The way you position things around your sitting or standing area for your home based business can spell success or failure in the total performance of your work. Your output is usually affected in small portions either for good or bad simply due to the way things are arranged around your work space. You need to create an intelligent working space around yourself when doing your home based business and it can be a breeze getting it done.Some of the strain that people experience while working at home on their business can usually be traced back to how they have decided to set everything they use on a day to day basis around their work space. Do you know that your stapling machine or simply put stapler may be a big cause of stress and pain for your home business? Even the writing pen or materials you constantly use can be a source of distress if not properly managed and planned.For example, if you are someone who always ship products and services to your customers on a specific day of the month. You may discover that you always work with a schedule that involve the use of calendars and time. Think about a situation where you have three or four calendars in your home based business dedicated working space or room and three different wall clocks plus two other table clocks and one wrist watch. Can you smell the confusion already? That is the whole point.You must be organized so much that you have only what you need around you and not more than you need. To have your brain trained in such a way that it knows where to find some specific things and how often they will probably be needed, you must have a structure that is very simple and easy for your brain to grasp to work with.Using the example above, can you imagine a situation where there is even not a single calendar in your room, and the clock that helps you to know the time for the post man showing up at your door is in the sitting room of your house. So, for you to know how many days you have to get your shipment together and get ready on the day of the shipment, you need to check your calendar each time on the calendar in your phone or from your calendar – you know how tasking that can be in itself, and for the appropriate time to expect the door bell ring, you have to always go to the sitting room to check the time. How distracting can that be in your home based business work space? Very distracting indeed. You said it!Underestimating the importance of making everything you need stand out in their own right within your work space and to make sure the space you called your work space is properly planned will be a high cost you definitely need to avoid. It conclusively mean that, to have a good home based business that you will enjoy and become effective and efficient at, you must set aside a well planned and organized work space that is created solely for the purpose of those basic and fundamental things you do within the work space.There are a whole lot more ideas that can be put to use to make creating your home based business work space a breeze and effective but we will have to save some for other time. You may however be in touch with us for many more ideas and tips before next time. Hope you make a change in your home based business work space today.Thank you for your most precious time for reading and learning through this.
Protect Yourself With These Proven Tips to Choosing a Legitimate Home Based Business Opportunity
Over the years, the Internet has made everything easier and better. However, not everybody would agree to this especially if they have been scammed over the Internet. If you have a coaching program, it is important to let people know that your home based business opportunity is legitimate.As you go through the process of finding people who are interested in joining coaching programs, you will encounter scams being marketed all over the internet as safe or legitimate. It would be wise to think of ways on how you can market your business and making sure that other people know it is the real thing. Here are some methods that can help boost your business ideas.Real and safe home based opportunities are done through a process and it takes time. Do not believe in business opportunities that promise quick money, it does not happen that way.Customers are the ones who will keep your business a success, which is why it is important to build a relationship with them. It does not happen overnight and will certainly take some effort but in return you will gain their trust.Research about business opportunities you are interested in. It is even better if you can contact the promoters and discuss the business ideas with them before purchasing anything. At present, there are online reviews and complaint boards for just about anything.If you think that a business idea is too good to be true and you are not comfortable with it, follow your instinct. Keep in mind that for a business to become successful it takes a lot of work, training, promoting, social networking and investing.A successful home based business requires regular promoting; probably about 90% of your time will be dedicated to marketing the products and services. If you encounter an opportunity that tells you it doesn’t take much of your time and money, then it’s probably a scam.Before investing your time, money and effort in a particular business do a little research or a background check; you might be able to find some recommendations and opinions by other investors. There are websites that provide reviews and complaints about certain businesses, there are even websites that provide list of scammers. Keep in mind that it takes time to be successful in any business.Just follow the methods mentioned in choosing a home based business opportunity. This will make it easier for you to choose the right business.
