A home-based career will, in most cases, allow you to spend more time with your family, choose your own hours, and allow you to be your own boss. These are things we all desire with a career of any kind, although working outside the home can be more restricted on how you spend your time each day.When starting a home-based business, you would benefit to get the right education you need for your type of chosen career. Then, you need to set goals for yourself to follow. This will allow you to have something to work towards. Keep up on the newest trends for your particular business, and keep up to date with the best new products and services on the market. Learn as much as you can about your business so you can keep improving it over time. No matter how much people already know about their business, taking a refresher class or some sort of extra training can help a home-based business grow. Keeping up to date in your field of work can make for a successful business.Talking to other home-based business owners can help give you ideas to improve your own business. When starting a home-based business career, having goals that you can follow is essential for your business. We all would like to retire tomorrow, but that is not the way it goes for most people. Setting goals for where you want your business to be someday is something to look forward to and work toward everyday. Depending on what your goals may be, some may take a longer time to achieve and others less time. Getting yourself motivated to work everyday, when there is no one there to make sure your work is being completed is very difficult. Setting goals is a way to make sure you are always on track toward your future.The way you treat your customers is very important when running a home-based business. You need to set up a way to be contacted for questions about your products and services. You should be prompt about answering back, so that potential customers will not look elsewhere for what they need. Selecting the right home-based business career is not that hard to do with all the choices available. To be successful, it should be a business that is of great interest to you that you will not get tired of doing.
Home Based Businesses Ideas
The ideal job for anyone these days is for you to make your own work hours, work on whatever days you like without having to make a daily commute and not have to answer to anyone. That sounds like quite the nostalgic job. It’s actually easier to fathom than we think.Affiliate MarketingMost affiliate marketing companies you may get involved with charge you membership fees and are usually a scam. Not too long ago I was searching for home based businesses ideas using Google and checking the BBB with any affiliate marketing companies I found on the first few web pages. I thought it was going to be impossible but I happened to run into a few companies that can get you started off on the right foot. Some companies will even set up a website for you and provide you with training as long as you have a site to start with and if you don’t then they will show you how to obtain one, usually for a rather cheap price. After the set up some will give you all the training you need and all the resources you may use to help you make money. Some of the best home based businesses ideas like this make money through affiliate marketing. It’s quite simple… you advertise other people’s products and when they make a purchase through your link then you earn a commission off of it.Now if you want to start off and make a decent amount of income off affiliate marketing like this and at a shorter amount of time then it’s best to invest in a few of the tools that some companies might offer to you because it will most likely increase your productivity level ten fold compared to figuring out other methods of accomplishing the same thing. You don’t have to invest in them but, some of these tools are so useful that it would be such a lengthy process to build up a successful site without them. Every legitimate online affiliate marketing company I’ve encountered offered great training for using such tools. Great marketing tools, training and support in one site is one of the best home based businesses ideas yet. Not only that but, when you invest in some of these tool you can actually use them as affiliate sources on your page, thus giving you more of an opportunity to generate income. Your business also grows off of how creative you get with it. If you build your business using the proper methods that these companies teach you, as well as using your creativity, you will be sure to succeed and even fave fun and enjoy doing it.Sell Health Products OnlineThis is one of the best small home based business ideas because everyone in the world wants to get healthier. If you think about everyone you have talked to within the past few weeks and then think about how many of those people would actually like to lose weight I guarantee that at least half of them do. You can get advertise through many approaches like Myspace, Facebook, blogging websites or even text messages and phone calls. If you’d even like to put some extra effort into it you can put out pamphlets in break rooms or gyms. The possibilities are almost endless and if you are someone in need of losing a few pounds or even a lot, you can try out your own products and after you make the results you can use yourself with before and after pictures and meeting people you haven’t seen since you lost the weight. Become a product of the product. Another reason this is one of the best home based businesses ideas is because you have physical product to show to a person which sells better any day of the week compared to showing a product in an email or webpage.Online Surveyor.An online survey taker is the simplest of the three home based businesses ideas because you have to put no effort into blogging, marketing or selling of any sort. This home based business has no maintenance either. However this is the least successful of the three due to you “trading hours for dollars”. In a business like this you get paid for the time you put into it and gain no leverage or residual income.
