About the auction you just did, I would like to know how you handled so many people at the office, how many computers, printers, how many cashiers, etc. I usually don't have a line although at big auctions even with several "helpers" at the office, I do get a line! So any tips will be appreciated!!!

The Yoder & Frey sale had over 4,800 buyers this year. Handling this many buyers at a large dollar, international sale is quite difficult and time consuming. The physical layout of the main business office is that of a trailer with 2 doors. One door is used for entry, and the other for exit.We've set up 7 banking windows i.e. counter tops with vertical wooden separators to give some privacy to people as they register/pay/etc. We have an 8th and 9th position right in front of the door which we use when the crunch is really on. People enter on the door to the right, and then turn to their left to get to a window.

We've built a wall just to the right of the door for the "computer room". This is where the main server, and all sales and billing data entry is accomplished. All personnel sit facing the wall for concentration. No one but authorized personnel can get into this area, or the "private side" of the window area. The clerking sheets come in through the door, and are passed back to the 1 person whose sole job is to enter and check the clerk sheets. Early in the auction process i.e. the days before the auction starts, this person also does buyer registration data entry. There are 4 other machines in this area. 1 a general purpose machine which is used almost exclusively for buyer registration, and two machines which are used for printing invoices and seller statements throughout the auction. All invoices for all windows are printed from this one machine. The printer can print them much quicker than the 7 or 8 cashiers can collect the money. There is also 1 additional person in this area whose sole job is to keep the boxes and boxes of registration cards and attached financial documents organized and filed. The last machine in this area is my personal development machine which is used to run or write custom reports as the need develops, or run re-index and recover as the need develops.

At varying times during the sale, all the windows will be functioning as registration stations, cashiers, or a combination of both. This entire processes is "managed" (As if you can manage a tornado <g>) by 1 main person. This person we refer to as the gatekeeper for lack of a better term. The gatekeeper stands at the entrance door to the trailer, and directs and organizes traffic, and answers all questions from all people who are in the area. If the want to register, they are put into a registration line in one direction coming from the door, if they want to pay, they are put into a different line. If they have their "express" registration information, they are put into a different line and expedited through the process.

If people come up to pay, we get specific pieces of information from them such as

1. buyer number
2. tax status
3. how many pieces did they buy
4. how long ago was the last piece

This information is then passed into the billing station where a bill is produced AFTER we know it will be complete.. i.e. if someone says they bought 2 items and we only have one on the billing screen, we don't print their bill. We then tell then that we're waiting for the info. If 15 or 20 minutes pass and we still haven't gotten the information (the sale is held on a 150 acre site) we try to get more specific information from then such as the lot numbers. We can then check the clerk sheets to see if there were any recording errors.

All this is done, because in this sale as with ALL SALES I HAVE EVER ATTENDED, the bottleneck is in the actual cashiering process. So, no one gets to a cashier and ties up a window, until we have an actual invoice to give to the cashier. We don't want someone standing in that window tieing up the cashier while we try and figure out where their 4th lot is.

There are another 10 computers scattered throughout other trailers in the complex entering cash received, making up deposits, and running misc reports all day long.

The key person from the public's point of view is the gatekeeper, and this person is making decisions on the fly as to what personnel to pull from where to staff the 2 additional heavy traffic stations, as well as allocating the regular windows between registration and checkout. The gatekeeper will also be taking the invoice and walking the buyer to whichever window and handing the invoice to the cashier. And doing all this while trying to keep all the people waiting entertained.. And we do try and entertain the people, whether through lame stand-up comedy routines (thank you very much), or just good natured interchanges between people coming up to ask questions. And we always try to keep every line moving, even if it's slowly. The gatekeeper position is usually manned by Ellen or myself, with a third person there for relief when it's really light. So i do it 60% Ellen 20% and the 3rd person 20%.

When people are waiting to register, we are constantly reminding them to

1. take your driver's license out of your wallet because we need to make a copy
2. We must receive a letter of credit from their bank before they settle-up if they are paying by any method other than cash.
3. If they have a business card, take that out also.
4. the men must have written permission from their wives to bid.

All people who approach the door are greeted before they get to the door with: "Yes sir/ma'am, What can i do for you today". That position must be an aggressive one, and must take control of EVERYONE coming up to the door, otherwise they will literally walk right past you / over you. Even though this is a construction machinery equipment sale, i am always wearing a shirt and tie, and if the temperature is not over 80, i will have on a sports coat or suit top as well.

I could write tons more, but that's a general overview.. If you have any questions on anything i've written, or, if anyone else would like to chime in with other tidbits from the kissimmee sale, or have any questions or thoughts in regards to moving people through the auction process, please feel free to jump right in..

Thanks for all the recap on the auction.

Why didn't you set a computer for direct input by the clerk vs manual clerking sheets which need to be input?

I feel that it's easier to make errors while typing vs hand writing; and if anything should go wrong with the computer or connection, the only backup of the clerking would be the audio tape. Some people tell me that I'm wrong....

>Thanks for all the recap on the auction.

>Why didn't you set a computer for direct input by the clerk vs manual
>clerking sheets which need to be input?

To start with, they're doing the selling across a 150 acre site. They're also running up to 3 rings at the same time. direct input from the clerk would require a wireless set-up. While wireless to do 600 - 800 feet is in the $3,000 - 6,000 range for a single ring, wireless to do this would be $25,000 or so. it also rains out there, as well as runs until 10 or 11p.m. some night. Some days go over 90 degrees. I can't for the life of me see why anyone would want to throw a computer into that situation. It's hard enough getting people who know how to write to do this..

