Published on November 23rd, 2020
Who needs who here?
By Adam Bridgland
Group sites: the Auctioneer’s safety net or silent competitor?
Now, over the course of the past year, I can’t even count the number of times I’ve overheard group site auctioneers (I won’t name them) claim that they couldn’t possibly leave the security of group sites because they couldn’t possibly do it alone. (which Webtron has repeatedly shown is no longer the case). We refer to this as the “auctioneer’s safety net effect.” (Group auction sites are more prevalent in the UK, much less so in the US, and even less so in Australia, however group portals are trying it out once more in Australian real estate in search of fresh easy targets.)
And this is why you would be crazy to hand your brand equity and bidders group site auction portal. Only shortly after finding that they have harvested and remarketed over to.
Let’s examine a bit of evidence.
Let’s do a 180 and see it from a bidder’s point of view
So I sat down the other day, as I do because I’ve become an “auction nerd.” And I thought, “I’m going to have a look at a couple of fine art/collectables/antiques on an independent auctioneers website”. I got on to a very nice looking website. It contained quite a few very interesting looking auctions coming up, and some that had finished. I clicked on one. And in order to look further, I was asked to register. Nothing amiss in that thought, so register I did.
Harvested and Re-marketed to Auctioneer’s competitor within two minutes from group site!
I started browsing. Looking at some lovely lots on the independent auctioneer’s website, when after two minutes, yes two minutes, an email popped up. It was from the group site. I had been re-marketed to within 2 minutes alerting me that my auctioneer’s competitors, other auction companies also had lots I might be interested in.
Imagine my surprise when I opened the email. And it was very welcoming. But it also, and this is staggering, directed me to several other auctions that the group site felt I might also be interested in. Very assumptive since they barely know me, and they haven’t even bought me a drink. I feel I should give them a name, so let’s call them “Group Site 1”.
So “Group Site 1” thought I may be interested in some other auctions. Nine of them to be precise. The truly staggering bit in all of this is that all nine of these auctions that “Group Site 1” felt might interest me, were auctions being held by nine (9) direct competitors to the auctioneer on whose website I had originally registered. So just to be clear. I had registered on one auctioneer’s website unaware a group site was mining bidder data, where I had to register.
Independent Auctioneer blind-sided
So that auctioneer had essentially brought me, Mr New Customer, to “Group Site 1”. “Group Site 1” then thanks to the original auctioneer by almost instantly sending me an email telling me about some other fantastic auctions coming up that I must be interested in. Now that I thought was a little rude. Great for me as a bidder, great for “Group Site 1”, but I think “Group Site 1” has forgotten who his customer is. And how he should be treating him.
I phoned the original auctioneer. And I asked him if he was aware of this kind of almost instant re-marketing taking place from “Group Site 1”. It didn’t surprise me that he wasn’t. And of course, he was rightly beyond furious.
It’s worth noting that at no point did I enter “Group Site 1” URL or go to their site. “Group Site 1” would have been completely unaware of me had it not been for Mr Auctioneer and his lovely website and interesting auctions and lots.
So, everyone, ask yourselves this. Who needs who here? And while you’re at it, ask yourselves, and be honest, how many new bidders are you actually seeing? Or more to the point, how many new bidders are actually you losing to your online auction group site supplier?
Why be a slave to a group site when you could easily be doing it better from your own website? Value your brand equity and your bidders. Don’t hand them over to anyone.