Points to Consider When Starting a Home-Based Business
If you are considering starting a home-based business, there are several points to consider to help the business run more smoothly, save money and make it successful. Planning is very important.The first thing to consider is what kind of home-based business to start. Will you be selling products or services? Will you be promoting online, offline or both? Finding the right niche and something you are passionate about is very important. If you are passionate about what you’re doing, others will sense your enthusiasm and will be attracted to you and more interested in what you have to offer. You also need to find a niche where there is demand for your products or services.The next thing to consider is where your business will be located in your home. It is important to have a space for this purpose and only this purpose. You will need enough room for a desk and any other furniture you desire. As well, if you need to keep products in your office, make sure you have room to store them. Being organized is important so that you don’t waste time. Remember, time is money.Budget is another important consideration when starting a home-based business. A monthly budget should be prepared so that over spending can be avoided. You will need to consider costs to make/purchase products, advertising costs, monthly fees for any programs you are involved with, your internet connection, office supplies, etc. Take care to remain within your budget.You also need to decide how you will advertise your home-based business. You may choose to run ads in newspapers or solo ads in online ezines. Perhaps, you will choose to run a Google AdWords campaign or distribute flyers. Whatever you decide, make a plan and stay within your budget.Time is the last point to consider. If you are already working outside the home, you will need to schedule time to work on your home-based business. Set a schedule that is realistic and follow it. Ensure that you build in time for your family, friends and relaxation. It is important to create a balanced life, otherwise you may burn out.So, consider these points, create a plan, and start building your own successful home-based business today.
10 Home Based Business Ideas That You Can Start Even If You Have No Capital
I have always wanted to start my own home based business. I have thought of the ways to do it and I have read all there is to know about starting it but that has always been as far as I went into business planning. Well, what can I do? I just couldn’t simply afford it. So I went and looked for home based business ideas that I can start even if I have no capital. You might want to check them out for yourselves too.1. Private TutorialYou still probably have your old books from school, or perhaps books of your kids when they were young and you have been wondering how you can actually make use of all of them. Well, it’s high time to start piling them up and have a little review for yourself.You can run a private tutorial at home for your friends’ kids or even for neighbors. With this, you won’t have to actually take up courses in the university again. Just review a little and become update regarding the latest updates on the things that kids learn at school.2. Computer Specialist or Repair ServicesYes, with this home based business, you don’t have to have capital. You only need your skills and knowledge with computers. You can start by contacting friends and their friends if they would want computer repair services. You can offer home service if they prefer.3. Making WebsitesIf you have your own computer at home and you have a reliable internet connection already, well you might want to make use of it to earn money. There is plenty of software nowadays that will help you. This is best for those that already have the knowledge and creativity.4. Music LessonsLove music? Well I’m sure you’d love it more if you get to share it and earn in return. You can start your own music lesson business by using the musical instruments that you have at home. With all the demand for training young talents nowadays, I am certain that you could get quite a number of students in no time.5. Baby SittingTaking care of little kids for busy parents is also one easy home based business that you could start. Besides being able to play with a cute little kid all day, you also get to earn by the hour. This is ideal for those who are patient enough to look after small children.6. Bookkeeping ServicesTyping jobs and other secretarial services are ideal for those that know their way in using computers. You don’t need to invest a lot of money because you don’t need a lot of supplies. A good quality computer, which most of us already have, and a set of typing paper could already be your ticket to starting your own bookkeeping business.7. Elderly CareThis is like babysitting, only that you have to take care of an elderly person. Well this is actually quite easier because you don’t get to run around much unlike with babysitting kids. You also need your patience as your capital for this and you also get to earn by the hour.8. Yard Care ServicesIf you are the Industrious type and you know how to tend a garden, then you might want to release those creative skills into running a home based yard care service. You can charge some household owners for your services like trimming their lawns or even do some minor landscaping. You get to enjoy while you earn. Isn’t that the best?9. Online TutorialYou can use a lot of things with your computer and a reliable internet connection. There also a lot of websites and online companies that are looking for online tutors. Well, this is easier for those that are more confident in speaking or having a conversation online. You get to earn per lesson that you conduct.10. Art LessonsFinally, if you see yourself as the artsy one, you might also want to share your skills and knowledge to those that are willing to learn. You can charge per lesson. And you don’t need much capital since you only a need a little art set that you already have if you have always been into creative stuff.So far, I have only these ideas that I can probably try. Coupled with will and determination, these could be your tips too in running your own home based business.