Starting a Home Based Business – A Retirement Job
As the economy takes its toll on our retirement income, it has become more necessary that ever for a retiree to have a reliable source of extra income. A lot of us have taken part-time or full-time jobs, depending on the earning potential, to help tide us over. Many of us have put plans on hold and worked out agreements with creditors to stretch the dollars we do have. It is not easy, but it is a fact of life that almost every retiree will need some extra income.One of the most attractive avenues to make more money is starting a home based business. Fortunately, there are many home based business ideas that can be used and the freedom offered by a home based business has lots of attractions for people looking for a way to supplement their income. Unfortunately, there are a lot of scams out there that are designed to do little more than take your money. This makes finding a real home based business opportunity difficult. It can take some work and has to be done with patience and lots of salt, but in the end, you can get legitimate information about starting a business. Most of the time, a service that provides real quality service to other people will be the easiest and cheapest way to start a business at home. The idea is to do some brainstorming and come up with some ideas that might work for you, then get more information about the nuts and bolts of starting your business to earn extra retirement income.Information is the key component. After you narrow your choices of potential business models, and before you spend any money, do an online search for any complaints about the business or the person selling the information. It is wise to approach everything with as much caution and do as much due diligence as you would if you were buying a local business. When you buy information, it is important to make sure you get all the tools you need to actually start a business and be successful.Here are several business ideas that do not require a large amount of money to start;1. A medical transcription business – This is a popular and highly competitive business, but it is available all over the country. It takes a bit of training and help to break into this field, but can be very lucrative as a home based business model. Help may needed to get the training and contacts needed to start this business.2. Non-emergency medical transportation is an up and coming business that almost everyone has the ability to start. In most cases, you already have two essential pieces of equipment (a car or van, and a telephone) that is needed. The hard part is in getting the contacts, writing introduction letters and getting some jobs that will help pay the bills. This is a business that has the potential for a lot of repeat business from senior citizens and word of mouth advertising will be what grows this business quickly.3. Office cleaning is a business that can be started anywhere. Like the non-emergency medical transportation model, most people already have the equipment that is needed to start. The difficult part is getting the first job, but if you have a telephone book and write a script (a salespage if you will) as a guide, you should be able to find some buildings in your local area that need janitorial service.4. Home staging is an up and coming business. Every real estate office that lists a house for sale has a potential need for someone to make the house look better to buyers. Everyone who has an eye for decoration can potentially be a successful home stager. Take some before and after pictures of your work to show potential customers.There are many ways to earn money with a home based business. There are many ideas and links available from online magazines, such as “entrepreneur” or “msn”. If you have the desire to work from home, you already have one of the most necessary ingredients to success. Look into your own talents and experiences, and you will probably find many ideas that can be used as the basis of your home based business. Find something you want to do, research the possibilities, take action and enjoy the money you earn from your business.
Home Based Business
This is an interesting topic which I personally love to discuss. The other day I was visiting my friend and we were generally discussing about new ideas of business. It was than we ended up discussing about home based business ideas. Yes, you heard it right, we were discussing about home based business ideas.Today, having a family and being with them is what we all long for. If most of the time we are away from our families working for someone and doing a 9 to 5 job, what remains with us for spending quality time is hardly anything viewing the time it takes to reach home after bypassing heavy traffic and other chaos enroute on our way. That is when we though about beginning some home based business.We both came across some cool home based business ideas. Apart from our profession, we have listed down few of the common home based business for self employed entrepreneurs.1- Accounting – Since we both are from Accounting background, we were planning to set up an Accounting business at home, where we can contact companies and prepare their financial reports, accounts receivables and payables, tax planning, payrolls, balance sheet etc. This will allow us to work peacefully within home environment and without much distraction. What we will require is a separate telephone connection, a computer with an internet connection and a fax machine.2- eBay – If you love online auctions, than this is one great home based business idea. Whoever is willing to sell their items such as a car, bike, boat, or even houses can contact you to place their advertisement on eBay. Get clients, show them the item and make a decent commission on the sales made by you. Believe you me; this is something that can get a person addictive to eBay.3- Pet Grooming Centre – I have personally seen my friends who have started their own pet grooming centre at home. All it takes is just 1 pet per day. And mind you, people don’t mind paying pet groomers any amount as long as their pet is happy with the groomer. A little bit of experience and a pet training course is mandatory but nevertheless, this can be one enjoyable job and one of the best home based business ideas.4- Answering phone call business – Many clients whose calls are transferred to a voicemail often hang the phone without the need to speak on voicemail. This happens when the business hours are over or when the proprietor of the company is traveling. During such period they want someone to attend their business calls and inform them accordingly. You will need a separate phone connection and good diction of English language and local language to begin this business. If you can get 3-4 such clients, you can definitely make good income.5- Freelance photographer – If you are one among the few who are frequently complimented for beautiful photographs, this can be some of the great home based business ideas as freelance photographers can even auction their photographs over eBay or even conduct photography exhibitions where people can view and purchase the photographs at a premium paid to you. You will require a SLR high resolution top of the class camera for this business.
