Home based businesses are probably the most popular new business venture of this century.According to Forbes Magazine 79 millions American are going to start their own business in the next 3 to 5 years and a very large percentage of them will be venturing into an home based internet business. On the other hand it also says that 97% of them will fail within the same period, this means that only 3% will succeed. Stats also shows that more than 90% of entrepreneurs operating an home based business spends most of the income produced by the business running the businessWhy are those stats so depressing yet people still can’t wait to start a new home based business?First people are dazzled by the ads and the possibility of making thousands of dollars. The classifieds ads in every new paper are full of ads showing how people are making fortunes running those businesses… the internet classifieds are also plastered with them.The ads makes it sound so easy to start a business and to produce income beyond anyone’s dream.
Unfortunately many of these are totally miss-leading and thousands of people are suckered in by them.
The fact of the matter is these statements are partially true, however they leave the most important fact out which is the person who did the fantastic income did it only once and it took him several years of trying different things.There is a very successful top earner who did a million dollar in one day; he himself will tell you it was purely by chance he has never been able to duplicate that performance; he had a unique product, at the right time, on the right web site and he had been at network marketing for years trying to make money.Secondly the other fact which the ads doesn’t tell you is: the total income was generated from an MLM platform (multi level marketing) that took years to build and he had thousands of people in his down line, One top earner actually used his down line he had built over the years with another company and introduce them to a new product and turn his contacts into thousands of sales overnight.As you can see most of the statements the ads are making partially true but cannot be replicate by someone like you or me starting out.We all know what MLM now stands for: make little money; unless you have a huge down line of followers you will not make big bucks.Traditionally MLM businesses do not pay large commission in dollar value, the ads may claim paying 50, 60 or up to 70% commission but 70% of $5.00 represents $3.50 you need to make a lot of sale to make $1,000 per hour. This percentages is often a combination of all the commission that can be collected from the different levels
Let look at it in dollars and cents if you had to pay to advertise your web site and the sale came from someone who click on it, chances are that ad probably cost you more then the $3.50 you made on the sale.For comparison purposes a banner ad use to cost $0.25 to $0.75 per CPM years ago now if you can find some around $2.50 to $3.00 per CPM your lucky and chances are the site doesn’t get much traffic. On a site with lot of traffic it an banner ad will cost you $10.00 to $15.00 per CPM so if you only get one sale per CPM that sale is costing you $10.00 to $15.00 and you only pocket $3.50. Not to long ago you could buy and ad word for a few pennies now you are looking at a few dollars for the same word, internet advertising is no longer a cheap media.When you are looking at an online business common sense has to prevail. It is costly to do business on the internet so don’t get excited with high percentages of commission look at the product, the possible demand for that product and the dollar value of commission, do quick calculation of how may sales you will need per day to make what the ad says.But you will argue there are all kind of free advertising available… yes that is true but there are also thousands of individual like yourself who is doing the same thing… you have heard the saying “best things in life are free” which is true but on the other hand there is a saying that says ” you pay for what you get” unfortunately free things are not worth much.If you are going to venture in an home based business stay away from an MLM business that claims you will be making thousands of dollars in a short period of time because the only people that do make money with these marketing strategies are the owner of the company not you the entrepreneur.
Make sure you follow the 7 steps in choosing a home based business. If you do not know check my blog postingsFinally learn how to successfully operate an online marketing business before you sign up, if you do not know where to get training I can help you with that.Pierre
The Real Truth About Home Based Businesses
How to Succeed in Your Home Based Business Opportunity
During my time online, I have come across lots of people looking for the ideal home based business opportunity to work in. There are certainly lots of things you could do to make this work for you, but you should understand that what works for one person may not work for another.For instance an internet home business could be built out of several different income streams. And I think this is by far the best way to go. Why rely on a single stream of income when you could be earning from lots of different ones?One important thing to remember is that it takes time to succeed, no matter what kind of home business you want to set up. A lot of people are impatient and I think this is the biggest reason why so many of them fail. Yes, there are people who succeed in creating their own work at home business in just a few days or weeks. But for the most part it takes longer than this to set up something you can look forward to earning real money from.If there was one really important thing I could recommend to anyone who wants a successful home based business opportunity, it would be this – do something you love. This gives you the determination to persevere and make it work.For instance, let’s say you know someone who is making a mint at blogging. They create lots of different sites they update now and again and populate with AdSense ads. This is all very well and it would be tempting for you to join in, wouldn’t it? But if you hate blogging it will never really work for you, because you’ll look on it as a chore to keep all those blogs updated. If you even get that far, that is.I know how tempting it is to want to dive straight in to the first opportunity you come across. But you don’t just have to ask yourself whether it’s legit or not – you also have to ask yourself if it is right for you.I really do think that passion has a lot to do with who is successful with their home business and who isn’t. If you have the passion for what you want to do, it will carry you over all kinds of different obstacles. Working from home can be a drive for some people in itself, but I know that being able to work at doing what I love is a big reason for my own success online. Could it work for you too?The point I’m making here is not to rush into anything too quickly when you want to build your own business from home. This is going to set you up for failure, just as it did me when I first tried to start along these lines. By spending more time figuring out what I was good at and interested in, I ended up picking the right home based business opportunity for me.
