing plan executed to fully publicize your auction during this time. This gives potential bidders more time to engage with your auction, as well as follow along on the up-to-date bidding in real-time.
Less Stressed Bidders
Having the ability to bid at your fingertips, from any location, is a major convenience for bidders. Online auctions give people access to auctions they might not otherwise be able to attend. Additionally, there is an ease of bidder friction. Unlike an in-person auction, an online auction removes the potential for a bidder to be criticized or judged for his or her bid. While participating in an online auction, bidders remain completely anonymous, which can help them feel freer during the bidding process. This can increase the bidder’s comfort level, allowing for a more positive bidding experience.
Elimination of Social Pressures
Similar to the previous point, friction between bidders is also eliminated by online auctions. We believe that the #1 benefit of online auctions is the ability to make that social pressure disappear. Due to the fact that many attendees and participants at in-person auctions live in the same community, a bidder may yield to another bidder for various personal reasons. This can negatively impact the final price that an auction could produce. However, this kind of social pressure does not exist with online auctions due to anonymity and bidder privacy.
Lower Costs
An additional benefit to online auctions is the reduced fees and commissions. In 2017, we invested in BidCapture, our very own, custom, one-of-a-kind bidding software. BidCapture was specifically designed to conduct land auctions, and we have complete control of it. Since we no longer have to pay for live auction costs such as venue rent, refreshments, travel costs, or printed materials, we can reduce commission fees which ultimately gives our clients more money from their final selling price.
If you think you might be interested in an online land auction of your own, head on over to the “What’s Your Farm Worth?” page to request your Free DreamDirt Market Analysis & Consultation today!
Jason J Smith
Auctioneer & Land Broker
Jason is an experienced farmland broker and auctioneer with extensive experience in farmland sales across this Midwest. Jason has worked with hundreds of clients to create advantageous outcomes. If you are selling land schedule a consultation with Jason by calling or using the calendar.
Phone: 515-537-6633 Email: [email protected]
What's Your Farm Worth?
Click Here Our team will give you a call to collect farm details before we complete our report. We will research your property and complete a free market analysis of the value of your land. We will then meet with you by video or phone conference to discuss your land’s value and what your selling options are! If you prefer to meet in person we can do that too!