Take Care of Your Achievements With Small Business Accounting
Keeping a tab on various financial transactions throughout the year is a tough job, especially when you are a businessperson handling small business. Whether you own a big or small business enterprise, every organization needs an expert to take care of his or financial numbers efficiently. In fact, small enterprises equally need the small business accounting like their counterparts. It is moreover, a good idea to go for small business accounting services from various vendors.Every business wants to do a great business in terms of both money and popularity; hence, a small business accounting is needed to handle the account books of various small companies. Well, sometimes running a small business can become overwhelming and that is the reason, why many small organizations opt for small business accounting firms because they offer results that are more profitable in a shorter period of time. In fact, the services offered by small business accounting also enhance the business performance of its clients in the market. Alternatively, you can say that with the help of it, the smaller organizations tend to earn more profits and are at the same time able to curtail losses that were incurred during the financial year. Like many big and large business enterprises, small companies are also getting tech savvy and in turn opting for various software solutions specifically designed for them. In fact, with the help of this accounting software, you can ease the whole process of making records and tallying them over and over again.However, most of the small business owners are not a qualified accountant and are always busy in churning out new and effective ways to get the business more profitable. Hence, hiring an accountant for various small business accounting tasks is a good option. This is one of the foremost and significant reasons to have small business accounting expert for a big business deals for a future. And taking services from small business accounting firm is a perfect way to reduce time and personnel resources. Therefore, small business accounting is professionals who specialize in providing efficient and accurate accounting services. To achieve this, all you have to do is to hire a person from it for your business needs. The accountant will handle the small business accounting work carefully and accurately. As a result, you will be able to know the position of your firm and also if your firm is making any profit or not.Nobody wants to make a mess with numbers and especially, when these are your profit earning numbers. Hence, every businessperson wants to make sure that all the calculations are properly executed as well as maintained. To avoid such kind of blunders, small business accounting is a perfect way. In fact, it also helps in preparing a daily report on the regular transactions and the client is updated through online file transfers. Small business accounting additionally provides the business owners with healthy relationship with his counterparts, agents, shareholders and consumers. Therefore, small business accounting is your way to more success.
Equip Your Home Based Business For Success With Internet Fax
From selling products to offering virtual administrative services, more and more Americans are working out of their homes. Home-based businesses offer many opportunities that brick and mortar companies do not. Individuals with home-based businesses often require a much lower start-up cost than other types of businesses, and with the advent and proliferation of the Internet, running a home-based business has become easier, less costly, and a feasible solution for more individuals. Among the Internet based tools that are helping these business owners succeed is the Internet fax.
Internet fax is a tool that allows the business owner to send a fax with nothing but a laptop and an Internet connection. Because of this, home-based businesses can compete in a larger environment by sending and receiving documents without the additional costs, hardware, and problems that having a traditional fax machine causes. To compete in a larger environment, business owners must be able to act quickly, and sending documents through the mail is anything but timely. Also, the cost of sending materials overnight can add up, especially for business owners who are just beginning to enter the competitive business world. With Internet fax, business owners can send documents immediately with a relatively low cost, especially since a variety of plans exist to meet the needs and budgets of small to medium-sized businesses. Even though a home-based business may be small, using this tool allows it to compete with large, established companies, creating a more equal environment for the best company to succeed.
One of the crucial ways that having Internet fax aids businesses is through allowing even the smallest businesses to meet tight deadlines. In a world of instant communication, clients and customers want their documents faster than ever. Although public fax machines are available, they can be costly and inconvenient. However, faxing over the Internet allows home-based businesses to meet deadlines by transmitting documents immediately from anywhere with an Internet connection. With the reduction in cost of PDF editing software and scanners, which allow businesses to send documents that require signatures, Internet fax is a viable solution.
Internet fax is not only a telecommunications tool for small businesses, but it also gives home-based businesses the ability to improve their professionalism. Many home-based business owners have quality ideas, education, and expertise, but one of the largest challenges is finding clients and customers. Because the typical consumer is a cautious consumer, less established companies tend to get less business. However, when businesses have the resources to effectively perform; even the home-based business can grow into a Fortune 500 company. With Internet fax, businesses can build their reputations and credibility by acting like a corporation, meeting deadlines, and communicating efficiently.
Faxing over the Internet can help ensure that information like social security numbers, payment information, and other personal details are protected. Internet fax allows home-based businesses that might not be able to purchase extensive security protection to operate in a secure environment. When customers fax information into an Internet fax number, the information is stored in the business’s cache, so only authorized business owners and employees can see it. This way, business owners do not risk the loss or theft of sensitive information, allowing them to improve their image as a credible, reputable company.
The technological innovations of the last ten years have revolutionized the way companies do business and have provided home-based businesses with opportunities like never before. However, because of technological innovation, customers and clients tend to expect more from businesses in terms of communication and deadlines. Internet Fax is one tool that can help smaller home-based businesses compete with larger businesses even in the midst of these higher expectations. Because this technology allows businesses to send faxes wherever an Internet connection can be found, it is a tool that is extremely suitable for home-based and mobile businesses.
