Awkward Silence During Auction
Have you ever heard an auctioneer chant before? My guess is you have and think it’s amazing to listen too! If you haven’t here’s a video of one of my favorite auctioneers – Iowa native auctioneer, Emily Wears Kroul. Have you ever been to an auction where it was so quiet you could hear crickets though? Probably not, but I have and I was the auctioneer conducting it!
This story gets even better though! One of the sellers of the farm was playing the cricket noises from his phone – talk about awkward silence!
Online Auctioneer
On April 7th, we gathered at the community shelter house in Kiron, IA to sell 115.60 acres of farmland in Crawford County, IA. This wasn’t your typical land auction you might be picturing though. It was an online only auction, but we offered a bidding location to help bidders register to bid on their phone or device. Unlike a live more traditional auction where you would expect a big crowd and auctioneers chanting, the room stayed silent and the bidders watched the auction on their phone and hit the bid button on their own.
In a previous blog, I wrote about how I’m an auctioneer but I don’t know how to chant. During the auction, I called out each time a bid was placed and announced the current bid, asking bid price, bidding increment, and the $/CSR2 amount without actually chanting. As the time ticked down, I announced the amount of time left to place one more bid. Our timed online auctions are set to close at 2pm. and are open for about 30 days. Bids could be placed anytime up till April 7th at 2pm.
The seller’s confirmed the sale of the auction and lifted the reserve around 1pm that day. This encouraged bidders to bid even more since they know knew the farm would absolutely sell to the highest bidder. Even though it was set to close at 2pm, extended bidding happened till 2:06pm. This is because when someone bids in the last 2 minutes it extends out for another 2 additional minutes. Giving everyone a fair chance to bid until no more bids have been placed.
Social Pressure During Live Auction
Little did we know, the winning bidder was in the room with us. If it was a live auction, we all would have known the whole time who was bidding and winning. If you put yourself in the shoes of a bidder though, imagine the stress and social pressures you would feel bidding in front of your peers, the seller, banker, etc. This is why our online only auctions work so incredibly well. It takes all the social pressures away allowing the bidder to bid to his/her maximum potential without feeling judged. Their name stays anonymous online and that is why we didn’t know the winning bidder was in the room!
Our team of auction professionals call each person who registers and bids on our land auctions. They all have to accept the terms and conditions that the seller sets in order to participate in the auction. Even though it was surprising the winning bidder was in the room, we had talked to him earlier in the week to make sure he was set-up to bid online. Each bidder had their own account and participated from their own device.
We simply had a bidding location set-up to ensure extra help in-case someone struggled with using the internet. It may surprise you, but we only get a few people that call and ask if they can bid over the phone. Now a days, farmers use technology every day and we have been selling land online for the past 10 years! Online only auctions are the most powerful way to sell your land now and the most cost-efficient!
Online Only Land Auction Boone County, Iowa
We sold a farm the next day, April 8th in Boone County, IA without having a bidding location or live auction. It was completely online only! The sellers of the 75.99-acre farm near Boxholm, IA also confirmed the sale of the auction prior to 2pm. The auction extended all the way till 2:57pm!
Auctions Create Competition!
Auctions create competition! You can definitely see it when two bidders go back and forth bidding against each other for almost and hour! The seller’s confirmed the farm would sell and trade hands prior to the auction closing. This encouraged the bidders to keep bidding knowing they had a chance of owning the farm.
Are you curious how our online auctions work and what they look like? View the recording of this past auction here.
Free Auction Consultation
If you are thinking about selling land in Iowa, now is a good time! I offer free consultations! Let me help you get started on the right path to selling your most valuable asset. Contact me at 515-954-8063 or email Rachel@DreamDirt.com to request your free consultation.