You Can Find the Best Home-Based Business and Make Real Money Online If You Understand This
To find the best home-based business for YOU, a key to making real money online one must first start with a little research. While it may look like all home-based businesses are equal in their income potential, there are some critical components that an online business must possess to give you the best chance at success.It All Starts With YouTo find the best home-based business for you, consider your skills and interests. Are the products or services that you would be selling something that you can promote with enthusiasm? Also consider your marketing and web skills. If you feel your skills in these areas are inferior, then you should definitely make training and support a priority.A Solid Business PlanThere are two strategies for being successful in a home-based business; you can either go it alone by creating your own business or you can join an established business like a network marketing program and simply duplicate the strategies that others have parlayed into success. To go solo, one should already have a product or service to market AND the skills to build an internet business from the ground up. This approach can take a long time to get into profit, since critical pieces of a successful business must be established.If you wish to build your business more quickly, then joining an already established network marketing company may be more towards your liking. Do your research here to find a business whose products reflect your interests and already has a successful business plan in place. If you go this route, be sure the company you choose has superior training and support and offers business tools you’ll need to be successful.Resources Versus OutsourcingEven the most experienced solo internet marketer occasionally needs the help of experts who can help complete projects for which he either lack the skills or time to do himself. A simple Google search on “internet marketing outsourcers” will reveal a host of places to find these talented individuals. Indeed, you can find web designers, article writers, copywriters, or virtually anyone you need to help you grow your business. If you choose to participate in an established network marketing business, these resources (or at least most of them) should already be available to you. In fact, the top home-based businesses have ready-to-use websites, autoresponders, sales pages, and fulfillment programs in place, ready to use. Here, you won’t need to spend time developing the infrastructure of your business, so you can concentrate on results and making real money onlineThe Credibility FactorIt wasn’t long ago when owning an internet business was considered risky. But today, as more and more marketers are showing that you can make real money online, online business ownership has become much more widely accepted. In fact, most brick-and-mortar businesses have an online presence, and many have used the internet to extend their global reach. For this reason, owning a home-based online business has become very attractive to people looking to improve their financial status.To continue the rise in credibility of the online business and network marketing models, we should all choose to offer quality products and services with superior customer service and ethical marketing strategies.It’s taken a few years, but internet marketing has now “come of age.” And with research and planning you, too can find the best home-based business for YOU, and make real money online.
Home Based Business: Success Or Failure?