>I feel that it's easier to make errors while typing vs hand writing; and
>if anything should go wrong with the computer or connection, the only
>backup of the clerking would be the audio tape. Some people tell me
>that I'm wrong....

Well, some other people may be wrong. if it's easier to make errors while typing, how do they enter the stuff in the first place, mental telepathy ?? sorry for the sarcasm, but the computer system, with the clerking sheet review function results in extremely low error rates. Almost all of the errors happen because of the original recording in the field. Some of this takes place out there after the auctioneer actually says "sold" , and has moved onto the next lot. The buyer number maybe wrong, the buyer next to him may actually have purchased it.. all this is corrected while the auctioneer "merrily charges on" <g>.. Not the place for a computer.

This does not mean that there is never an appropriate situation for a computer out where they're selling, it just needs to be cost justified. I would have no problem with a computer at the kissimmee sale, if they had the $25,000 budget for the wireless, and the additional $$$ to pay for the computer clerks, AND, and this is the most important.. if THEY STILL HANDWROTE THE ACTIVITY LIVE, and passed the individual items BACK TO THE COMPUTER AFTER THEY WERE SURE THE INFO WAS CORRECT!! That is the correct way to use a computer on the block from my perspective. Anything else, and you are turning a win-win situation into a win lose situation.

Koll-Dove's auctions are held in a ballroom, and would be a perfect setting for this. but a computer on the block would actually slow down the auction. they sell upwards of 600 lots an hour. They'll say "sold", and then that buyer may take 30 items and they will sell the rest at that price for whomever holds up their hand. (depending on how happy they are with the price.) The items are all serialized, and each one has to be an individual lot. They can hardly write fast enough. putting a computer into that mess would greatly slow things down.

>Some people tell me that I'm wrong....

You do know, don't you, that if you put 501 auctioneers into a room, each one of them would be glad to tell you that the other 500 auctioneers didn't really know how to run an auction ???

From David in Mass.

Excellent scenario of a precision run auction ! And the thing is whether you have a hundred, a thousand, or 50 thousand, it all remains the same ! With a little more help of course ! Being an Antique auctioneer I've never seen crowds such as you are referring to. Would love to see an operation of that magnitude in operation some day.. Our biggest sale was about 500 on a 2 day estate sale, & we did that with 1 computer & printer.. I know all it takes is money !

From Barrie in Saskatchewan, Canada

hi all

far be it from me to say brian is wrong BUT some of us or at least one of us finds the wireless system an absolite plus. we do farm auctions on site and at our auction centre. i ran across a system that will give me at least 5 miles of range. we have used it in snow, sleet, rain, sun but we're inside a topper.

if anyone wants to discuss wireless e-mail me here.

From Ron in N.C.

BARRIE

I AM INTERESTED IN THE WIRELESS SYSTEM THAT CAN REACH 5 MILES PLEASE DISCUSS THIS WITH ME FURTHER

From Barrie in Canada,

hi ron & also to jeff who contacted me on my own e-mail;

this system i found is a wireless modem that runs at 115000 baud and at 1 watt of power that in a line of sight situation will carry 35 miles. with a short rubber antenna on the remote end and a 5' mast on top of our office or auction trailer i can hit up to 5 miles with no problem. the unit is about 11/2" by 4" by 6" so is very compact. i use a 486 100 notebook on the remote end in our auction topper or on a portable stand in a plant. on the host end i also have a 486 100. the units operate on 12volt or on 110 power, and do not need a fcc or dot licence. the units are called free wave by dycor and are available in denver or boulder colorado. i will provide their address to anyone interested. we have used this system in one of our units at our consignment centre and on the road

at many of our remote farm auctions & plant auctions. we do briefly manually clerk the auction as well as record the auction. at our farm auctions we don, t normally sell more than 60 - 90 items an hour so we don't have a problem keeping up. we use the cus auction software and find it very user freindly. in our remote auction trailer we have a network setup with 2 clerking stations the server & the host station for the wireless. we have bar code readers on both stations. our girls that run this system almost refuse to work if we don't have the computers. at our auction centre we run 3 rings, 2 selling farm equipment and 1 on misc. items. as soon as i can talk my partner into it i want 2 more systems so we'll have no runners and a buyer can be standing at the cashiers station bid, and we won't miss that item on his invoice. any other questions i'll be happy to answer and provide info as to where you can purchase this system

barrie in canada

Barrie,

To clarify a couple of points...

Doesn't your system requires a pair of computers for each linkup ? So to handle 2 rings, you would require 4 computers just for the wireless in addition to any workstations and networking in the office, correct ??

What are the approximate prices for the wireless set-up's by themselves ??

thanks for your detailed explanations.

BRIAN AND ALL:

yes the system as i mentioned is a little clumsy in that you need an extra computer compared to a lan system. the plus is the distance and the dependability of the connection. we have been connected from 8:30 am to 11:30 pm in a yard that is full of equipment and buildings, and did not disconnect. the address to buy these systems is FreeWave Technologies Inc.

1898 Flatiron Court
Boulder, CO USA 80301
(303) 444-3862
fax 786-9948

the price of the new 1 watt is about $1300.00 U.S. as brian mentioned you need 2 units per ring. my partner & i each have a notebook and there's one extra computer in the office on auction day plus i hook our mobile trailer into the main network for auction day so i have the extra computers for the system. you will also need a piece of software called pcanywhere to connect the computers. one more point we have used the system through cement, wood & steel walls 3-4 rooms deep and not lost connection. i used it at 30 remote auctions and 5 consignment centre auctions as well as numerous plant auctions with little or no problem. good luck!

barrie in canada