There is nothing like a room full of heckling bidders to let an auctioneer know he is doing a good job. Walt Kolenda, also known as AuctionWally, has been a professional auctioneer — both online and off — for more than 25 years.
Kolenda, who has been successful at selling on a number of platforms, including eBay, missed the excitement and bidder interaction associated with conducting live auctions. He created a live auctioneering aspect to his online auctions by investing in three platforms; Bonanzle, DealitLive and Twitter.
Bonanzle Community Spurs Live Auction Sales
According to Kolenda, one of the best things about Bonanzle is its large and enthusiastic community. While he has a Bonanzle booth for fixed-price listings, he makes use of the live chat function within the booth to conduct live auctions.
To hold a live auction, Kolenda uses UStream TV, his computer, a microphone and a Web cam. UStream TV lets Kolenda stream a live video feed so he can show auction items to interested participants. He displays the item prior to the auction start-time, which allows interested bidders to request close-up views and different angles of the item.
When the auction starts, Kolenda takes bids via the Bonanzle booth chat and narrates the auction on UStream. Kolenda said it has taken some time to perfect the art of using Bonanzle and UStream for live online auctions, but his creative mash-up of services has paid off.
During the last live online auction he saw a 100 percent sale success rate. Since Kolenda has grown his following through his site, and Bonanzle members have been quick to participate. He says that this form of live auction has reached a point where he is now comfortable with the idea of auctioning off higher-value items.
Another site that Kolenda uses is a relatively new offering called DealitLive.com, a live, online auction broadcast platform. Sellers can use the site's live streaming video feature to broadcast a video of the product, and buyers can ask questions and have the seller respond in real-time. The site takes a five percent commission fee on sold items.
Live Twitter Auctions Show Signs of Success
In addition to live online video auctions, Kolenda conducts live auctions on Twitter. Using this popular social platform to run an action shows early signs of success for this creative auctioneer.
For Twitter auctions, Kolenda directs interested bidders back to his own Web site to view auction item images, to read terms and conditions and to obtain instructions on how to bid via Twitter.
Kolenda uses the #twitterauction hash tag, so participants can view the bid history and track the auction progression in real-time tweets. Kolenda only accepts bids from people in his follow list.
Currently Kolenda is experiencing a 50 percent success rate with his online live Twitter auctions, but as his customers find the items and word of Twitter auctions spread, he expects that his number of successful Twitter auctions will increase, much like the live video auctions.
AuctionWally’s Tips for Live Auction Success
Kolenda says that these types of live online auctions are well-suited to professional auctioneers and people who prefer to interact with bidders. A big part of being successful is being able to draw the crowd in and entertain them during the auction process.
“This is a real auction—unlike eBay auction listings— and you have to be comfortable with managing the process and bidder interaction,” he said. “There also has to be a high level of trust between the bidders and the auctioneer for this to work well.”
Kolenda recommends that you let bidders preview the item before the auction starts. Using a live video steam lets you display the item in advance so bidders can ask questions and be comfortable with the quality and condition of the item prior to bidding.
You also need a Web site or blog to post your terms and conditions. This should cover your policies, shipping information, auction start times, preview times and other information that encourages interested bidders to become active bidders during your live auctions.
For Kolenda, moving to live online auctions was a way for him to get back in to the auction game. “It’s been a totally enjoyable experience, right down to the bidders heckling me in chat rooms,” he said. “As a professional auctioneer I’ve been able to get back what I have missed just doing text-based online auction listings.”
To help educate sellers on how to conduct live online auctions, Kolenda will be presenting online seminars this month. He also recently authored two new eBooks; How to do Live Auctions on any Website and How to do Auctions on Twitter, which are currently available on the AuctionWally Web site.
Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.
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