Starting Your Home Based BusinessIn Today’s modern world more and more people are now starting a home based business to supplement their income, some even go on to quit the day job and work full time, but the sad truth is that most are doomed for failure and lose more money than they actually make, but why?The truth is that when people start searching for a home based business on the internet, they come across so many websites offering an online business stating make money within hours of signing up, most of the time this is just not true.One of the most important things that most people tend to miss out on is training or mentoring, you need to know how to run a home based business. To be successful with your business you need to find a good sponsor or mentor who can show you the ropes, the do’s and the don’ts so to speak.To be successful with your business the most important task you need to learn is how to market or sell your products, whatever they may be, without customers you have no business. A very good example of this is, say you put up a website offering 10 Bars of gold totally free to the very first person to respond to your to website, if no one knows that your website exists then no one would take you up on such a fantastic offer. This is where a good mentor can put you right.So how do you find such a person? This is what I Did.I went to Google did a search for the business or niche that I was interested in, I spent many hours going over many websites trying to get as much information as possible, information such as what was on offer, what would you get if you decided to join up. I then picked out five sites that I thought were right for me.They were all offering full training on how to get your new home based business off the ground, not one of them were claiming you would make money straight away but with some basic training you should start making money.I then went back to Google and did a search on the person who was promoting the business opportunity, I wanted to find out who they really were, how long they had been involved in the business, what were people saying about them and so on.I then narrowed my search down to two people, and the reason was they had a contact number that I could call and talk to them about the business.Once I made contact, I asked question such as, if I join up to your business how will you help me get started, what sort of training do I need to do, how long will it be before I start to make money, also If I get stuck will you be there to help and advise me.These are just some of the questions you should ask, my advise is write everything down so you don’t forget, ask as many question as you can, and if they are willing to answer all your questions then you know you should be OK.You can normally tell just by speaking to someone what they are like, if they are just using a sales pitch, then I personally would back out. If they are not pushy and invite you to think about the opportunity and give them another call when you are ready then I would consider this business. I would then try to find other people who are working with this person, just to get an idea of how they are doing working with this person.So if you are thinking of starting a home based business don’t just jump into the first opportunity that you find that claims you will be making money within hours of joining, because the sad truth is you probably won’t.Do your research, don’t rush, take your time and I am sure you will have success with you new home based business.
Small Business Financing Options
4 types of viable small business financing Many small businesses face the prospect of going under if they are not able to secure good financing. The need for quick cash injections to keep a small business running can continue even after the first few loans are acquired. However, with each loan taken it becomes increasingly difficult to get a new loan approved. Also, the number of banks and financial intuitions who are willing to lend money to small businesses are rapidly shrinking.A regular small business loan from the bank Before you go anywhere else the first place you should go to is your bank. Banks offer some of the best small business loans which can be used as startup capital or to further expand your business. However, your proposal needs to appeal to the bank in a way that helps them feel that giving you a loan is a worthwhile investment. If you’re just starting out your business plan should go into detail about your business and your experience. This will help the bank understand your industry and how effective you can be. Banks will also require the following details from you:• Cash flow projections which tells them how they will get paid back and when. These should be honest figures.
• Make sure to add personal financial statements.
• If possible add past business tax returns. This will show how exactly your business has been doing.
• You need to have good credit rating to be trusted. Even though this is a small business loan but you are getting the money. Make sure to add your credit report to the file you send as part of your loan request.Try finding micro-loans If you are not able to acquire a regular small business loan you may try to get a micro-loan. Micro-loans allow you to borrow up to $35,000 and they are easier to get. Micro-loans work great as small term capital and for equipment purchases. Because micro-loans may require collateral the best use for it is equipment purchases since then the equipment can be put up as collateral.Short term supplier credit This type of loan clearly does not work for every business. So, if you’re not a retailer or a manufacturer then you’ll have little use for it. You’ll usually need to pay back this type of loan within 30 to 60 days. However, you should be aware of the fact that the interest rate on short term supplier credit is very high.Instant small business loans Also known as quick cash loans and quick cash advance loans these work great for businesses that are not able to find a loan anywhere else. It is also great for businesses that do not have the required assurances to secure a regular small business loan. These types of lenders will usually process your request within a few days and deposit the amount into your account. In most cases you can apply for the loan directly from the lender’s website. However, because the lender is taking a higher risk of lending you money without due diligence the interest rate is slightly higher than what banks offer.
Top Home Based Businesses – 5 Hidden Methods For Online Success
If you are searching for more ways to make your internet business a success, you have landed on the right article. In this article, we will briefly describe the five methods or tools the top home based businesses use to guarantee profits online. We are living in a day and age when everybody, from your grandmother to the kid next door, is moving toward starting their own home based business. However, there are a few steps that, sadly, most entrepreneurs don’t know, that draw the line between the profitable top home based businesses and the failing home based businesses.
One of the first pointers you need to remember in establishing top home based businesses is that there is nothing wrong with the word “HELP”. The most powerful thing you can do as a business owner is contact consultants that can help you create infrastructure and get your business off the ground. Surprisingly, many of the top home based businesses gained a huge amount of their success by working with internet marketing professionals and experts. Partnering with other professionals is a hidden key to gaining online success.
The next powerful method you must work on to effectively win among the top home based businesses, is in the setup, development and designing of your own personal website. A functioning website is imperative to have in the ultimate success of your home based business. Most of the top home based businesses have their own websites where they can market most of their goods and services. Your website is the key factor to online profitability.
