August 2020
Wider Reach Translates into Better Results for Steffes Group Sellers
There was a time when a farm auction would attract bidders from a fairly small radius, with buyers concentrated on surrounding states. Now, it seems bidders can come from almost anywhere.
The recent Kibble auction, which featured farm equipment in a timed online auction, attracted 590 registered bidders, including some from as far away as Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Maine, Kentucky and New York. “We had 87 lots, yet the auction received more than 155,000 page views,” said Max Steffes.
A live auction featuring a good bit of late-model equipment was the Boychuk Bros. farm retirement auction in Hallock, Minnesota, in July. It attracted bidders from Maine, South Carolina, Arizona, New York and New Jersey.
Our July AgIron auction in West Fargo, North Dakota pulled bidders from Alabama, Arizona, New Jersey, New York, Maine and Texas.
It may take some time and research to understand all the reasons for the surge in bidder interest from distant states. We’ve always had a wide reach, buoyed by our name and advertising. However, there also seems to be an increase in people casting a wider net in search of good equipment.
“It could be that as the Covid crisis forced more auction companies to make more use of online auctions, bidders have expanded their range. Because we have a very active web site, with as many as 15 or 20 auctions added in a single week, we and our sellers benefit from our excellent search engine rankings. In short, we’re easy to find -- even from Florida or New York,” he said.
Another factor working to the benefit of our sellers is Steffes’ leadership in online bidding.
“Because we began doing timed online auctions years ago, we’ve achieved widespread acceptance of the format, and that has expanded the range,” said Max. “But we are also seeing similar trends with our live auctions as well. Whether live or online, an auction with more bidders tends to get higher prices, and that’s our obligation to our sellers,” he said.