Samples Of Small Business Subcontracting Plans
Small business subcontracting plans necessarily mean a large business enterprise sub letting or taking help from small businesses. In large business outfits, the amount of office supplies is great hence a small business firm is contacted and a contract is signed with them to provide office materials regularly.o A subcontract is broadly defined as an understanding agreed upon by a prime contract and subcontractor to provide goods or services needed for complementing the performance of the prime contract.o The service a small business provides, however, is not necessarily under the prime contract; it should satisfy the prime contractor’s ordinary overhead requirements attributable to the prime contract.This entire process of contracting out a part of the project to a small business firm is known as small business subcontracting. The contract is made formal only if the costs involved in providing materials exceed $500.000 for the entire period of performance.o a small business subcontracting plan must state an expected amount of business that the prime contractor expects to award to small business contractorsHowever, it is untrue that all business concerns need subcontracted businesses to reach the stage of completion.o In order to ensure completion, each subcontracting plan must name a manager or contract person, called a plan administrator, in charge of promoting compliance under the plan.Only when the magnitude of the business project demands calculated subcontracts sub recipients are brought into discussions.The subcontractor’s SBSP mentions the materials to be purchased, the total amount of money that will be spent on each small business outfit and the percentage of money that has been stipulated for supplies and/or services that these purchases represent.Small business concerns usually used as sub recipients of such huge business projects are:o Small Disadvantaged Business concern
o Minority Institutes
o Veteran Owned Small Business concern
o Women Owned Small Business concern
o Historically Black Colleges and UniversitiesRather than waiting for communication, a small business can contact prime contractors directly to inform them of its small business.A small business can approach agencies themselves to show inclination of its availability for subcontracting.A SBSP is prepared by the principal investigator of the project. The principal investigator takes up the responsibility of meeting the goals set in the plan. If the SBSP fails for any reason, the contractor may be made responsible for the damage and the business concern handling the project may be denied new contracts.Once the SBSP is prepared, it is presented as a part of the business proposal. It is open to negotiation.o In soliciting subcontracts, prime contractors often seek several small business sources to insure they are obtaining a fair priceo If a small business is dissatisfied with the treatment it receives from the prime contractor, it cannot protest to the agency or General Accounting Office.The principal investigator informs the Procurement Resource Services (PRS) administrator of the need of subcontractors. The PRS then aids investigators in identifying suppliers as per the requirement of the project.o Prime contractors are increasingly aware of the need to subcontract with small businesses for delegating work.
o Certain small business contracts stress the possibility of dollar penalties on those failing to meet their subcontracting plans.Typical samples small business subcontracting plans require the following information:o Identification Data – name of the company, address, date of preparation of SBSP, Solicitation Number and Item or Service required
o Type of Plan – individual, master or commercial
o Goals – estimated dollar value of all planned subcontracting, estimated dollar value and percentage of total planned subcontracting to large business concerns, estimated dollar value and percentage of total planned subcontracting to small business concerns etc
o Details of Program Administrator
o Equitable Opportunity
o Reporting and Co-operation time line
o Record Keeping
o Timely payments to Subcontractors
o Description of Good Faith Report
A Home Based Business Versus a Home Based JOB
We often hear people say they “want to work from home”. Most people do not really know that this statement can mean a variety of things. Some simply mean they would like to do their current job from home. Many employers across the country offer work at home programs that will allow you to do the very same job you would be doing sitting at your office except doing work from home.
If your employer does not allow you this option, and most do not, then you need to find another way to make money from home.
The first thing you should do when trying to find something to do from home is decide if you want a home based BUSINESS or a home based JOB. A business and a job are not the same thing. Actually they are VERY different things.
A home based business is exactly what it sounds like… it is a business. You are the boss and you are in control of everything. When you own your own home based business you will must set your own hours and set your own goals. The best part of owning your own home based business is that you will be able to give yourself a raise whenever you want.
A home based job is exactly like a job… just from home. You still have a boss, you still have a workload given to you and you still have a set amount of time to do it in. Your boss will also decide how much you deserve to get paid and worst of all you can still get fired.
If you are looking for a home based job you might want to stop right here because this article is not intended for you and will probably not help you at all.
If you are really looking for a home based business you may have just found what you’re looking for.
There are thousands of options when it comes to finding the right home based business. There are so many choices that it can often be overwhelming.
One of the first things you’ll want to think about is your commitment. By commitment, I am referring to time and money required to get started. How much do you have to invest for a successful business plan? How much time are you willing to invest to get your home based business ‘off the ground’?
Investment on your part is a key difference between owning a business and having a job. I hear people tell me they don’t want to invest any money in their business. What I hear them saying is, “I’m not willing to risk anything but I want everything”. I know that our business is not right for them. I often just wish them the best and have to let them go.
It’s true that a job WILL allow you to save some money but it will never allow you the freedom that you’ll find by owning your own business.
Once you have a good idea of how much you’ll be willing to invest you’ll want to start thinking about the type of work you can get excited about. As you are interviewing potential partners to work with, ask the tough questions. Ask them:
“What will a typical day look like?”