Sadly, many business owners create a website and are still not successful in building their home based businesses. A website, alone, is not enough to guarantee instant online profits. You must learn how to market your website properly. As a result, the third method one must use in gaining results, like many top home based businesses, is to create a comprehensive marketing plan. In order to succeed in any business, you must have a detailed road map of your marketing and promotional efforts.
Included in your marketing plan, should be details on how to stay in contact with customers or visitors to your website. Most of the top home based businesses work at building an opt in email list and corresponding follow up message series as a part of their marketing campaign. Establishing an email marketing campaign is one of the most effective ways to increase conversions and profits in any home based business.
Last but not least, if you are competing with other top home based businesses, it is important to keep in mind that the market can be highly competitive and hard to penetrate. As a result, you have to become very innovative and think of creative ways to “out-promote” your competition. This requires constant learning and reading on internet marketing trends and tips. If you don’t want to do this, you can always hire someone to do it for you. Of course, this is what most of the top home based businesses do anyway.
Starting a Small Business! Avoid these Four Major Entrepreneurial Mistakes
It is with much hope that every entrepreneur sets off starting a Small Business. Making money was his main objective. Failure was never in his mind but things don’t seem to happen the way he had planned for. Even the hope for Survival seems to have disappeared and Failure haunts him at every turn. Why does this happen and happen so often to numerous small business entrepreneurs?
The four major mistakes often made by new small business entrepreneurs are:
1. Improper or No Research:
The most fundamental thing to do before starting a small business is to do a market research to find out whether there is sufficient demand for the product or products you have to offer.
Perhaps the reason for the failure to generate the funds is that there is no market for your product or the market is saturated. The need for your product in your area of business activity should be your prime consideration before starting a small business. Only if there is sufficient demand for your products, you will be able to generate the funds necessary to help you run your small business, survive and succeed.
2. Improper or Under Funding:
Quite often the urge to start a small business is so great that the very vital aspect of funding is not given due importance. Businesses are started on a shoe string budget and shops open with very little stock and offices with insufficient equipment. To ensure the purchase of stock and equipment it is absolutely essential to have proper funding in place before commencing your business. Furthermore your business might take several months to start making a profit and hence funds are necessary to help your small business survive and keep your morale up during these early months.
If you don’t have sufficient funds of your own, it will be wise and proper to obtain a loan before starting your business. This could be obtained from your bank or you can seek the assistance of the Small Business Administration which offers numerous loan programs to assist Small Businesses.
It is important to note that the SBA acts primarily as a guarantor of loans made by private and other institutions.
Taking huge loans out of proportion to your needs can also be detrimental to your small business since provision has to be made for higher interest payments.
3. Insufficient Advertisement and Promotion:
No Business can be successful unless the public is made aware of the existence of your small business and its products. The best of equipment and stocks cannot generate sales unless the public is made aware of it. Hence advertising your small business and the products before the commencement of your business and thereafter should be a major consideration. Failure to do so has been the cause of failure of several small businesses.
4. Unnecessary expenditure:
One of the major causes for the failure of a small business is the improper handling of the funds. Extravagant expenditure at the initial stages such as the purchase of expensive cars, equipment and expensive business lunches completely out of proportion to your needs can eat into the capital and leave your small business with very limited working capital. Hence proper and wise handling of funds especially at the early stages can make all the difference between success and failure.
Conclusion:
Failure to avoid the above mentioned mistakes for one reason or the other can be detrimental to the progress and success of your small business.
Securing the services of a consultant to help you plan out your small business before starting will be a wise move to ensure success.
The Finer Points of Internet Auctions
WHAT IS A PENNY AUCTION?
Penny auctions have exploded in popularity with the massive growth of the internet. However, few people know the true origins of penny auctions.Beginnings actually stretch back to the Great Depression. Those were hard times for everyone, but even harder for farmers. Farmers struggled to bring in steady income because of droughts and crops not selling as well as they had previously. As a result, the banks would foreclose on the farmers who couldn’t keep up with their mortgage payments.
The banks weren’t satisfied with just repossessing the house, they wanted to raise as much capital as possible, so they resorted to selling off the possessions of the owners of the repossessed houses. There was not much the farmers could do about it so they began bidding ridiculously low prices, pennies, on the items while threatening others who dared to bid higher than a few pennies.