Advertising on YouTube
In comparison to advertising online across other mediums such as Facebook or using Google AdWords to reach people on a CPC (cost per Click) bid basis where clicks can become more expensive due to the bidding process, advertising on YouTube is a very economical way to get the word out about your products or services. For only about 2-3 cents a click, you are in business with people viewing your ads.
There are some challenges with advertising through this medium however. The first of which is that you often will have to create a video advertisement as opposed to just an image you post with a clickable component that allows the viewer to learn more about the product and purchase it. Video advertising means you have to get more creative and that can be a barrier for some but it really does not have to be as difficult as you might think.
For example, when people traditionally think of creating videos, they think of capturing movement and action – just like you would see on a TV advertisement or in a movie. This is an expensive and time consuming way to create an ad but you really don’t have to be that elaborate if you don’t want to. To explain, you can also create ads using tools like Microsoft PowerPoint or even just using.jpg images. What you do is find or create slides or images you would like people to see, put them in a sequence using a video editing tool (many of which are purchasable for less than $100.00 – there are even some shareware ones out there – including one you can use found on YouTube itself) and then you create a voice recording (using an audio editor to improve it as required). The audio spans the time you allow people to view all the collective images and it plus your images becomes your sales pitch. You get to say what you want about the product and the audio with the images popping up as you go through your narrative becomes your video ad.
You then intersperse YouTube “Annotations” and “Cards’ that contain your links and you can send people to your websites and sales or signup pages, to other YouTube playlists or videos you would like them to view, etc. Once uploaded to YouTube, you can go into editing mode and click on the “Promote” button to get the word out at 2-3 cents a paid click. So you don’t have to spend a lot on an advertising video unless you want to which opens up YouTube as an advertising platform for everyone, including those running small at home businesses.
Now let’s talk about the different ways you can advertise on YouTube.
First, you create your own video and upload it to YouTube to your own channel and playlists and then promote it as I’ve already discussed above. One trick to consider is that if you do not monetize your ad video, you don’t run the risk of someone else’s add being placed on or around yours and thus having your potential customer being siphoned off to someone else’s site.
Second, you can use the YouTube system to advertise on and around your own ad video, just as if you were an external advertiser advertising on your video. This is kind of a double whammy approach to advertising, but some advertisers like to do this for the added advertising power you can build around the video and this strategy does work to gain more clicks from more viewers but it does cost you a little more to have the second campaign running as well.
You can advertise on other creator’s videos through one of two methods. First, you can connect with the other creator and strike a deal to have them weave your ad into their creations. This is not the usual approach for this but it does have the benefit of building collaborations with other creators and gets your ad in effect endorsed by the other content creator. They make some money directly from you via a side deal and you gain an endorsement and a higher quality level access to their entire subscriber base – which is in effect target marketing for you in niches you want to promote your product(s) in. The second method of course, is to use the YouTube marketing system to place ads on and around the videos of other creators who have monetized their content. Less targeting ability this way and no creator endorsement opportunities, but it is a cheap way to get the word out.
You can also purchase space and run banner ads across the YouTube site. Their preferred size for these banner ads by the way, is 300 by 250 pixels. These ads will appear on many viewing pages and are not specifically tied to your channel or playlists.
If you are a bigger advertiser or are willing to take on the additional costs, you are also able to create other more targeted ads with YouTube but you would then be working with a YouTube sales representative to negotiate these ads. One type of ad in this category that is gaining more and more traction these days is advertising directly against the YouTube mobile platform offering. YouTube is now working with advertisers to create offerings specifically targeting this space.
This article presents just an overview of the types of options available to you with respect to advertising on YouTube. One of the options that I find particularly exciting is that of collaborating with YouTube content creators directly to have them promote your ads in their video creations. It is more work to achieve ad placements of this nature so not too many go after it, but if you think about it, if you pick the right creators (sort of like betting on the right horse in a horse race), and their videos tend to go viral, getting lots and lots of views over time, you’ll be taken along for the ride and your ads will be seen over and over again as these videos are watched over the years. So don’t lose sight of this idea, it could be fun to try to make this work with someone if you have the right type of product and you can build the right creator relationships.
In any event, YouTube is out there waiting for you to promote your ads economically to its millions of viewers. You just have to pick the strategy you want to employ to get your ads out there.
About Dan Grijzenhout: Dan has lived a successful entrepreneurial career for over 30 years. He has been a consultant, entrepreneur, systems architect and developer, investor, business owner and is now an author, online course creator and teacher, sharing his years of experience and knowledge with others. Search for the name – Dan Grijzenhout – on Amazon to see his available books and e-books.
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.