The current age of budget-crunching and downsizing has many of us wondering what to do with those unused items collecting dust in the basement or the old business machinery searching for a new home.
The path to turning those seemingly obsolete items into something of value comes from a process many of you are likely familiar with, even if you’ve never heard the phrase: selling on consignment. We’re here to provide you with more insight on what consignment auctions are, explain the benefits, and share how we implement these auctions at Dakil Auctioneers, Inc.
By definition, consignment is the action of consigning or delivering something. It’s also an agreement to pay a supplier or seller after something is sold. In business lingo, all this means is someone provides their item to an authorized third party to sell.
In exchange, the third party, or consignee, takes a cut of the revenue for helping you, the consignor, sell the item.
You likely associate consignment with consignment stores, such as secondhand shops and thrift stores that use these practices. Even those as-seen-on-TV products you see are a form of consignment sales.
The process is straightforward, as you can walk into a shop, explain to the owner what you want to sell, and wait for a check when, or if, the item sells. Consignments have increased in popularity over the past few decades. Sellers are looking for an easy way to reach a larger market, while buyers are seeking a deal.
The act of consigning also takes place in auctions, known as consignment auctions. You’ll find that unless items are sold as part of an estate or liquidation auction, they likely fall under the consignment category.
Consignment auctions feature sellers who consign their products to an auction house. The seller can either be an individual or a business. The auction house then acts as the third party and auctions off the items for the seller. In exchange, the auction house receives a portion of the proceeds.
There are many types of auctions to choose from. Whereas a liquidation or estate auction contains goods from a single business or estate, consignment auctions have hundreds of items from many different sellers.
For example, an estate auction that features firearms may only have a select catalog to choose from since they belong to an individual. By comparison, a consignment firearm auction may have 100 or more guns from dozens of sellers. This variety can appease more buyers which, in turn, generates more money for the seller.
Above all else, consignment auctions can simplify the selling process with little effort. Instead of generating interest on your own and advertising an item in the local paper or on a website, the auction house’s own marketing tactics handle this for you. Not only will more people see your items, but you’ll have more qualified buyers.
Plus, you won’t have to spend time worrying about how much to sell your item for. Buyers at an auction determine the price. If you’re concerned about any downsides, you’ll only have to pay a fee if your item sells. The risks are minimal — all you do is wait for the check in the mail.
Each quarter, we hold heavy equipment auctions that act as our largest consignment auctions of the year. These auctions allow commercial, small business owners, and even homeowners to consign equipment to be auctioned off.
Typically, Oklahoma City-based companies such as Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company, Oklahoma Natural Gas, or the Oklahoma City Police Department will consign work trucks or equipment to make room for new items they add to their fleet.
While this makes up a part of our inventory, we also receive a wide-ranging selection of consignment items including everything from cranes and excavators down to drills, saws, lawn mowers, and other household tools. This catalog from February is from our latest heavy equipment auction.
Heavy equipment is one type of consignment auction we hold. Gun auctions are common and attract high-end buyers. One of our 2021 auctions had 18 guns (rifles, handguns, shotguns, and assault rifles) that sold for at least $1,000 each.
Contact our office at 405-751-6179 to inquire about upcoming consignment auction opportunities. You can keep tabs on what’s on the docket by visiting our upcoming auctions page.