The auctions of today hardly resemble their tremulous beginnings. Being part of a penny auction today is exhilarating, fun, and addictive. It combines the selling format of auctioning with a little bit of chance factored in.Auctions are a game of strategy but also a game of luck.
The premise behind penny auctions is giving people the chance to win an item at a drastically reduced price.Auctions make that possible by spreading out the cost of the product among multiple bidders. In order for a person to take part in an auction, they must pay a set price for each bid. For example, if a person wanted to bid on a fifty dollar Amazon gift card then he would spend a dollar for each time a bid placed. If he ended up winning the gift card, then he would only have spent a few dollars for a fifty dollar gift card. Usually penny auctions sell bids in packages.
HOW PENNY AUCTIONS WORK!
The main foundation of penny auctions is the pay-per-bid format. It is the key that allows bidders to win items at the fraction of their retail value and allows the auction owners to keep their site profitable. Most y auction sites run on the same premise: people pay a set amount for each bid, whenever a person places a bid within the closing seconds of the auction time will be added, the last person left with a unique bid after the clocks runs out will win the item. There are a large variety of items that can be won, but they tend to be popular electronics or gift cards to popular stores.
There are two types of auctions: lowest unique bid auction and highest unique bid auction. Lowest unique auction sounds confusing but it is actually quite simple. A unique bid is when only one person has a bid at a certain price. Bids usually start at one penny, a bidder can then place a bid at two pennies. Until another bidder places a higher bid, the most recent bidder will be the lowest unique bid because that was the only bid at two cents and nobody bid higher. However, penny auctions generally don’t stop at one penny. It is not uncommon to find auctions that end up at a couple hundred dollars based on the popularity of the item being auctioned. However, the same principles apply for those auctions. Highest unique bid auctions follow the more traditional auction format such as eBay. The person with the highest bid at the end of the auction wins the item.
Auction site owners turn a profit by selling bids. Say twenty people are bidding on a ten dollar gift card at one dollar per bid, at the end of the auction if there were twenty bids placed in total then the site owner would have made twenty dollars with a ten dollar profit.Auctions do seem like a win-win situation:The site owner makes money while the bidder gets an item for dirt cheap. However, not everyone wins in penny auctions. The people who paid one dollar each bid but left with nothing to show for their investments will not be so happy.
HOW TO WIN!
Penny auction has a lot of chance mixed into it, but one can incorporate strategy that will help raise the chances of winning. Playing smart can make all the difference between gambling and auctioning.
The first crucial tip to winning penny auctions is to know how to manage your bids. Your goal should be to win as much as possible without spending a ton of money buying bids. Managing your bids means that you should already know how much you are willing to risk in order to win an item. The amount of capital you are willing to risk will determine how many bids you can use. Once you know how many bids you have to spend on an item, then you will be better able to manage how and when you place a bid. That will keep you from blowing away all of your bids in the first few seconds of the auction.
The next tip is to practice time management. When fighting in the trenches of penny auctions, you have two enemies: other bidders and time. Knowing when to bid is a must if you want to have success. Placing a bid when there is a lot of time left on the clock is never a good idea. You have to remember that the key to winning a penny auction is being the last one standing when the clock runs out and that each bid increases the amount of time left. It would be a good practice to wait until the last few minutes of the auction before you begin to bid.
The final tip for successful auctioning is to keep your emotions under control.Auctions have a lot of similarities to gambling, and just like gambling, your spending can get out of control. If you keep your emotions level, it will keep you from making rash decisions and blowing loads of cash. Keep your mind clear so that you can gage the behavior of the other bidders and outsmart them.
HOW TO AVOID SCAM SITES!
Penny auctions are a great addition to the web whether you want to win an item that otherwise you wouldn’t be able to afford or if you simply enjoy the thrill that comes with bidding in auctions. Unfortunately, scam sites have tarnished the reputation of the legitimate penny auction sites. However, there are ways that you can protect yourself from scamers and enjoy your auctioning without having to worry about losing your money due to dishonesty.
Checking the reputation of the auction site before you start spending your hard earned money is always a good idea. Chances are other people have tried the site before you and some of them have left reviews. The reviews are your way to gage whether a auction site is trustworthy or not. If a site is getting overwhelmingly negative reviews, then that is a clear indication that you should steer your business elsewhere.
