Ritchie Bros. says the new feature will enable buyers to make proxy bids online for items in its live auctions up to a week before the sale. These PriorityBids put them first in line to win the item, provided no one outbids them.
“Launched in mid-August, PriorityBid has quickly become a valuable feature for our live auction customers—allowing them to set a max bid on an item, go back to work, and let the system bid for them,” says Ravi Saligram, CEO, Ritchie Bros. “PriorityBid also provides us increased insight into demand ahead of the auction, which is extremely valuable information for us and our sellers as it allows us to be more nimble in optimizing our marketing efforts right up to the day of the auction. We believe this will take online bidding in our live auctions to the next level.”
Since it was launched in mid-August, the company says more than 25,000 PriorityBids have been made, with approximately 45 percent of those bids coming through Ritchie Bros.’ mobile application.
“PriorityBid was initially introduced on IronPlanet; its recent implementation with our live auctions now provides customers a more consistent buying experience across platforms,” says Matt Ackley, chief marketing officer, Ritchie Bros. “As we continue to leverage our technology capabilities, capitalizing on online buying trends, we will become more flexible, allowing us to meet the diverse needs of our customer base.
“For example, the PriorityBid experience in our mobile app is the ultimate example of convenience for our buyers — they can place bids while they’re in the yard inspecting the equipment at our sites. It’s that simple.”
Ritchie Bros. says PriorityBid will work as follows: Customers submit a maximum bid and the PriorityBid system will bid the lowest amount required for the customer to win, up to their max bid. Bids are confidential and the system will only raise a bid if someone else outbids the PriorityBid. If a customer is outbid, they will receive an email notification. In the case of a tie, the first bid placed wins.
