Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Why is Proxibid changing?

A:We’re evolving with the industry. Our mission is to provide buyers and sellers with the tools they need to be successful online, and that means adapting our business to help you combat market forces dictating industry change.

Q: What do you mean the industry is changing?

A: The auction industry is under attack. In May, Ritchie Bros. acquired AssetNation to expand the addressable market and to gain access to deep e-commerce expertise. Companies like Sandhills Publishing will ONLY allow auction companies to advertise with them if they use their online platform and do not allow them to advertise online auctions. We are seeing price compression as more competition enters the marketplace, and every day there is a new secondary market opportunity for just about anything you might be selling.

Q: Ok, we’re under attack. How can Proxibid help auction companies?

A: Proxibid provides our auction company partners with the tools they need to be successful online. We help the independent auction company compete with even the biggest national companies. Here’s how:

Building an online marketplace is costly and takes years of experience and technical expertise. Proxibid provides independent auctioneers with a marketplace that’s even better than, in our mind, those of big companies like Ritchie Bros., who spend millions upon millions building their own.
We know that the reach of our online marketplace, in conjunction with the expertise of our independent auction company partners, can sell nearly any conceivable asset. Our sales team can use this powerful combination to attract assets that would likely otherwise bypass the auction method. We connect these new sellers with the right auction partner, giving them an entirely new way to sell their goods. And, bringing new sellers to the marketplace benefits everyone — more inventory brings more buyers and higher prices.
Proxibid’s in-house marketing agency provides strategic services to ensure even the smallest auction company can compete with large, national firms. Our team is poised to help you capture new buyers through comprehensive and targeted campaigns.

Q: Are you competing with auctioneers to get consignments?

A: We have never competed with our auctioneer partners and we never will. Our sales team double checks every lead to make sure they’re not already working with a Proxibid partner. In fact, most of these new sellers currently use specialized liquidation companies and other third parties. Our goal is to bring this inventory into the Proxibid Marketplace where everyone can benefit.

We believe in the auction industry and the value auctioneers bring to sellers. We aren’t just selling our own services when we meet with prospective sellers, we’re also selling the opportunity to work with leading auction companies who can help liquidate assets quickly and cost effectively. We will take every opportunity we can to connect these new sellers to our auction company partners. In fact, we’ve already begun bringing new business to partners as part of our pilot program.

Q: Will you be competing with auction companies?

A: Direct consignments are a big change for Proxibid and for the industry and we didn’t explain it very well. We want to be very clear - there are legitimate threats to auctioneers – price compression, new competition, groups attempting to bypass the auctioneer and sell direct to the consumer – and we want to help you beat these forces. We aren’t competing with you. Rather, we are helping you to adapt to market changes and to beat competitive forces. By working together we can more clearly see opportunities that neither we nor an individual auction company alone would be able to leverage. Working in concert and leveraging the size and scope of the marketplace we can attract large pools of assets that previously would have been out of reach for Proxibid and our partners.

Q: Are you sourcing assets directly?

A: Yes. We are sourcing assets our clients are not currently targeting. We will take every opportunity to distribute these assets to auction companies to sell the items in the Marketplace. In cases where the seller does not want to sell the items using the auction method, but wants to leverage the power of the Marketplace, Proxibid will sell the items on behalf of the seller.