Another tool you can use to protect yourself is checking the Alexia ranks of the auction sites. Alexia rank will give a solid view of how much traffic the auction is getting. If you see a huge difference in the amount of traffic Alexia is projecting and the amount of active bidders on the site, then warning signals should be ringing in your head. Some auction sites have been known to set up robots that automatically bid on projects in order to keep the auction going and inflate the price. That is known as shill bidding. You can sniff out those sites by comparing the traffic the site should be getting to the amount of users using this site.
CONCLUSION!
New legislation may come out later down the road that will officially make penny auctions gambling, but until then, it is a fun, exciting auction that allows one to win the item they’ve always wanted but couldn’t afford.Auctions are also quite lucrative for the site owners because of the pay-per-bid strategy they’ve incorporated. Penny auctions had humble beginnings with farmers who just wanted to get back at the banks who kicked them out of their house. More recently, auctions have enjoyed an explosion in popularity with the rise of the internet.
There are two main formats fora auctions, lowest and highest unique auction, however they both run on the same premise where the last unique bid wins the item. Winning a penny auction will require a certain amount of mental tactic and a bit of luck. However, you can increase your odds of winning by practicing certain techniques such as managing your bids wisely, learning how to work with the time, and keeping a level head and your emotions under control. When you combine those three strategies to your bidding plan, you will find that you win a lot more often.
It is important that you do your due diligence to protect yourself when participating in auctions. Not every auction is run by honest and trustworthy people. There are people out there who just want to take your money. You can protect yourself by ensuring that you only bid on sites that already have a very positive reputation from real users.
How to Find Great Live Auctions for Resale Items
Hi, my name is Walt. I’m an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the auction business and licensed in the state of MA. I own Quick Auction Service, a company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I’m also the webmaster of my own site and have been on eBay for 8 years. Besides eBay, the types of auctions I run most frequently are antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I’ve run everything from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.
I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My goal for article is to help folks get the absolute most out of their auction experience.
Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.
There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items for re-sale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as inexpensively without sacrificing quality.Some folks are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance all these things are possible.
There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent auctions, charity and fund raising auctions and many more.
Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar at an auction? You bet! Many times I’ve seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction on the same night for a good profit, although be advised, this should only be done after the auction is over.
There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and attend the best ones.
Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of auction you want to attend. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction to attend, stop in the local antiques shops and ask for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listen to what they don’t say as well as what they do say. Oftentimes when a dealer speaks poorly about an auction he or she attends, it may be likely that they are trying to keep a good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep attending a lousy auction?
Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy ads are usually indicative of an auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, (a set price on an item), and usually an enormous crowd. While any auction can be profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy ones, at least for the beginner.
Here’s the minimum you want to find out before you go. If there is a phone number in the ad, call and ask for the terms of the sale. What forms of payment do they accept? Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like a tax that everyone who makes purchases at that auction must pay above the winning bid price. Most auctions these days do charge a buyers premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel much more than that is greedy, and the auctioneer that charges over 10% is counting on most bidders not doing the extra math as the bids quicken in pace.
A fair auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and make sure to attend! Never attend an auction if you can’t make the inspection, not unless your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100 items per hour, which is why they sell “as is”. They simply don’t have the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged, refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.
Good auctions will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.
When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so dealers that buy the most often. See if you can find out about other area auctions they attend.
When you do find an excellent auction, attend it as often as possible. By frequenting good sales, you help increase the bottom line of that business. It’s difficult for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, to keep you coming back.
Hiring An Auction Company
Estimating your assets value:
Typically, one of the first questions a business owner will ask me is, “how much will the assets bring at an auction”. After taking the time to review the assets, the auctioneer should give the client a conservative estimate of the sale based upon his experience and the current market trends. It is important that the company give realistic expectations so the seller can make informed decisions based on their best interest.
Compensation and Expenses:
Is the company you are considering working for you or against you? The agreement you decide may determine this.
A business owner should carefully consider how the auction company is compensated. The most common commission structures include: straight commission, outright purchase of assets, guaranteed base with a split above to both auctioneer and seller, guaranteed base with anything above going to auctioneer or a flat fee structure.
In a straight commission structure, the company is paid an agreed upon percentage of the total sale.