“What will I be doing to grow my business?”
“Who will I have daily access to for help?”
“What type of training do you provide?”
“How quickly can I expect a return on my investment?”
The answers to these questions will give you a good idea if that home based business is right for you.
There are a lot of great products out there that you can market from home and the choice is totally up to you but you will want to make sure it’s a product line that has real value to your customer. Also make sure it’s something that you are going to feel comfortable marketing… something you can get excited about.
I truly hope that this article has been helpful for you and given you some idea of what you are looking for. If it’s a home based job that your really looking for, I wish you the best of luck in finding that.
If however, you decide that you want the incredible lifestyle that a home based business affords you start by getting some information about owning your own business today.
Working from home is an incredible lifestyle… let’s hope you get to live it very soon!
If you are anxious for a new life and better lifestyle, the author Roger Moody will be honored to mentor you to the next level. Roger Moody is a National Top Producer and stay at home father of 4 kids. Passions include helping others achieve their goal & taking care of Baby Allie, born March 1st, 2008. Prior to becoming a successful online business owner, his background was mathematics and engineering. Roger is a self described “Former Geek”!
Marketing Advertising – The “No, Nos” of Marketing Advertising
The terms “marketing” and “advertising” seem to overlap in the minds of most Americans. However, marketing and advertising are actually two distinct processes, where marketing is the process with a broader scope. However, the two processes do correspond in many ways and do overlap in actual practice. The process of advertising for instance can benefit from typical marketing processes especially during pre-phase advertisement stages. The marriage of marketing and advertisement could perhaps result in the newly coined phrase: marketing advertising.
Four Reasons Advertising Can Fail and Why “Marketing Advertising” is More Effective
According to an online article, 10 Rules for More Effective Advertising2, there are numerous ways that even ad professionals can knowingly or unknowingly make a flop of an advertisement campaign.
Some of the unfortunate techniques include the following:
Using information presented in an A-Z format, without interlacing the information in a story that people can relate to.
Not being explicit about the purpose of the advertisement. Subtle advertisements aren’t necessarily a good thing. Advertisers should make the call to action apparent.
Failing to “speak” to the emotions of viewers. According to the article, “There are eight basic, universal emotions – joy, surprise, anticipation, acceptance, fear, anger, sadness, and disgust.” The article also states that, “An added bonus is that successful emotional appeals limit the number of exposures required for audiences to understand, learn, and respond to the calls to action – people may only need to see emotionally compelling scenes once and they will remember those scenes for a lifetime.”
Using inferences and conclusions that are too complex. Advertisements are not meant to be complex. Otherwise the convenience of advertisement wouldn’t be convenient any longer, would it?
I would also add that a big marketing advertising “no, no” is avoiding the foundational element of market research. Without market research, an advertising agency may even bypass the advertising mistakes mentioned above and still fail to stimulate action among a specific audience.
Market Research: Start a Marketing Advertising Campaign the Right Way
An advertiser doesn’t have to be a marketer to realize that knowing his or her audience (i.e. his or her market) is effective for better advertisements. Besides avoiding the mistakes mentioned above, advertisers or marketing advertising experts need to know their market as thoroughly as their budget and energies will allow, as some commercials (even with all the recommended elements) may fail to stimulate an audience to action. Take the Burger King “Herb the Nerd” commercial (see MSNBC’s 10 Worst Super Bowl Ads of All Time3) as an example of what doesn’t work. The commercial, (though it may have contained most of the requirements inversely inferred in the list above), was a calamitous flog since many of those who viewed the commercial were annoyed by the actor who played Herb the Nerd and were perhaps also uncomfortable with the emotions that the commercial tried to evoke in the first place. With a bit more market research-or more marketing advertising–, perhaps Burger King’s agency could have avoided a million dollar fiasco.4
Even amateur marketers and advertisers are aware that market research can be extremely valuable but many are not willing to expend the time and effort it takes to find a successful direction for a marketing advertising commercial. Especially since marketers may have a sneaking suspicion that even when viewers say they like one commercial, they might actually respond more readily (or emotionally) to another commercial.5 Market research, according to allbusiness.com can be conducted with any or all of the following techniques:
Surveys
Focus Groups
Personal Interviews
Observation
Field Trials
Market research can also include a history of the company’s own advertising projects. Campaigns that were responded to well in the past may simply need a remake.
A Final Check on the list for Marketing Advertising Techniques
After all is said and done it seems that the humor and the simplicity of an advertisement can contribute to a major commercial success. 8 The Windex Birds Commercial9 may be a good example of humor and simplicity for the Windex buying audience.
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.