We do a September private treaty phone auction and a November online heifer auction along with an online bull auction in the winter. We chose to stay with the private treaty deal on the market animals for a couple of reasons. We have found that a large % of our steers stay within a 50 mile radius, but the elite end, can and often do go to traders. The private treaty format allows us to market cattle to fit specific local customers needs and feeding/care programs and also allows for the traders to maintain a greater degree of anonymity when bidding against others. They seem to prefer that.
the breeding cattle sell well for us online. We still get the local foot traffic, but the online format allows us to reach a larger number of people across the county, I am personally more comfortable buying females online, as i put a large emphasis on the program and pedigree when buying breeding stock. if i trust the breeder/seller to represent them accurately i will not hesitate to bid to my perception of fair value. The elite end will end up being viewed in person most times by the buyer or a representative for them. We have been very happy with the results of the online auctions. it hits a huge number of potential customers, exposes our program on a national level and allows us to deal with new buyers without the risk of getting stung on bad checks and shady characters.
as a side note. we picture and video for both the private treaty and online sales.