In an outright purchase agreement, the auctioneer simply becomes your end buyer. The company purchases your assets and relocates them. While this can be an option in some unique situations, keep in mind that they will want to purchase your assets at a very reduced price to make a profit at a later date.
In a minimum base guarantee, the auction company guarantees the seller that the auction will generate a minimum amount of sales. Anything above that amount either goes to the auction company or split with the seller. While a seller might feel more comfortable doing an auction knowing that he is guaranteed a minimum amount for his sale, keep in mind that it is the best interest of the auction company to secure a minimum base price as low as possible in order reduce their financial liability to the seller and secure higher compensation for the sale.
In a flat fee structure, the auctioneer agrees to show up for the sale and call the auction. There is no incentive for the auctioneer to get the best prices for your assets. The auction company is compensated regardless of the outcome of your sale.
What is the best option for business owners? In my experience, an agreed upon straight commission structure. This puts the responsibility on the auction company to offer the best outcome for everyone involved. There is an incentive for the auction company to work hard for both parties, set up and run a professional sale, get the highest bid and sell every item on the inventory. Successful auctions translate to a higher bottom line for both the seller and the auction company.
Auction Expenses:
In most auction agreements the expenses to conduct an auction are passed to the seller. If the auction company pays for the expenses, it is simply absorbed in higher commission rates.
All expenses should be agreed upon in advance in a written contract. Typical expenses will include the costs of advertising, labor, legal fees, travel, equipment rentals, security, postage and printing. A reputable auction company will be able to estimate all expenses based upon their experience in previous auctions. An agreement should be actual costs charged as expenses, not an estimated amount.
Advertising is typically the highest cost in conducting an auction. The auction company needs to set up an advertising campaign that will promote the sale to its best advantage and not overspend to simply advertise the auction company.
Once the auction is complete, the auction company should provide a complete breakdown of all expenses to the seller, including copies of receipts within the auction summary report.
Buyer’s Premium:
What is a buyer’s premium? If you attend auctions regularly, you are very familiar with this term. The auction company charges a fee to the buyer when they buy an item at auction.
The buyer’s premium has been around since the 1980′s and is standard auction practice. It was first used by auction houses to help offset costs of running brick and mortar permanent auction facilities. Since then, it has spread to all aspects of the auction industry. It is prominent in online auctions and allows auction companies to cover added expenses incurred from online sales.
It is the responsibility of the auction company to provide clear disclosure of the buyer’s premium to both the buyers and the sellers. Those not familiar with auctions are often taken back by the buyer’s premium. They looked upon it as an under handed way for the auction company to make more money. Reputable auction companies will provide full disclosure within the auction contract, advertisement and bidder registration.
Typically, an auction company will charge online buyers a higher buyer’s premium percentage than those attending an auction in person. Extra fees are incurred with online bidding and are charged accordingly to online buyers. This provides the seller a level playing field for both online buyers and those attending the auction in person. Without the buyer’s premium, there is no way to do this.
Pre-Sales:
We’ve all been there. We’re looking forward to attending an auction only to find that some items were sold prior to the auction date.
As an auctioneer with over thirty-six years of experience, I can honestly state that pre-sales will hurt an auction. When a company decides to liquidate their assets, it is easy to sell off high-end pieces of equipment through online sources, equipment vendors or to other businesses. The seller receives instant cash and avoids paying a commission to an auction company.
Auctioneer’s find themselves appearing to acting in a self-serving capacity when potential clients say they are planning to sell off parts of their inventory prior to an auction. It’s hard not to consider the auctioneer’s commission when they warn you not to pre-sell anything. Yes, the auctioneer wants to earn a commission on those sales but it is more important that the auctioneer protect the sale from potential negative backlash that comes from pre-selling. The buying public knows when an auction has been “cherry picked” prior to the sale and it reflects in their bidding. It becomes a sale of “leftovers” and that impacts prices.
A buyer who purchases prior to the auction usually does not attend the sale. They already bought equipment at a good price with no competition. If they do attend the auction, they tend to let others know of their great pre-sale purchases which again, impacts prices and the overall excitement of the sale.
It is important to understand that auctions work best with a complete inventory. You want competition on your higher end equipment. The easy to sell items make it possible to gain respectable prices for hard to sell items.
When a business owner decides to liquidate their equipment assets, there is only one opportunity to do it right. Hiring a reputable auction company will assist you with a professional, orderly and timely liquidation.